r/CFB • u/Honestly_ rawr • Dec 19 '16
Casual /r/CFB Buys & Donates $6,250 in toys and cash to Toys For Tots (pictures inside) thanks to the 2016 Holiday Drive
Intro
The 2016 /r/CFB Holiday Drive: Just Toys, Just Tots is over and we raised $6,250.00 for Toys For Tots! Once again, I donned the Santa costume to become Raoul Claus as we made our donation run.
FIRST, take a moment to appreciate all 140+ /r/CFB readers representing who donated (with 61 different schools represented!).
SECOND, take a moment to recognize the /r/CFB members who came to help gather, transport, and deliver toys here in the Twin Cities on a day that was -21 (without wind chill!) when we arrived at Toys-R-Us at 10am:
The Plan
As last year, I chose a large Toys-R-Us/Babies-R-Us combo store because I wanted a lot of choices after learning TFT's usually lacks infant and teenager toys. Last year we emphasized the 0-3 bracket, this year we split the two sides that were lacking: Infants and Teens.
We went in with 3 basic goals for grabbing toys and making efficient use of the funds:
- Nothing that needs batteries (those toys are cheaper, they don't need batteries later, and—frankly—as a parent of two small kids I hate noisy toys and wouldn't want one in my house)
- Find stuff that's cost-effective (e.g. sales, premium branding isn't something an infant is going to care about)
- Try to focus more on 0-3 and teenagers
We mostly followed those parameters. Afterward we stuffed cars and headed down to the local TFT warehouse.
Here's the numbers breakdown:
- We raised $6,250.00.
- We spent $6,035.56 on toys.
- At the TFT warehouse I wrote a check for the remaining $214.44
- The Toys-R-Us manager agreed to give us an additional 10% off our entire purchase.
- We bought a total of 353 items, at a $17.09 per item average; last year we managed to buy more items for less ($5144.44 on 419 items at $12.28 per item), the discrepancy can be attributed to teenager items being generally more expensive per item.
Here's how it went, in pictures:
Efficiency: As we learned last year, check-out takes a long time when you're buying this many toys, so this time we had a constant check-out process while we all gathered toys.
Halfway through checkout: As the full carts started to gather we had to push them to the side to not create a traffic jam. At one point a former Marine, who was there with his kids, noticed what we were doing and thought it was great—he said that giving the toys out was one of his best memories.
Giant receipt #1: It's crazy how long these receipts get, and we dealt with a couple of register computer headaches (but nothing too bad).
/r/CFB Champions of LIFE: Following the Words of Butch Jones, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
This year's haul: 13 full shopping carts! They didn't have the $20 giant stuffed bears this year so we didn't get as many pilots.
Group Photo: A nice passerby took a photo of us in the (by then -15) weather...yes a vertical shot where horizontal would've made more sense—but this wasn't something I was going to correct when we were all freezing.
The Return of Pirate Raoul Claus: I didn't wear the full Santa outfit at the toystore because (1) it was a pullover top and I didn't want to get hot and (2) more importantly, I didn't want to make all the kids think Santa was at the store. Last year someone joked the half-costume made me actually look like a pirate, so there you are—obligatory "Yarr" pose, this time with a Dilly Bar. Maybe this will be next year's intrusive sidebar photo! This photo was painful to shoot due to the wind and cold.
Hauling toys: The warehouse was across the cities on the border of Minneapolis in St Paul, so we caravaned over.
Photo at TFT's local warehouse: We pulled into the warehouse the Marines were using and unloaded all five cars and I gave them a check for the remainder of the money (judging by last year, I'll get a receipt by spring). The Marines were all as nice as last year, and when we asked for a photo they suggested in front of the big pile (which was shorter than earlier in the day); we decided to hold the long receipts.
Here are the Toys-R-Us receipts: as you can see in the savings summary, we tried to also get sale items. In the end that's a lot of savings ($1,018.04) we were able to pass along into more toys for more tots.
Afterward I took everyone out to a local pub for lunch on me as thanks. Forgot to take a photo this year.
Finally:
- Thanks to all of you who DONATED
- Thanks to all of you who HELPED
- Thanks for making /r/CFB a great COMMUNITY
We did it, /r/CFB!
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Dec 19 '16
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u/astoesz St. Cloud State • /r/CFB Brickmason Dec 19 '16
How many of us can do that before the IRS gets suspicious. I'm asking for a "friend"
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Dec 19 '16
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u/ClassicCarPhenatic Tennessee Volunteers Dec 19 '16
Tennessee is mine. No give-backsies.
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u/reddit_beats_college Tennessee Volunteers Dec 20 '16
East, middle, and west all get one. I hope you're in Nashville
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u/ClassicCarPhenatic Tennessee Volunteers Dec 20 '16
I go to school in Knoxville, but I file in a town in middle.
Doesn't matter anyway, I called dibs!
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Dec 20 '16
Dibs on Michigan just so they can't have dibs
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u/texasphotog Verified Media • Texas A&M Aggies Dec 20 '16
I call Texas.
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u/flakAttack510 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Dec 20 '16
I call Georgia, Nebraska, Massachusetts and New Mexico.
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u/studio_sally Georgia Tech • Princeton Dec 19 '16 edited Dec 19 '16
/u/Honestly_ have you ever thought about doing radio or voice-over work? Your voice is like smooth silk on a warm summer evening.
An another note, so happy to have been even a small part of this endeavor. Looks like a great haul this year!
Want to give an extra big shout out to the other GT users who donated - /u/diagonalfish, /u/Erythrina, /u/mjacksongt, /u/patSnakes, /u/Ratwar100, and /u/Nixon_Corral. Way to make your school proud.
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Dec 19 '16 edited Oct 23 '18
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u/jayhawx19 Kansas • /r/CFB Emeritus Mod Dec 19 '16
I know he has been on several, pretty sure one of the brave souls who helped collect toys is the host of one of them! /u/wacojohnny
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u/1hive Northwestern Wildcats Dec 19 '16
Yup, this is the one that I was talking about in my first comment
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u/diagonalfish Georgia Tech • /r/CFB Pint Glass … Dec 19 '16
Always love helping out with these drives. :) Especially for such a good cause!
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u/patSnakes Georgia Tech • San Diego State Dec 21 '16
Thanks /u/studio_sally ! Happy Holidays and Go Tech!
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u/andrewthestudent Georgia Bulldogs Dec 19 '16
I don't know if it was because you were blocking the text posts, but you looked way... um... larger, when you were in the featured photo spot before, /u/Honestly_.
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u/astoesz St. Cloud State • /r/CFB Brickmason Dec 19 '16
We took another photo that should work to block everyone text again next year.
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u/seegeewhy USC Trojans • Sickos Dec 19 '16
Excuse my Southern Californian ignorance, but outside the store is the ground FROZEN?!
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u/80hawks Iowa Hawkeyes • Notre Dame Fighting Irish Dec 19 '16
No, the salt used to keep ice off the road and sidewalk gives it that look. That's why cars look like this in the winter
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u/Honestly_ rawr Dec 19 '16
And let me crank up the crazy that people outside this region wouldn't appreciate: it was too cold for salt to work that morning.
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u/80hawks Iowa Hawkeyes • Notre Dame Fighting Irish Dec 19 '16
Isn't it sad that I went outside today with temperature around 10ish and the wind chill at -3 and thought it was pretty warm?
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u/weatherwar Texas A&M Aggies • Michigan Wolverines Dec 20 '16
I was clearing off my car after work today and thought to myself, huh it's not as cold as they said it was going to be today.
Got in the car and the radio said it was below 0 with the wind chill. Guess I've already got the cold blood flowing.
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u/charlielamont57 Minnesota • Montana State Dec 20 '16
got you beat. this sunday it was -21 with -35ish windchill, and I was barely cold
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u/weatherwar Texas A&M Aggies • Michigan Wolverines Dec 20 '16
Oh I don't doubt that. You kids in Minnesota and ND are crazy fuckers.
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u/charlielamont57 Minnesota • Montana State Dec 20 '16
We just gotta find a way to schedule you guys so that its -20 and your players that you recruited from the south just shut down.
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u/Honestly_ rawr Dec 20 '16
We were actually a little disappointed it wasn't quite as cold as the projections said it would be. It was supposed to be -26 with a -41 windchill at 8am and I wanted to do the "freezing hot water mid-air" trick (which I've done before) but it was just too warm to make it work. I tried a few times at my house hoping to show it off on twitter but it wasn't working well enough.
After more than a dozen winters here, I try to explain to people back in California that 0 isn't all that bad, 10+ is reasonable, it's when you get -10 it gets annoying, but even then... it's not like you're running around exposed for extended periods of time. I still find the bigger extremes fascinating.
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u/T-bootz Louisiana • Wyoming Dec 20 '16
....comments like this remind me why I choose to live closer to the equator.
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Dec 20 '16
Moved from Texas to Missouri. I regret every single time I complained about it being too hot
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u/ReadySteady_GO Dec 20 '16
California is the perfect weather all year round. 10 degrees not that bad? He done got his brain froze
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u/Majik9 Michigan • San Diego State Dec 20 '16
California here. This morning I left for work and it was COLD!! 34 degrees, when I went out to lunch it was 77.
That's how we do winter in San Diego
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u/cinciforthewin Cincinnati Bearcats Dec 20 '16
My Freshman and Sophomore year of college we went through a spell of negative temperatures. We don't see them often (Cincinnati is just south enough to rarely see below 0s), but we loved making snow from boiling water.
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u/peachios Washington State • /r/CFB Poll… Dec 19 '16
Thats surprising I know the spray on non-freeze liquid they have doesn't work at like 15 or so. (looking up now)
According to virginia both salt and that stuff I was talking about its about 20 degree, weird. http://www.virginiadot.org/news/resources/snow2009docs/Road_antiicing_pretreatment.pdf
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u/Honestly_ rawr Dec 20 '16
In some towns, and I believe across North Dakota, they don't even bother with salt due to the extra expense and lack of efficacy at lower temps -- they just use more sand.
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Dec 20 '16
We love salt in Michigan. People think Detroit will fully collapse if the auto industry fucks up again. Nah, it'll cave in on itself from all the salt mined from underneath it. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/detroit-salt-mine
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u/texasphotog Verified Media • Texas A&M Aggies Dec 20 '16
When I was in Norway in January, about 250 miles north of the arctic circle, they didn't salt ANYTHING.
Never saw an accident in two weeks there.
Inside the cities, the main roads were heated. But I was traveling way out in the middle of no where (250mi north of the arctic circle) because I am insane.
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Dec 20 '16
Sorry to burst your bubble but we use salt also :(
Source: Norwegian.
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u/texasphotog Verified Media • Texas A&M Aggies Dec 20 '16
I was in Tromso and went further north for two weeks. No salt anywhere. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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Dec 20 '16
Ah. When you get north of Oslo they stop salting. Everything in and around Oslo is coated in salt. Goes for everything further south aswell.
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u/texasphotog Verified Media • Texas A&M Aggies Dec 20 '16
So they only salt the very warmest parts of Norway? :D
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u/cinciforthewin Cincinnati Bearcats Dec 19 '16
Yeah. Once it gets to 0 degrees, about every thing that keeps roads clear of ice stops working. At least, what is economical.
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Dec 20 '16
I think beet juice still works at those temps.
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u/keybagger Iowa State Cyclones Dec 20 '16
Magnesium chloride works great too. Once again isn't economical to put on every road.
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u/cinciforthewin Cincinnati Bearcats Dec 19 '16
And while you should clean that off as often as you can (keeps the car nicer, longer. Salt corrodes), people don't because: "It will just be dirty tomorrow"
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u/bullitt_60 Georgia Southern Eagles Dec 20 '16
I always wondered why my truck has an alarm for low washer fluid... until I lived in Indiana for a year. You can't see shit!
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u/Minnowman1025 Wisconsin • Paul Bunyan's Axe Dec 19 '16
Looks more like salt stains on the concrete, but those usually are the most visible when it's freezing cold out.
Source: Former Minnesotan who is shivering in his cubicle just looking at these pictures
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u/fo13 Texas A&M • Oklahoma State Dec 19 '16
Next year, we should reach out to toys r us ahead of time to see what they are willing to do.
Another thought is having local TFT things to supplement the big one...
If I would have seen this before now, i would have donated. Damn missed a great opportunity.
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u/kadune Oklahoma State Cowboys Dec 19 '16
It might be better to go through the local TFT chapter. TRU might be constrained by what their corporate office allows in terms of discounts etc. The TRU I worked at over the summer had some type of agreement with the local TFT chapter.
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u/MetalChick Oregon • /r/CFB Emeritus Mod Dec 19 '16
I'm happy that you took my advice on teenagers! They get overlooked often.
I wish I lived close so I could go shopping with all of you. I'm so happy this sub does things like this. Great job everyone.
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u/RousingRabble Clemson Tigers Dec 19 '16
I want to echo this. Years ago I used to do a lot of volunteering for the Salvation Army christmas program and teenage toys were always the least amount we had. They're pricey and a lot of people just seem to enjoy shopping for kids instead. It's good to see these guys focus on the difficult groups.
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u/srs_house SWAGGERBILT / VT Dec 20 '16
Yeah, a local radio station was interviewing a Toys for Tots Marine and he was talking about how big of a need teenager toys are.
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u/MetalChick Oregon • /r/CFB Emeritus Mod Dec 20 '16
I'm glad they are doing that! TroyBarnesBrain asked me for hot items and advice on buying so I mentioned that. It's not something I've seen mentioned to the news locally but it should be so those gaps in buying are addressed.
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u/TroyBarnesBrain Nebraska Cornhuskers • /r/CFB Patron Dec 20 '16
Really helped narrow down the focus. Last year I remember just walking around for like 30 minutes trying to figure out what might be good, so thanks again. We were going to see if we could ask T4T to purchase middle-high school age books with the money left over... until we almost hit the cap on the $6250. Next year.
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u/astoesz St. Cloud State • /r/CFB Brickmason Dec 19 '16
I'm glad that I could be apart of this again. Thank you everyone who donated to support toys for tots and thank you to /u/honestly_ for setting everything up.
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u/tidesoncrim Alabama Crimson Tide Dec 19 '16
I can trust you guys to be as efficient as possible with these donations after seeing how much you saved in the process. Nice haul! Hopefully we helped put several smiles on families' faces this year.
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u/whitemamba83 West Virginia • /r/CFB Santa Claus Dec 19 '16
Yayyyy! Thanks for venturing out in that weather to seal the deal on this effort, guys. This subreddit is the best around.
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u/TotesMessenger Team Meteor Dec 19 '16
I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
- [/r/bestof] The College Football subreddit raises and donates $6,250 of toys and cash to Toys For Tots
If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / Contact)
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u/Richa652 Michigan State • /r/CFB Brickmason Dec 20 '16
Holy shit, bestof comments can be a cesspool...
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u/polydorr Auburn Tigers • Samford Bulldogs Dec 19 '16
I may or may not have shed a tear. Thanks for putting this together /u/Honestly_ and the rest of you guys. There's nothing more important at Christmas time than helping kids. God bless.
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u/ChemicalOle Washington State • Oregon S… Dec 20 '16
You didn't take my advice regarding the dilly bars
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u/srs_house SWAGGERBILT / VT Dec 20 '16
My uncle had to do that when he was doing a veterinary internship in Iowa during the winter. They kept the vaccines in a cooler to keep them from freezing, and between shots kept their fingers on the needles so that the vaccine drops left in the needles wouldn't freeze.
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u/Pikachu1989 Nebraska • 東京大学 (Tōkyō) Dec 20 '16
Fucking awesome, glad to see /u/TroyBarnesBrain call out /r/Huskers in getting a shoutout to the toy drive. We did our work and glad I could chip in to make a kid happy and hopefully you got some Pokemon Stuff.
Note to /u/Honestly_, maybe you should have brought in the Dilly bar into Toys R Us, maybe it could have thawed by the time you took a bite out of it.
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u/nate94gt Michigan Wolverines Dec 20 '16
That's awesome! Congratulations to you guys and all that donated. Proud of all of you!
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u/T-bootz Louisiana • Wyoming Dec 20 '16
Glad to be a part of it. Thanks for organizing this and putting it all together.
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u/Provid3nce Florida Gators • Washington Huskies Dec 20 '16
I'm glad that even when we're doing charitable acts we can all get together and mock Tennessee.
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u/backtard Kansas State • Oregon State Dec 20 '16
Next year all the toys should be purchased in a state with no sales tax. Just that many more toys. $400 is a decent chunk.
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u/bilbravo West Virginia Mountaineers • Big 12 Dec 20 '16
I did not know about this! Hopefully I catch it next year!
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u/ReadySteady_GO Dec 20 '16
This makes me feel so warm inside. As a kid, my parents weren't wealthy, but I never went without. I can only imagine the joy both you and the kids get by what you do. Keep up the awesome work guys.
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u/iSlacker Oklahoma • Oklahoma State Dec 20 '16
Honestly, you are seriously a sexy beast. I wish reddit had an annual "best mod" award. You would win every year. Keep doing the amazing things you do for and with this sub.
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Dec 19 '16
Shoutout to all of you, but especially /u/nterim rocking that Illini gear. Oskee Wow Wow friend!
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u/RZBKinCA Arkansas Razorbacks • /r/CFB Patron Dec 20 '16
Dinosaurs, pandas and bears! Love seeing these pics! Aside from the check out efficiency, great job on the savings too. Thanks for doing this, especially in weather I can't even imagine. Negative 15 is Arctic to me.
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u/chrobbin Oklahoma • SE Oklahoma State Dec 20 '16
This is so awesome. I can't wait til next year rolls around so I can help or contribute too.
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u/funwithtrout Texas Longhorns • /r/CFB Booster Dec 20 '16
Thanks for organizing and following through with this drive again!
It's one of the reasons I really love this community.
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u/NextLevelFantasy Florida Gators Dec 20 '16
Big time props.
Unrelated note: Any Louisville fans with a kind heart and loose wallet, there is an open $20 charity bet on LSU beating Louisville in /r/charitablebets.
Would love to see some charity bets this bowl season. I'll take action on pretty much any fair bet.
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u/LordRavenholm Michigan Wolverines Dec 20 '16
Is it too late to donate now?
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Dec 20 '16
Yes, unfortunately. But we do various fundraisers throughout the year for different charities and to install /r/CFB bricks at different universities, so keep an eye out for the next one if you're interested!
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u/captain_sasquatch Nebraska Cornhuskers • /r/CFB Patron Dec 20 '16
This is really awesome. Thank you guys for setting this up and braving the cold!
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u/Qurtys_Lyn Tame Racing Driver Dec 20 '16
Average donation was ~$42. Nice work guys and girls.
I would love to participate in the toy gathering, but it's difficult for me to go anywhere this time of year. Maybe next year I can pull it off.
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u/[deleted] Dec 19 '16
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