Despite a pandemic and having a shorter lineup than normal, the SOS Strong campaign went above and beyond all other campaigns in its six-year history.
SOS Strong 2020 generated $41,000, going above the annual goal of $20,000 and above the prior record of $35,000 set in 2018 despite having four less ambassadors than normal. About a quarter of that amount — over $10,000 — came from Roger Heineken, who used his long tenure at Emporia State and involvement in the Phi Delta Theta Pole Sit to tap donations from around the world.
Anton Sandoval received the “most creative fundraiser” award with his “Going the Distance” marathon. And KVOE News reporter Tagan Trahoon was fastest to $1,000, raising over $3,500 all told.
SOS Assistant Director Devon Swartz was impressed with the ambassadors’ work with social media and the worldwide scope of this year’s effort. He says this helps SOS at a time when a lot of its grant funding is in question due to COVID-19.
SOS administrators will have an official wrap-up of SOS Strong and have additional updates on their operations during Friday’s Talk of Emporia segment.
