As most of you know the college started running several charity collections and events to help with Hurricane Sandy relief and us Cheerleaders have been tasked with spearheading several of them.  They handed one of them off to me and I'm hoping I can count on all of you to come down and support it. 

The food and supply drives are going well, the blood drive will be starting up tomorrow, and cash donations have been at record levels (which is amazing), but I've been asked to spearhead the clothing drive.  We already have the bins placed around campus, in addition to the usual donation bins that have always been there for local shelters and charities, but I wanted to get things off the ground with a huge drive.  Make a contest out of it. 

I've placed specially marked bins out in front of each dorm and greek house.  We will be checking and counting the amount each bin gets several times per day (emptying as needed).  The house/dorm that collects the most clothing by the end of the weekend will win the prize.  Since the drives are being run by the cheerleaders, our house is not in the contest. 

What is the prize you ask?  It's a big secret, but trust me when I say that you really want to win it for you dorm/house.  What I can tell you is that the prize will be hand delivered by the entire Cheer squad and we will be heading a private performance just for your dorm/house.  I will tell you more as the weekend comes to an end, but let's make this the largest clothing drive the school, city, and perhaps even while region has ever seen. 

Heather has been doing a great job setting this up so you should all support her and try to win the game.  We all agreed to help with the prize, so yes, we will all be there for whichever group wins.  Every single one of us.  The whole squad, even the second stringers and assistants.  You want to win.  Trust me. 

And just because we didn't hit by Sandy on this coast doesn't mean you shouldn't show your support for those in need.  Lots of us have friends and family over there, so anything you can do to help would be greatly appreciated.  And if you don't have any clothing to donate for your house (or even if you do), go onto The Red Cross Website to donate directly.  Everything helps. 

I was the first to donate as part of the public announcement.  In fact, this red dress you see in this picture was what I donated.  So some lucky girl that lost everything to the hurricane will end up getting to dress in this pretty thing.  I'll miss it, but it's worth it to help. 

I just wish they would have told me that was what I was supposed to donate BEFORE I got to the announcement.  I had to stand there through the rest of the presentation like this. 

Posted on: 2012/11/9 18:37

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There is nothing I love more than making the team happy. 

I've been having lots of fun helping with all the donations so far.  Not only have I given a lot myself, but I've been going around to all the dorms and checking the bins and EVERYONE has been giving a lot.  It's crazy how much clothing we're collecting for them. 

I can't wait to see what happens by the end of the weekend.  We could be putting on our show nearly anywhere at this rate. 

I want help make my dorm win, so I put all my clothes in bin this morning.  Almost make it full.  Some guys from my floor say it would be good if I do this, since I had so many clothes.  That I could help us win good.  Amelia also give most of hers too, but not as many as me.  I have no more to give. 

I hope we win. 

Then I can go buy some new clothes. 

Posted on: 2012/11/10 15:03

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I love America... especially the boys and the shopping. 

I want to thank everyone for all the help and the amazing number of donations we've seen so far. 

I am completely taken aback by the level of support this campaign has gained.  We've already had to replace most of the bins with empty ones at least twice.  They've just been filling up that fast.  A few of them have been filled up over five times.  It's just been crazy. 

I look forward to seeing what happens as the weekend continues.  We are having a few special fundraiser parties and shows and I will have donation bins at each of them.  So come by and watch the shows, have some fun, and make some more donations.  The people on the East Coast will appreciate all the help we can give them. 

Although you can't seem to do it without being your usual slutty selves, it's nice to see you aiming it in a good direction.  Setting up and running all these donations and drives to help out the poor folks who lost everything to Hurricane Sandy is more than ever expected out of the lot of you. 

I did my part and gave food donations, blood, and some clothing to help out.  I think everyone else should do the same, despite who's running the drive. 

Posted on: 2012/11/11 11:57

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"We live in a world in which politics has replaced philosophy."  Martin L. Gross

OMG Did Karen just give us a compliment?  Mark this day on the calendar. 

Sure, she slathered it with insults, but she couldn't actually remove the compliment from it.  She had to say something nice.  I wonder if it hurt her to do it.  Like being nice causes her physical pain or something. 

Or, perhaps, she's starting to crack.  Could that be true?  I won't hold my breath. 

But yes, the drive is going amazing.  Our other drive and collections are doing well too, but nowhere near as successful as the clothing drive.  That this has just blown up.  I wonder how much that has to do with the secret private show we promised the winner?  I can't wait until we can give some hints as to who's going to be there besides us.  So exciting. 

Posted on: 2012/11/11 13:12

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Support your local cheer squad, we really appreciate it. 

Our little celebration is going to all of us, dancing, great music and more.  And when I say great music, I'm not talking about some great tunes playing on the stereo or some DJ spinning disks. 

Is that a good enough hint for you? 

And as the weekend comes to a close the contest is almost over.  Not going to tell you who's winning right now, as you all still have a chance, but when we empty the bins in the morning, that's the end of it.  We will then have to actually count to see who wins.  Especially if it remains as close as it has been. 

Holy crap you guys are awesome.  We have collected so much clothing it's going to take us days to count and sort it all.  Heather was going to tell you all who won today, but we don't have the time to count it all and find out.  We might not even know by tomorrow.  What an amazing haul. 

And just because the contest drive is over, it doesn't mean we won't still accept donations.  Blood, money, food, supplies, and clothing are still being accepted if you want to help those in need.  You can also go to The Red Cross Website if you want to directly donate to those in need.  We won't mind if you skip us altogether and do that.  In fact, we encourage it. 

As for what we are doing, Heather will have us (well, mostly the assistants and "slaves" some of us have "convinced" to help out) keep counting and sorting so we can see who won the big prize.  And the lucky house or dorm that wins is really in for a treat.  The special guest is awesome and what we have planned will most likely have the winners quite excited too. 

Posted on: 2012/11/12 19:53

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Support your local cheer squad, we really appreciate it. 

Even though the clothing drive is officially over, lets not forget that there are still people out there in great need.  Take for example my friend Alison.  Like many people on campus, she was incredibly moved by all the strife still ongoing on the east coast, and she did what she could to alleviate the suffering, giving money, blood, the usual.  Unfortunately, she left the clothing donation part up to me and Liz, and... well... we got a little carried away.  Imagine returning from the dorm shower to find nothing but empty drawers and bare closets where your clothes had once been! 

As you might imagine, Alison was devastated, even more so once she realized that the donation bins outside had already been emptied, and every last scrap of clothing she owned had been removed to one of the sorting locations.  Without much of a choice, poor Alison made the mad dash across campus to the sorting center wearing nothing but a look of desperation.  When she arrived, however, she saw the tireless efforts of the volunteers sorting through clothes, the compassion on the faces of the students and faculty still trying to give even after the window had closed, and the mountains of clothing that would soon be keeping homeless storm victims warm in the cold November nights.  In the face of all of that, she couldn't bear to ask for even one stitch of her donation to be returned. 

The picture below was taken of Alison at the sorting center just as one of the supervisors asked if she was waiting to be helped.  When Alison explained her story, the supervisor was equally moved and asked that the moment be recorded for posterity.  Luckily, I had followed Alison to the center and had my camera ready to go.  The supervisor asked for a copy of the photo and said something about maybe using it for publicity or something, but I haven't heard anything back on that yet so maybe it's fizzled out. 

The fact remains however that Alison... in kind of a round about way... is a victim of Hurricane Sandy as well.  This poor girl has lost everything, and she's asking her fellow students to open their hearts.  Please, if you have any spare clothing that you haven't donated yet, stop by the Harlow Dorms and pay Alison a visit.  Any little bit will be appreciated.  Thank you all, and God bless! 

Hey guys... I don't mean to beg... and I feel awful asking for anything for myself when so many people have lost so much more than me... but please, if anybody can spare anything... a dress... a T-shirt... ANYTHING I'd more than appreciate it!  Heck, I'll even take a pair of socks if you've got it! 

And if anybody is planning to help me out, please do it quickly!  I have to go back to class tomorrow, and if I don't get a little charity, I'm going to be sitting there in bio lab butt naked! 

I feel for ya Alison.  Other than my Cheerleader outfits (which I have to have), I donated all of my clothing too. 

I mostly just wore my cheer outfit all the time anyway, so that doesn't really effect me, but still.  I know what you mean though... How weird it feels to see nothing in your closet. 

But I'm not gonna worry or rush to get anything new.  I seem to always end up naked when I go out with my friends or to parties anyway, I might as well just start that way for a while.  Should be fun next time we go down to the club. 

Still don't have final totals yet, but I can tell you it appears to be coming down to four possible winners.  One Frat and three dorms.  Shockingly, two of them are among the Harlow Dorms, which are much smaller than the towers, so they really had to go all out. 

Should know by tomorrow afternoon who the winner is, but might not announce it right away if it comes in too late.  We'll have to see.  Worst case scenario we announce on Friday, but no matter what we have the party/celebration prize for them on Saturday. 

I sure hope my dorm in Harlow is one of the finalists.  Actually I really hope we win.  I certainly did my part.  I sorted through all my things and made two main piles.  A small one of things to keep and the rest, which I donated. 

I mostly kept all my nice tops and a few dresses.  I gave up most of my bottoms (skirts, wraps, and what not), mostly since I'm thinking about pledging Bottomless House. 

As you can see, I spent a lot time going through every item I own and neatly sorting them out.  My roommate (who took the pictures) was helping me decide on every item I wasn't sure about.  She mostly pushed to donate them, which I mostly did. 

You have no idea how freeing it actually is to give up so much.  Especially when you realize they are going to help people in need.  You get to feel good and you help others feel good, what could be better than that? 

Once I had them all sorted out and neatly stacked I started to take them down, one stack at a time, to set them into the bins out in front of our dorms. 

This was when I got my roommate to stop taking pictures and actually help by grabbing a few stacks and taking them down with me. 

Now it's time to start practicing going around bottomless, so I can pledge the Sigma Tau Nu house next time they start accepting new recruits.  I may not have made it into the last house I pledged, but I really want to be a Nu. 

I plan to contact the winner (dorm leader or house head) and arrange for the private performance/party as soon as I can, but want to make sure they are aware before I let everyone know who the winner is. 

I'm sure I'll be able to tell you all tomorrow.  And I'm sure you'll hear about the private show soon after it happens this weekend. 

Again, thank you all for donating and making this one of the largest drives we've ever had on campus.  You all rock and should be very proud of yourselves.  And if you still want to donate, you can always go to the Red Cross Website and give there. 

Okay, they have been notified and everything is arranged for tomorrow night.  So now I can tell you all who won the contest. 

Harlow Dorms, Tower K is the big winner. 

They barely squeaked by the guys from Kappa Kappa Nu with only eighteen more items of clothing donated.  Harlow Dorms, Tower C was in third place with only fifty-two less than the leader. 

The girls and I will be showing up there tomorrow for our private performances and party, but don't try and crash it.  Only the residents of Tower K are invited and we will have extra security (as well as inspectors) making sure that others aren't trying to sneak in.  Let them have their rewards and don't spoil it for them. 

Sucks we didn't win.  Not sorry I donated most of my clothes, but still, I wanted us to have that party. 

I wish I could get into it, but they are serious about the security on it.  I just walked by and saw they had at least two "bouncers" at each door in and out of the dorm building.  I was hoping I would be able to just slip in for a bit, but no chance of that happening. 

Can't wait to hear about what special guests they have and what all the performances are.  I guess we'll start hearing about those tomorrow, because I doubt any will stop the party to get on here to tell us tonight.