A Look Inside: The Tulane EE Chapter
Brandon Faske, a senior at Tulane University and co-president of the Tulane Emily’s Entourage chapter, discusses the exciting activities and fundraising efforts planned for the 2013-2014 school year and why he’s committed to making Emily’s Entourage the (un)official Tulane University cause.
In just two years, Emily’s Entourage (EE) and Tulane have become synonymous. New freshman that walk on campus cannot help but notice campus’ trendiest tank top emblazoned with a boldly printed “EE” and the signature hot air balloon.
We want Emily’s Entourage to become the (un)official Tulane cause. Our experience promoting Emily’s Entourage over the past two years suggests that we’re well on our way!
Since April 2012, we have raised over $30,000 and received the support of nearly one in every six students, making us one of the largest—and youngest—student-led fundraisers on campus.
Each spring, we hold an “Emily’s Entourage Spring Benefit” at a local music venue and bring in Tulane bands to perform for an audience of “EE”-tank top clad students. Last year, we even had two awesome food trucks sell food outside and donate a portion of their proceeds to Emily’s Entourage! View pictures from last year’s event.
This month, we are holding a BBQ in coordination with local food vendors to help market and build awareness for Emily’s Entourage on campus and in the community. With 1,700 freshmen just arriving on campus and eager to get involved, we want to engage them and get them on board with us immediately!
Plans for this semester also include a cooperation with the Student Athletic Center on homecoming festivities, in order to share the Emily’s Entourage message with Tulane parents and alumni.
All the support we have received so far has come straight from student’s pockets and hearts, a fact that speaks volumes about the Tulane students’ interest in supporting a great cause. The success of Emily’s Entourage on campus has to do with its ability to relate to students. The cause is personal, vastly important, and fun to support. If we can expand our efforts to parents and alumni successfully, who knows how much money we can raise?
There are other channels for us to reach out to as well. Recently, the Louisiana chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation reached out to my co-president of Emily’s Entourage, Jessie Katz. Tulane’s School of Public Health and School of Medicine has also expressed interest and would make awesome partners in any capacity. With Cystic Fibrosis’ connection to the Ashkenazi Jewish community, we would like to talk with local synagogues and Jewish organizations to continue raising awareness and funds. The list of opportunities never ends!
With Cystic Fibrosis researchers making such significant strides in recent years with new live-saving drugs like Kalydeco, our pitch is easy. A cure is within reach; each donation is making a difference.
If you’re interested in getting involved in EE at Tulane, please contact Brandon at Brandon.Faske@gmail.com. To learn how to start an EE chapter at your high school or college campus, check out Tori Levin’s guest blog post on why she’s bringing EE to her college campus.
Our most heartfelt thank you to Brandon for this fantastic piece and the whole EE at Tulane team for the remarkable work they’re doing to spread EE’s message and get us closer to a CF cure. They’re movers, shakers, dreamers, doers and total trailblazers and we’re so grateful to have them as such integral parts of Emily’s Entourage. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.