Proceeds from the Longwood Athletics Benefit Celebration help provide scholarships for student-athletes.
Longwood Athletics Benefit Celebration returns in 2015
Following the success of the 2014 Longwood Athletics Benefit Celebration, which raised more than $62,000 for Longwood athletics, including nearly $12,000 for student-athlete scholarship support, the fundraiser will return for a third edition this fall.
The 2015 Longwood Athletics Benefit Celebration will take place on Saturday, Oct. 17, at the Omni Hotel in Richmond, returning to the site that drew hundreds of Longwood alumni and supporters in 2014. The third installment of the event will feature another fun-filled night of food, drinks, live and silent auctions, music, dancing and socializing with Longwood alumni, faculty, coaches and student-athletes.
An outpouring of demand from attendees at the 2014 event prompted organizers to bring the party back this time in consecutive years (the first event was held in 2012).
“The positive feedback we received from attendees this past October really demonstrated to us that the demand was there for an annual event,” said Trey Eggleston, Longwood director of athletics development. “The financial success and the level of alumni engagement we were seeing convinced us to bring the event back in 2015.”
The live and silent auctions will once again highlight the celebration. In 2014, more than 100 items were donated to the cause, including one-of-a-kind Longwood University collectibles, vacation packages and autographed sports memorabilia. Among the most popular items were a Lancer-themed Vespa, a round of golf at The Greenbrier Course in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., and a condo stay in Folly Beach, S.C., all of which drew bids of more than $1,000 each.
While additional details for this year’s event will be available later in the year, Eggleston announced a new partnership between the Department of Athletics and the College of Business and Economics (CBE) for 2015.
The joint venture will merge the Longwood Athletics Benefit Celebration and the college’s Golf Tournament Fundraiser, which takes place in Richmond the same day.
“This partnership presents a strategic opportunity for collaboration across the university that will allow each entity to engage alumni and constituents in exciting new ways,” Eggleston said. “Oct. 17 will be more than a day just for athletics or just for the CBE. It will be a day for Longwood.”
By: Chris Cook