As students and athletes gear up for Special Olympics Fall Festival at Villanova, much work has been going on all year behind the scenes for fundraising.
Within the Administration Team, led by Lyla Buxton, two teams spearhead the charge of fundraising for the weekend-of.
Through working to secure corporate sponsorships and hosting various events throughout the year, the two teams contribute immensely financially to the Fall Festival.
The Development Team includes Chair Ace Carr and team members Julia Wagner, Aisling Kelly and Tori Phillips.
The group is responsible for corporate sponsorship involvement and fundraising that takes place on 1842 Day.
These bigger picture funds keep Special Olympics Fall Festival running year-after-year at the University.
The Fundraising Team is led by Chair Isabella Carlin. Alongside her are team members Kat Guzman, Claire Murphy and Sarah Martin Sachtleben.
Fundraising works on raising money for Special Olympics year-round by running student and community-driven events. Whether it is a dine-out day or an on-campus event, Fundraising is responsible for raising as much as possible leading up to the weekend-of.
While both teams’ contributions are critical to the mission of Special Olympics, much of their work goes on outside of the spotlight. Furthermore, these operations go on year-round.
While much of the focus is centered around Fall Festival weekend, their jobs require getting started as soon as the application cycle commences.
Isabella Carlin spoke on her experience chairing the Fundraising Team and the work her group has done this year.
“We’ve been working since late February,” Carlin said. “Basically, our main initiative is to fund throughout the year and raise as much money as we can.”
The team hosts a variety of events that are well known on campus, as well as several dine-out days that get the community involved.
Carlin specifically highlighted Strides, the 5k for Special Olympics that took place on campus last week.
“Strides is a chance for students and athletes to get together on campus for a really fun event,” Carlin said.
Ultimately, Carlin said the goal is to work hard and raise as much money as possible throughout the year in as many ways as possible.
“Our main job is that all the money we raise will go directly to help create the best experiences for the athletes,” Carlin said.
Aisling Kelly is a team member on development, and described the two main events for the weekend of Special Olympics Fall Fest.
These events include the President’s Reception and the Committee Banquet, which both occur on campus.
“We welcome and thank our corporate sponsors for everything they’ve done for us throughout the year,” Kelly said, “And then we have our committee banquet, which we invite committee members family and friends. We say a ‘thank you,’ have a dinner, and share memories.”
Carr is the chair of the Committee, and highlighted the connections fostered by his team with corporate sponsors.
“I think it’s also a really cool opportunity to work with alumni that are one year out to local sponsors in the area to help them understand that regardless of the size of the donation it’ll have a very big impact on Fall Fest and help to spread the mission of inclusion.” Carr said.
Ultimately, this year-long work is what allows Special Olympics to operate on campus.
While both teams have been working tirelessly all year to raise as much money as possible, their critical work is often done out of the limelight.
With all the money raised and sponsorships gained this year, Fall Festival is ready to begin.
