Since the first meeting between the two teams Jan. 22 at Purdue, MSU’s Izzone and Purdue’s Paint Crew student sections have been competing to see who can raise the most money for charity.
Donations can be made on the official website of the challenge — msupurduechallenge.org — or dropped off at the East Lansing branch of the ACS, 1755 Abbey Road.

Accounting junior Justin Wojtkowiak, one of the co-directors of the Izzone, wants to spread awareness of the challenge to try to raise as much money as possible.

As of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Purdue raised $2,115, compared to MSU’s $1,221.

“This is a way for students to get involved passively, not actively,” he said. “It’s a great thing because it helps the Izzone do their part to help the community.”

Wojtkowiak said the challenge was successful last year as the two student sections combined to raise more than $15,000. But Purdue’s Paint Crew won the challenge by posting almost four times as much money as the Izzone.

Although the Izzone was defeated in the competition, Wojtkowiak said in the end, it was a real victory for the charity.

“We’d love to win the challenge, but it’s more important that we raise money for the society itself,” he said.

Bonnie Ginsburg, a community representative from the ACS, acts as a liaison between the organization and MSU. More than $60 million has been raised by the Coaches vs. Cancer fundraising program since its creation in 1993, Ginsburg said.

She was passionate about giving students a chance to get involved in making a change,
noting that a donation can be made by just a few clicks of a mouse.

“This is a really nice opportunity for students to show support to the coach, the team and the school, but (also) a great way to raise awareness to find a cure for cancer,” Ginsburg said. “Just a $10 donation can pay for a petri dish — every donation helps.”

Purdue student Tory Hurst, a public relations and advertising senior, serves as the
publicity director for the Paint Crew.

Hurst echoed much of the same sentiment as Wojtkowiak regarding the competitive spirit.

“There’s always pride in winning it,” she said. “The way I see it, it’s not so much about keeping the challenge trophy in West Lafayette, (Ind.) — everybody still wins in the long run because we’re donating a lot of money.”

Hurst and the remainder of the Paint Crew officers will be in attendance at Sunday’s game. Every year, the opposing school’s student section leaders go to the away school’s game to announce the winner and hand out a trophy.

“The way I feel is, on Sunday if we were to lose it we’ll try harder next year, but there really aren’t any losers,” Hurst said.

Tipoff for the game is 1 p.m. Sunday at Breslin Center.