After months of planning and collaboration, ENACTUS members are ready to host fun events while giving back to the community. The club’s upcoming Give Back Bash is this weekend.
While past and present ENACTUS members have said they enjoyed the national service work they take part in, they also said that they are looking forward to their upcoming local event.
The Black Light Bash, scheduled for today at 8 p.m. in the Rathskeller, will kick off the Give Back Bash weekend. Club members said they encourage students to come dressed in neon or white. There will also be a number of drink and food specials for attendees. Entrance to this event is free, and members said they hope all attendees bring their dancing shoes.
On Saturday, the festivities will continue with the Fluorescent 5K at 10 a.m. Once again, members encourage students to wear white or neon. Registration for the race will be $15. Participants receive a free pair of neon sunglasses upon payment. T-shirts will also be available for purchase at the event.
“I’m looking forward to raising money for CURE,” sophomore finance major Alyssa Honaker said. “We’ve had the registration forms out for a few weeks now and it looks like there’s going to be a great turn out.”
After the Fluorescent 5K concludes, the club will be holding the Shoot for Strength Basketball Tournament at 2 p.m. in the Reilly Center where five-player teams will compete in matches. Prizes will be awarded to both competitors and attendees. Club members are still uncertain what the grand prize will be, but they add it will be something worth getting competitive over.
Anyone interested in registering is encouraged to visit the event booth in the Reilly Center or the event Facebook page. Registration costs $20 and can be done until the day before the event.
According to club members, ENACTUS is one of Bonaventure’s most recently established organizations. Due to club members dedication to service, the club won the Friar and Joe Doino Award for “Organization and Club of the Year” this past year.
“The club pushes you out of your comfort zone and really teaches you how to think on your feet—and how to solve problems in the most creative way possible,” said freshman undecided business major Hannah Pingelski.
Students might associate ENACTUS with its yearly trip to the Bahamas, however, many students do not realize the work members do while on this trip. While a trip to the Bahamas may sound like a dream vacation, members spend the two-week trip engaged in local charity work, club members said.
In preparation for their yearly legacy projects, members are taught leadership-building skills over the duration of this trip. Through teaching local elementary students, members learn how to effectively plan and problem solve, Pingelski said.
“ENACTUS is a club that’s unlike any other club on campus,” Pingelski said. “Joining ENACTUS is so beneficial to anybody, not just business majors. Being in ENACTUS is really rewarding and it gave me some really great opportunities to meet some really great people.”
As the Bahamas trip came to a close, after winter break, members began narrowing down ideas for their legacy project and selected a charity to receive the event’s proceeds.
After discernment, members decided to break up into three separate teams. One group focused on planning the Science of Magic event, while the other two collaborated on the upcoming Give Back Bash weekend. For this event, ENACTUS members planned science experiments and demonstrations that featured different types of magic.
Members also decided to donate all proceeds from the Give Back Bash weekend to both local and national cancer-combating efforts. Half of the proceeds will be donated to the Rochester-based Cure Childhood Association, while the other half of the proceeds will be given to an 11-year-old boy from Olean who is battling terminal bone cancer.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing people take the time out of their day to be a part of something bigger— so they can feel like they are making an impact on other people’s lives,” Pingelski said.
