Many families enjoyed the various activities on campus during Family Weekend. One of those activites was the tie-dye event that Hippies for Hope hosted with Geneseo’s Late Knight on Saturday Sept. 26. The event featured a large assortment of tie-dye colors with a bright and colorful atmosphere to match.
As families walked in and out of the MacVittie College Union, “hippies” welcomed all and encouraged everyone to join in the fun. Two lines filled the main lobby: one of eager people tying their white shirts and the other full of laughter and dedication as people colored their fingertips and shirts in blues and oranges.
The tie-dye items made by Hippies for Hope during its regular meetings are sold with proceeds benefiting local children’s hospitals and the education of young students, though some of the shirts go to children in need. In the past, the group has helped to “further the education of girls in Tanzania, Africa” and contributed to respite centers and group homes as well. The purpose of this event was to promote the club.
“[We wanted to] get the name out there and show how much fun the club is,” Hippies for Hope president junior Michelle Lindner said. Lindner has been a part of the club for three years.
Lindner explained that the club has helped raise money for a Nicaraguan woman, providing her with the financial support needed to get her through her studies. The club has continued to help this female student in her education and is currently raising funds to help send her through college.
Geneseo’s Hippies for Hope organization was started in the early 2000s when a past student brought the idea of the club from his high school to the campus. The club has since grown and has been going strong for nearly 10 years. Moreover, it has branched out from just T-shirts to tie-dying pillowcases, socks and bandanas.
As tie-dyers finished up their shirts at the GLK event, a club member handed them small instruction slips. With each one of these slips, an enthusiastic member reminded them to “join Hippies for Hope!” Each $10 shirt sold by the club is tie-dyed by a member and the money from the merchandise always goes on to help a good cause.