THON Cancels Fundraising Requiring Out-of-Town Travel

THON announced on Friday that it has decided to cancel all fundraising activities that require out-of-town travel, such as canvassing trips, for the remainder of the 2019 event’s fundraising campaign. 

Safety issues with students traveling was the reason behind the cancellation of these fundraising activities — with THON reporting three different car accidents in the past month involving volunteers on fundraising trips.

“Due to these concerns, THON and the University have made the decision to cancel all fundraising out-of-town that requires travel for the remainder of THON 2019. The safety of our volunteers will remain THON’s top priority as we use this time to evaluate our fundraising practices and create policies for the future,” THON 2019 executive director Kelly McCready said in an open letter.

McCready said that any fundraising efforts out of town during university breaks will go on as planned.

THON initially phased out canning over the course of three years following the death of student Tally Sepot in a car accident returning from a fall 2015 canning trip.

Canvassing — direct solicitation of donations that was not confined to scheduled weekends — seemingly became the new canning after canning finished its run last fall, but safety issues with traveling are still a present risk for these fundraising efforts.