Show your support for pets and Vets at ‘Wags for Warriors’

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Kristian Biega, News Editor

On Thursday, Nov. 14, Alexander Regina, Ph. D., associate professor of Marketing, and his Social Media Marketing class will be hosting a community fundraiser event called “Wags for Warriors.”

This project has been a semester in the making and will benefit the Pets for Vets Organization and the A.N.N.A. Shelter.

Regina had the idea planned for his students as a way to apply their collective talents to serve the greater Erie community. Senior Graphic Design major, Matt Mellish, explained that he and his fellow students in the class have been working with many moving pieces to put the event together.

They ordered and designed t-shirts, organized raffle baskets and contacted local businesses, all while marketing the event cohesively as a class.In order to stay on top of things, the class must use their time and limited budget efficiently.

“Trying to be proactive, instead of reactive, is certainly a challenge,” Mellish said. “Equally as problematic is trying to use a very small budget to create an event that people are excited about. By using only donations and a small portion of funding from the Business department, we are forced to think more practically and use our connections for an advantage.”

The beginning of the process seemed slow-going for the class, but the approaching date is quickly becoming real.

“The hardest part of putting this whole thing together was when donations were coming in slowly at the very beginning,” senior Graphic Design major Katie Kizka said. “None of us knew if it was really going to take off.”

The choice to support Pets for Vets and the A.N.N.A. Shelter was a group decision made by the class. “With Veteran’s Day happening right around our time-frame and our collective love for animals, we wanted to create a charity event that would raise money for both the Pets for Vets Organization and the A.N.N.A Shelter,” Mellish said. “The entirety of the class has continually been involved in raising awareness and using our individual talents and connections to plan and market this large scale fundraiser.”

Kizka has enjoyed working with the shelter to promote their cause. “I think the best part of the experience has been going to the A.N.N.A. Shelter to take pictures of the animals and seeing how much the people there care about the animals and the whole organization,” Kizka said.

While Bourbon Barrel is a popular downtown hangout for students, Wags for Warriors will be an entirely new experience with a wide variety of entertainment.

“This is not going to be your typical night out downtown. There will be a variety of food, drink specials, a DJ, live entertainment, a photo booth, incredible prizes and of course, dogs,” Mellish said. “The event itself is going to be a fun experience, that I think everyone will really enjoy.”

The class is excited for the impact that the fundraiser will have on the community and credits them for the support they have shown during the entire process.

“This is a wonderful representation of how people can collectively make a difference for the community. Everyone has been extremely gracious and we would not be able to have the event without these groups, especially the faculty and staff from Mercyhurst,” Mellish said.