Chariot racers could win their weight in Red Bull if they bring enough fans to the concluding event of McKinley Week activities.
Cardinal Charities Committee, a two-year-old student organization founded by junior audio production major Matthew Gage, is trying to start a week of events that it hopes will like to eventually rival Indiana University's Little 500 and Purdue University's Grand Prix.
It's called McKinley Week, and its final event, a chariot race sponsored by Red Bull, is already inspiring freshmen to help make the week of events a big part of Ball State life and culture.
"If you're not excited about what's going on at your own school, nobody else is going to be," Danielle Franko, a freshman public relations major, said. "I think if it got big enough, it could definitely compete with [other schools'] activities, especially with all the events they have going on and if they got performers coming in."
Franko said she and a friend were on the way to the L.A. Pittenger Student Center when they saw Gage and another junior, advertising major Jeff Hardesty, advertising McKinley Week on Wednesday afternoon at the Scramble Light.
She said they approached the pair and were ecstatic when they found out the week would contain events such as an obstacle course, a dance off, a scavenger hunt and capture the flag.
"We heard they needed donations and stuff and went out today already and tried to get some," Franko said Wednesday night. "My friends and I went down to the Village to see if businesses there would donate to the cause, and we're going to go to Walmart and Lowe's to see if they will sponsor our chariot."
All the proceeds from McKinley Week events will go to Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth of Muncie, Gage said. SAFY is a foster care service that works within Indiana.
"I think it's a great cause," Franko said. "A lot of time when you hear about people raising money for a cause, you hear about them [donating to the] same kinds of things. You don't ever hear about foster homes, and I think it's cool that they chose it."
Proceeds will come from the $5-$25 fees teams of five will pay to enter the events, Gage said. Other donations will come from donations individuals or businesses make to the cause.
"We started it because we thought that IU had Little 5 and Purdue had the Grand Prix but we wanted to put our own twist on it and give back not - just to students - but give back to the community and create awareness as well," Gage said. "It's not just parties for students, it's a win-win situation for both the community and Ball State."
Hardesty said the event has the potential to get big. He pointed out that in scheduling the week of events, organizers recognized the fact that students from Ball State attend the big spring events at other schools and made sure McKinley Week didn't conflict.
"This is kind of our way of building up to something big," Hardesty said. "If this goes well this year, we'll be able to do so much more this year. If we get student support behind it, it'll just keep going."
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