fundraiser Archives - Varcity Apparel

No Ordinary Evening: An Unforgettable Night

jerlin joseph — Thu, 19 May 2016 16:02:00 +0000

“There’s nothing worse than being ordinary.”

This was a personal mantra for Declan Sullivan, a mantra that even after his death in October 2010, resonates strongly among his family and friends in his stead. Since his passing, his family has established the Declan Drumm Sullivan Memorial Fund in his honor: a fund that supports non-profits in our city of Chicago, especially those focused on community service and education. In particular, the scholarship mentoring community Horizons for Youth. The organization is dedicated to helping low-income students from Chicago through scholarships, one-on-one mentoring, and more. Aligning with Declan’s mantra, the DDS Fund has thrown No Ordinary Evening for the past five years to celebrate Declan’s life.

Last month, VarCity Apparel spoke with Declan’s father, Barry Sullivan, who is the Head of Development at Horizons For Youth, about this year’s event. Part of the celebration – held in Navy Pier’s Grand Ballroom – includes the introduction of “Declan’s 75″: seventy-five students added to the Horizons For Youth program as a result of funds wholly contributed by the DDS Fund.

What started as 40 students in the fundraiser’s second year has since expanded to 75!

VarCity Apparel was proud to work with Barry and Haley Verbeke at Horizons For Youth to design football jerseys – in the spirit of Declan’s favorite Notre Dame – for the students to wear.

This year’s theme was “Off the Record,” a tribute to Declan’s love of music and movies alike. VarCity Apparel caught up with both Barry and Haley after the event – which was expected to host over 750 people – to see how it went!

“Many guests have said this was the best year for the event,” Verbeke said, going onto add that the event had exceeded expectations by raising over $720,000.

“Our goals were more than met. We hope to match the previous year’s success each year, and each year we have surpassed that goal,” Sullivan said of the record-breaking evening. “Since the first year of the event in 2012, we have exceeded the funds raised in the previous year. We hope to stay on this trajectory for NOE 2017.”

Verbeke mentioned that the guests’ favorite part of the evening was the unveiling of Declan’s 75. “The kids and their mentors received a standing ovation. All of the kids loved their new jerseys and the guests were extremely moved.” The evening was emotional for many. This year, a video interview featuring two graduating seniors was shown to the audiences. Both students are Chick Evans Scholars and ended up showing up on stage after the conclusion of the event. “A very emotional moment,” Sullivan said.

The goal for next year is naturally to keep expanding to a larger-scale audience, ultimately. Celebrating Declan’s memory and honoring it by allowing for more opportunities for others to be extraordinary, just like he was. VarCity is always ready to create your favorite custom jerseys in Chicago, IL and over the US, that makes your moment a memorable one.

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A successful day on the field: Alpha Phi hits home run for heart health

jerlin joseph — Fri, 22 Apr 2016 16:35:59 +0000

Just last week, VarCity Apparel sat down with Jennifer Walsh, a sophomore studying speech pathology at Elmhurst College. Walsh is also one of the philanthropy chairs for the Alpha Phi sorority chapter at EC. This Monday, they hosted one of their annual philanthropy events Home Runs for Heart Health, to raise awareness for women’s cardiac health. Members from across campus gathered into teams of 10 for the annual game, with aid from EC’s baseball and softball teams. VarCity Apparel was proud to work with Walsh and Alpha Phi to design t-shirts for the event and help raise awareness to an important cause!

“The event went really well,” Walsh said after the event. “We had a perfect day for the tournament which helped our turnout tremendously.” According to Walsh, 9 teams competed. Walsh had cited previously that their ultimate goal for this year’s event was to break their goal of earning $1,000, and after all the funds were totaled, it was just over $1,000! Walsh and the sorority were ecstatic. “The event exceeded our expectations,” Walsh said. “We expected a lot of people to come out and support but the amount that came out was more than we imagined!”

Previously, Walsh had explained that the t-shirt design was inspired by the philanthropy. The baseball player expertly ties the cause to the event with the added heartbeat feature in the design. “Everyone LOVED the shirts, we had people who weren’t even playing in the tournament asking to purchase the shirts!” Walsh said. “Both the baseball and softball teams liked the shirts and I have seen people already wearing them throughout campus, which is always a good sign!”

After such success, we had to ask Walsh about their plans for next year: “We do plan to host this event again as it is our annual spring philanthropy event. When hosting next year, it would be great to have a team from every organization on campus to allow us to have an even bigger turnout than this year!”

Congratulations, ladies! We’re so happy to have helped contribute to an amazing cause and we wish you the best of luck in your future philanthropy endeavors. Keep up the great work!

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Hitting home runs for awareness: Alpha Phi at Elmhurst College

jerlin joseph — Thu, 14 Apr 2016 16:59:13 +0000

With a new baseball season beginning, one of America’s favorite sports is on a lot of people’s minds. But instead of having people’s eyes glued to televisions, the ladies of Alpha Phi sorority at Elmhurst College cleverly harnessed this national mindset and directed to something more meaningful: charitable awareness. The ladies of Alpha Phi will be hosting their annual Home Runs for Heart Health event. All proceeds will go to women’s cardiac care, the sorority’s chosen philanthropy.

Jennifer Walsh, a sophomore studying Speech Pathology at Elmhurst College, helped work with VarCity Apparel to help design shirts for their event. Walsh is one of the philanthropy chairs in Alpha Phi and is responsible for organizing and running events like Home Runs for Heart Health. “Last year was very successful, so we are hoping for an even better turn-out this year!” Walsh said, as Home Runs for Heart is in its second year.

With the aid of the Elmhurst College baseball and softball teams, each team will have about 10 players. Walsh explained that many organizations around Elmhurst College campus will be participating. All participants will receive free food for playing as well as the t-shirts designed by VarCity Apparel. Walsh cites the inspiration for the t-shirt design stemming from their philanthropy. The baseball player expertly ties the event with their philanthropy, as evidenced by the heartbeat feature. Walsh is confident the event will exceed expectations.

“Our goal for the event is to beat our profit of last year which was just under $1,000,” Walsh said, citing their advertising and marketing as a major confidence boost that the ladies will surpass their goal.

On Monday, April 18th, the ladies and the other teams will be hitting the field at Elmhurst College. Hopefully someone will hit a homer!

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