The MSU Alumni Club of Minnesota kicked off a fund-raiser Tuesday, and asked members of the MSU community to submit recipes and photos of "The Spartan" statue to its Spartan-themed cookbook.
The funds raised will be used to replace the ceramic statue.
"We're real excited about this book and this project," club President Laurie Dama said. "We hope it will prompt other regional clubs to step up to the plate and spearhead the fund-raising campaign."
The cookbook will have recipes under titles like "Welcome Week" for appetizers and beverages, "Homecoming" for tailgate recipes, and "Graduation" for desserts.
"Why not combine Spartans' love of food and love of Sparty?" Dama said. "This is something truly inclusive."
The recipe submission form may be downloaded from the club's Web site at www.msu.edu/~msuaa062. The recipes are due Oct. 1 in order for the book to be published and delivered before Christmas.
"We're asking Spartans everywhere to submit recipes," Dama said, adding that the book will cost $12 online.
The focus of the cookbook also relies on submissions from MSU students, staff, alumni and friends.
"We're looking for photos of "The Spartan" statue for inclusion in the book," Dama said.
Dama said projects like the cookbook have a long shelf life - they will still be sold 18 or 24 months later.
"I am very pleased that the Minneapolis club is going forward with the cookbook project," said Gary Mescher, former chair of the MSU Alumni Association Board of Directors. "The campaign is through university development, primarily making it a grassroots effort and involving as many Spartans as we can."
The Sparty Project began in January and in June was formally announced to MSU Alumni Association Clubs. The fund raising is expected to be completed in June of next year, with the new statue and plaza unveiled during Homecoming 2005.
According to The Sparty Project Web site, Sparty's base would be transferred to the new site one brick at a time to preserve the sports pictorials in the clay.
After redesigning the intersection of Red Cedar Road and Kalamazoo Street to increase safety, a new statue will be installed at the northern end of Demonstration Hall Field, adjacent to the intersection.
The new statue will be cast of bronze from molds taken of the original. It will rest on the existing pedestal in the center of a new plaza, which includes landscaping and lighting.
"Sparty is such an important part in the hearts and minds of MSU alumni," Mescher said. "That's why we want to communicate to the 350,000 alums throughout the world that Sparty needs their help."
The Alumni Club of Minnesota is answering the call.
"We are hoping to raise several thousand dollars," Dama said. "As a club, we're trying to raise $25,000 by June."
