By Holly Luttrell | Reporter
Student Foundation brought Baylor students and faculty together for games and music at their annual Fall Festival event Wednesday evening.
Fall Festival took place in conjunction with the All-University Thanksgiving Dinner on Fountain Mall from 5 to 8 p.m. Student Foundation worked alongside student government to create an event that unified organizations on campus to raise money for their philanthropies.
“We at Student Foundation reach out to other student organizations to come up with a booth or activity idea for the night,” said Amelia Baumgardner, Student Foundation co-president. “One of our big focuses this year was increasing philanthropy among Baylor students here on campus.”
Student organizations created a carnival on Fountain Mall with game booths lining the perimeter of the grass. Organizations used their game booths to raise money for their chosen philanthropies, Baumgardner said.
Baylor students, faculty and their families could play traditional carnival games such as balloon darts and ring toss. A diverse selection of philanthropies were supported at the event, such as St. Jude Children’s Hospital, which is Delta Delta Delta’s philanthropy, as well as domestic abuse awareness, which is supported by Alpha Chi Omega.
“My favorite part of Fall Festival is seeing how different student organizations get to show off the ideals that are important to them,” Baumgardner said. “All seven of our booths this year had a diversity of philanthropies that they supported, and I think it’s really wonderful to see the passion and willingness to give back and support those causes.”
Baylor’s a capella group VirtuOSO and Houston singer and songwriter Thomas Csorba performed at Fall Festival while students, faculty and their families explored the different booths. Student Foundation members walked around the event in their signature green-and-white striped jerseys to help everything run smoothly. They also held a food drive to collect canned goods for those in need.
Inez senior April Jungbauer, Student Foundation member, said she appreciated that the event was both fun for the participants and raised money for good causes at the same time.
“The Fall Festival provides an opportunity for the Baylor family to come together in a community while also impacting the world by raising awareness about philanthropies and hosting a food drive to help students in need during the holiday season,” Jungbauer said.
According to the Student Foundation website, Fall festival was overseen by the Campus Promotions committee. This committee within the organization plans events such as First Year Follies, Fall Festival and the Bearathon race to unite Baylor’s campus and support Student Foundation’s mission to generate student scholarships.
