Approximately 20 registered bachelors and bachelorettes will strut their stuff for Splash! Chicago’s annual Splash! into Love date auction. The event will take place this Friday at the McCormick Lounge and will feature some of the University’s most eligible, single students.
Splash! has made the date auction their primary fundraiser to raise money for their activities. The community service RSO seeks to promote a love for learning and higher education by organizing free, day-long academic programs for high school students. Program participants sign up online and choose to enroll in numerous non-traditional college courses, all of which are created and taught by Splash! volunteers.
The program’s fun nature led Splash! to adopt an equally light-hearted fundraiser with much success.
“We [the RSO] started the auction because we wanted something unique that let us stand out from most of the other organizations on campus,” explains Angela Lascala-Grunewald, Splash!’s Fundraising Chair. “Date auctions haven’t really been used to raise money for RSOs, so we decided to go with that.”
“Besides,” she continues. “It’s just a really fun idea and when you have a good cause behind it, it can mean something.”
Nicho Kelly, a fourth year who “is kind of a big deal,” agrees. As a Splash! into Love veteran and last year’s top sell, the comically charming Kelly has remained staunchly supportive by volunteering as a bachelor for a second year in a row.
“Splash! into Love is great because it’s fun in its own right and, on top of that, it supports a great cause,” he says. “It’s the people [who keep me coming back] because it takes a certain someone to go up on stage and see what people are willing to spend for the pleasure of your company.”
“I even met a bachelorette who’s now a really close friend of mine, and it’s just so amazing to say that we met at this really fun event.”
With a whole set of bachelors, including Kelly (who, by the way, enjoys “any exercise that involves a bed. Or a shower. Or a floor.”) and a slew of newcomers, the event promises to be another success. Date packages to Chicago’s Skydeck, Fogo de Chao and many more await buyers as each package is paired with a bachelor and bachelorette. To make thing more interesting, the Splash! board has opened the event to “surprise bachelors” as well, meaning students who are casually passing by can also volunteer themselves for auction.
While Valentine’s Day may be almost two months past, Splash! Chicago seeks to bring back a little love in the name of education and good fun. For a ticket price of one dollar that includes free food and refreshments, students can get their fair share of laughs and, perhaps, find their Happily Ever After.
Whether you’re single and out to mingle or simply looking for a good show, Splash! into Love caters to all audiences by pulling on heartstrings and students’ sense of humor. And so it is that on a campus where the squirrels are cuter than the girls, Splash! into Love has made waves.