Big payoffs for good causes: Relay for Life and Students Helping Honduras raise more than $46,000 total

Every day, students walk by kiosks in the Johnson Center. But what they don’t realize is that just one minute of their time or one dollar from their pocket could help save a life — or a community.

Students Helping Honduras (SHH) and Relay for Life at George Mason University have extended their helping hands to better the community by raising money. SHH is focused on building a new community for families that were displaced in Honduras due to Hurricane Mitch in 1998, while Relay for Life’s main concern is to raise cancer awareness, primarily through its annual event. Although these two organizations are passionate about different issues, both are reaching out to the Mason community for help and support.

Despite how recently the club was organized, SHH has raised $4,000 dollars for the Learning and Empowerment Program in Honduras, with a goal to raise $10,000 for the chapter by the end of the semester.

Relay for Life exceeded its goal of $35,000 by over $7,000, bringing its total to over $42,000. The students of both organizations have worked hard to get these results. “Every day teams were hosting bake sales, donut sales and restaurant nights to help raise their team totals,” said Teal Dye, event chair of Relay For Life. “Individuals worked hard to spread the word, sending e-mails requesting support.”

Students Helping Honduras and Relay for Life are constantly planning activities for students. Many students from SHH have traveled to Villa Soleada in Honduras to dig sewers and teach children English. The SHH students are helping to build and fund a school.

To get donations from the student body, relay teams sold items. The Pink Carnations team sold T-shirts and hot dogs to raise awareness.

For SHH and Relay for Life, it’s about getting the Mason crowd excited to support a cause. But sometimes this is a challenge.

“SHH is really working hard to build the group and gain enthusiasm from the students,” said sophomore global affairs major Rachel Bruns, next year’s SHH president. “It’s also hard because the economy is affecting everyone.”

While SHH and Relay for Life have encountered some difficulties in raising money, they have found enthusiasm is the key to getting students involved. With fun activities like SHH’s Spring Fling Luau and Relay for Life’s Heated-Wing Competition, Mason students are becoming more excited about these groups.

“Once you get someone really excited about what you’re raising money for, they will want to donate,” said Bruns. “That’s what worked for me.”