HOPE — As organizers of a new charity prepared to stage their first fundraiser last weekend, the weather forecast threw some unpredictability into the equation.
With heavy rain predicted, Students’ Fund of Hope co-organizer Whitney Budd said she paused to pray that her group’s root beer float event on Sunday didn’t end up a complete washout.
Her prayers were answered as contributions have topped $10,000, Budd said.
Not only did it stay dry, but a constant line of patrons at the Hope Town Square waited to get root beer floats during the two-hour event, Budd said.
“It was crazy,” Budd said. “We went through 350 cups in an hour.”
The charity was created to raise money to pay school-related expenses for Hope children from financially disadvantaged families. There was no set price for the root beer floats. Instead, patrons were simply asked to provide whatever they could afford to give.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
