By Marah J. Morrison
Students can enjoy some ’90s fun with a modern twist on April 21 and help a good cause in doing so. The Youngstown State University Student Nonprofit Leadership Organization [SNLO] is hosting a 90s themed bar crawl from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. to raise funds for Pay It Forward: Student Philanthropy Initiative.
The main event for the 90s Bar Crawl will be taking place at Suzie’s Dogs and Drafts. Additional participating locations for the 90s Bar Crawl are The Avalon, Draught House, One Hot Cookie, The Federal, Ryes and Imbibe Martini Bar.
The wristband presale cost is $7 and at the door it is $10. Members of the SNLO sold wristbands April 19 in Kilcawley.
From 6 p.m. on, there will be raffle ticket sales, and from 8-10 p.m. the costume contest will take place. Live music will be featured from 9-1 a.m.
Mollie Crowe, an advertising and public relations major who is receiving certification in nonprofit leadership, is the event chair for the ’90s Bar Crawl fundraiser.
Crowe said proceeds from wristband and raffle ticket sales will benefit Pay It Forward: Student Philanthropy Initiative.
The initiative addresses critical economic needs in the Mahoning Valley while providing an opportunity for students to experience the grant process of soliciting, reviewing, interviewing and awarding funding, according to Pay It Forward.
YSU students have sustained the initiative through their own fundraising efforts over the last four years. Every year, SNLO also accepts grant applications from local nonprofit organizations.
“We carefully review these applications and use the funds from our fundraising efforts to benefit those organizations,” Crowe said. “Because this is a bar crawl, we highly encourage students to seek services with Uber so they may have fun and be responsible.”
President Tabitha Richmond said SNLO has never organized a bar crawl before but has had different events in the past to raise funds for their Pay It Forward Initiative.
“For six years, SNLO organized an annual corn hole competition but stopped doing so a few years ago in order to try something new and gauge reaction,” Richmond said. “People are always wonderful about supporting our efforts because they know that every cent we raise goes straight back into the Youngstown community.”
Richmond said this event has taken a true team effort in order to ensure its success. The organization delegated marketing tasks, asked each member to bring in one or two items for the raffle baskets and had multiple members reach out to specific businesses downtown, Richmond said.
Laura Dewberry, SNLO’s adviser, said she hopes this event will be a success and would love to see it continue each year.
“To make it a success, we need support from YSU students,” Dewberry said. “We hope to have a great crowd.”
Contact Mollie Crowe at [email protected] or 330-301-4424 with any questions.