When I was younger one of my favorite things to do in the winter was throw quarters into the red bucket near the man ringing a bell. I, of course, learned that this donation bucket benefitted the Salvation Army and each quarter I threw in was going to a great cause.

Every time my mom made me and my siblings go through our old clothes, she would have us make a separate pile of clothes to giveaway. Whether we gave them to goodwill or a local family in need, we never left old clothes sitting when there was someone else who needed them more than we did.

Each of those examples are small ways that nearly everyone can be involved and most likely have done at some point in their life. But how often is it that we have the opportunity to be a part of a much larger scale charity event? We are constantly giving donations but when do we organize an event in which we can take donations? A large-scale event where you are in charge of planning and executing. This may seem like something not everybody is capable of doing, but if you know your available resources and can promote your cause, anything can happen.

A few months ago I was sitting down at my friend's apartment and we were sharing ideas about charity events we would like to hold. We discussed different drives and donation options but none of them really spoke to me the way a charity event should. After what seemed like forever, we thought of how we could incorporate other students with us. We are both dating boys who love basketball and they expressed that a basketball tournament could be a good way to go. We genuinely liked the idea of a benefit basketball tournament but we had no clue where to even start.

We discussed the event with the community outreach coordinator and he immediately told us step by step how to make this event happen. He pointed us towards resources that were available to us at the university, as well as helped us choose our cause. We decided to go with our local domestic abuse shelter due to the fact that they don't get large scale donations as often as other organizations. After speaking with him and knowing how to go about planning this event, we got started right away.

We thought through the tournament and the logistics behind it and decided to make it 5v5 with double elimination. We charged each team $50 to play with a starting goal of ten teams. An incentive for teams to join was that the winning team would receive champion t-shirts as well as a basketball signed by the C-USA Champions, The Thundering Herd. With the goal of ten teams, we would raise $500, however, that wasn't enough. It was a good year for sports fans at Marshall University and we decided to use that to our advantage. We bought items such as a John Elmore jersey and a Marshall Basketball to be placed in a raffle and that alone brought in over $100 within a few days. We at that point had raised well over our intended goal.

By the time this article is posted the event will have already happened and all of the proceeds will have been donated. I feel so good that my friend and I were able to take a simple idea and turn it into a huge event that we plan to make annual. We like so many other people felt that we didn't have the means to make this happen but by talking to the right people and keeping our heads up and goals high, we were able to raise a large amount of money for a great cause. I highly encourage everybody to try and make something similar happen. Not only will you be giving back to your community, but the personal gratification is amazing. Watching your event grow and come to life is such a blessing and I cannot wait until the next time.