On Saturday, Sept. 29, members of Alpha Sigma Xi held the second annual “Flip the District” fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project at the Great River Plaza in downtown Rock Island.
“The Wounded Warrior Project is a project that involves collecting money and sending it to wounded veterans’ families that have either lost [a serving family member], or if the soldier’s gotten injured. It helps them pay for their medical bills, it helps them pay for their housing – it just helps them cover any kind of cost that they have. Throughout the time afterwards, they still help out if they need help sending their kid to school or anything like that. Usually, the Wounded Warrior Project will step in and help with that,” said junior Ranzy Collins, who coordinated the event.
To make sure anyone who wanted to attend the event could and to make sure no one drove home drunk, MetroLINK’s Route 53 bused people to and from Flip the District.
The main event at Flip the District was the “bags” or “cornhole” tournament. For two dollars, a pair could enter to win a prize for getting first, second, or third place. Teams of two lined up opposite each other as they tried to throw bean bags into the hole in the board across from them. The winners of the contest, Nick Roeme and Billy Moline, shared their techniques: Moline said, “Make it in the hole” and Roeme said “I like to put spin on mine.”
There was also a silent auction and raffle to help raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project. Silent auction items included a movie basket and a basket full of treats. For the raffle, at the cost of a dollar per ticket, attendees had the chance to win prizes such as free oil changes, free Whitey’s milkshakes, gym memberships, and more.
For food, one could go to any of the bars surrounding the event such as The Smoking Dog or Bottoms Up. Those in attendance could also head over to the Meat Head food truck that provided items such as their quarter pound cheeseburger and “famous” pork tenderloin, served only at the event.
Augie’s student radio organization WAUG was on-site to DJ the event with “music everyone listens to,” sophomore Catherine Lotz said. “Definitely a good way to spend the weekend.”
“I guess it’s about everyone getting together to celebrate a great foundation. We come out, have fun, have some food, play some games, dance around a little bit. It’s basically a big get-together, just to have fun and help out a foundation that really helps out others,” Collins said.
Photo Above: Students and parents take part in the bags tournament at Flip the District, on Saturday, Sept. 29. Photo by Emma Gannaway.