Freshman fundraiser scores support

The Class of 2007 is becoming more acquainted with the Penn campus through the Freshman Class Fundraiser.

The fundraiser unites the Penn community with local establishments in order to raise money for the March of Dimes.

"This is a new project for this year. It's not something that's traditionally done every year, and it's for a good cause," said Andrew Kaplan, freshman class president and co-organizer of the fundraiser.

"We selected the March of Dimes because it's a tremendous organization. It helps the weakest among us; it helps deathly ill babies to live normal lives," he added.

In order to raise awareness of the fundraiser, Kaplan and other Freshman Class Board organizers, as well as freshman volunteers, have partnered with local restaurants, businesses and the college houses -- placing donation boxes in each.

Additionally, the group has a table on Locust Walk this entire week where people can donate money.

There is a banner located at the table, and when people donate a dollar, they get "a little paper shoe with their name on it [which is put on the banner] to signify that they donated," Kaplan said.

Although the group is not sure of how much money has been donated, at the beginning of this week, the "banner [was] almost halfway full," Kaplan said. He anticipated that it would be filled by the end of the week.

Fran Franchi, director of development for the March of Dimes, worked directly with the Freshman Class Board in organizing the fundraiser.

"They're just starting as a new team. They had some great ideas. They were looking to do it around Valentine's Day, and they're planning a bachelor's auction," she said.

"I told them they needed to talk as a group and see what works best for the culture" at Penn, she added.

"One of our missions is to unify the class, and a philanthropy project helps to do that," Kaplan said. "Hopefully, it is something we can do with other organizations later in the semester."

"This is something that people should take the time and reach into their pockets and make a difference for."

The University's Freshman Class Board and March of Dimes uniting to raise money is only one way in which the Philadelphia community is affected by the organization.

"March of Dimes funds a lot of research in the city of Philadelphia. We have $1.7 million ... in research dollars that presently comes to Philadelphia," said Dina Melchiorre, director of communications at March of Dimes.

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is a March of Dimes research grant recipient, and funds from the charity's other programs -- such as Walk America -- contribute to local education and community service initiatives, Melchiorre said.

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