The holiday season came early for collegiettes at the University of Illinois this year. On December 3, Her Campus Illinois presented its third annual “Walking in a Winter Glamourland” event, raising over $1,000 for the Northwest Settlement which is located in Chicago. The night featured an enormous selection of product samples, vendor booths, multiple A cappella group performances and a raffle that continued throughout the evening.
The first 30 collegiettes to enter the doors at The Clybourne Bar received a goodie bag filled with limited edition product samples, including Bobble water bottles, peppermint Luna Bars and coupons for Rod Sickler Salon and Spa. As collegiettes roamed around the bar, they sampled sushi from KoFusion, had their hair professionally styled by Lando Salon, and shopped around the various clothing and jewelry stands including Apricot Lane, BucketFeet and eff.Y.bee.
“It was so awesome seeing so many girls come out and support our event,” said junior Kelsey Kiwaiko, Her Campus Illinois’s Vice President of Public Relations. “We were so fortunate to have donations from so many companies, and we could tell all of the girls really enjoyed the evening.”
Some of the incredibly generous sponsors of Her Campus Illinois’s event included product donations from: Lando Salon, Bobble, Luna Bar, Good Greens, Papa John’s, Justin’s, Love Grown Foods, Evol, GoMacro Macrobar, Spotify, Insomnia Cookies, Nature’s Bakery, Earth Balance, Raw Revolution, Detour Smart Whole Grain Oatmeal Bars, Steaz, Dang, PB Crave, Lindt, Fuel for Fire, Rickaroons, Tate’s Bake Shop, Barnes and Noble, eff.Y.bee, Nooza, Crunchmaster, Soy Joy, The Beach, Apricot Lane, BucketFeet, Rod Sickler, KoFusion, Jimmy Bar, Annie’s, Bragg, Larabar, Two Moms and Peeled.
“For this year’s Winter Glamourland, the Her Campus team wanted to reach out to vendors with a focus on wellness,” said Kathy Ruda, Her Campus Illinois’s Event Coordinator. “As students’ stress levels rise with finals week, we wanted to provide healthy ‘study snacks’ that our guests could try and not feel guilty about!”
Throughout the evening, the guests enjoyed performances from three campus A cappella groups including The Other Guys, The Extension Chords and The Rip Chords. The groups lit up the room with their fun pop ballads and Christmas remixes.
“It was such a fun break from studying,” said sophomore Shana Pembroke. “I loved trying out all of the product samples and brought some home as study snacks for finals!”
As the evening progressed, raffle winners took home various prizes, such as a Camelbak water bottle and yoga mat, a gift card to The Beach (a local salon and spa) and a signed Joakim Noah Bulls Jersey. Guests had their pictures taken in a fun Winter Glamourland-themed photo booth, where photographers kept busy the entire evening shooting adorable pictures of guests and their friends with festive props.
As the night came to a close, the final gifts were raffled off and guests stocked their purses and backpacks with as many free samples as they could grab. Collegiettes left with salon-styled hair, full bellies and tons of new products and prizes.
“I think the most exciting part of this event was the fact that we were able to have an amazing time while also raising money for those in need,” said Kiwaiko. “I don’t think some of the girls even realized that they were supporting a good cause just by attending!”
All of the funds raised through the event will be donated to the Northwestern Settlement, where they will be used to purchase holiday gifts for underprivileged children.
To see more photos from Winter Glamourland, you can view the event album on the Her Campus Illinois Facebook page.
Photos by Anna Hecht, Video by Krista Green