On Monday, October 3, Bowdoin students and community members filed in and out of The Gelato Fiasco with two goals: to get a scoop (or two, or three) of the shop’s award-winning gelato, and to make a difference on National Child Health Day.
From 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., when a Bowdoin community member presented the event’s flier, Gelato Fiasco donated 75% of the sale’s profits directly to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. This event is a part of a larger fundraising effort conducted by the annual Bowdoin Dance Marathon team, which will spend the academic year raising money for and awareness about the Hospital, based in Portland, Maine.
While it was an all-day fundraiser, the shop became even more crowded during the hours of 6 to 8 p.m., when Executive Director of Security Randy Nichols made his appearance as the event’s “Celebrity Scooper.”
“I’ve had the privilege of being a Celebrity Scooper for seven years, an I love helping out with the causes,” Nichols said. “Tonight, helping out for the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital is amazing.”
For many attending students, the promise of supporting the Hospital is what propelled them out of their dorms on a chilly Monday evening.
“Once we found out that [the event] was for charity, it was no question,” said Reed Warburton ’23. “We were there.”
“We’re missing study groups and dates to be here right now,” added Caleb Adams-Hull ’23.
However altruistic his actions were on the night of the event, Nichols confessed that he usually has his own agenda when he gets behind the gelato counter.
“I don’t let [Gelato Fiasco] know, but I usually give the students a little bit more gelato than you’re supposed to,” Nichols said. “That’s one of the benefits of having a Celebrity Scooper: students can get a Barbara Bush bonus.”
To keep yourself up to date on the Bowdoin Dance Marathon’s plans for the semester and the year, check out their Instagram and stay hungry for more information!