Fund Raising
Since our inception in 1978, the primary mission of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chapter has been to provide financial aid in the form of scholarships to area students attending Penn State. To date our chapter has awarded well over $150,000.00 in scholarship monies to both incoming freshmen as well as upperclassmen already enrolled at Penn State.
Our local fundraising efforts provide the funds necessary to award annual scholarships to incoming freshmen, while our Endowment fund at Penn State provides the funding for upperclassmen scholarships.
Our long-term fundraising goals are to continue providing funds for our incoming freshmen scholarships and to annually increase the amount of our Endowment fund with the university.
Our chapter Endowment fund has been increased by more than $10,000.00 in the last 3 years and with the implementation of our new 3 year fiscal plan, we have insured ourselves the ability to award four Endowed Scholarships every year from this point forward. All of our chapter members and supporters as well as the many area business partners associated with our fundraising efforts have contributed to this success.
Listed below are just some of the many fundraising efforts the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chapter is involved in. If you would like any further information about any or all of our fundraising events, please contact chapter Vice President Jared Kohl at jaredfkohl@hotmail.com.
Annual Pig Roast – This year marks the 40th anniversary of our signature fundraising event, the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chapter Pig Roast. Each year, hundreds of chapter members, alumni and supporters flock to the American Legion in New Berlin on the 4th Sunday in August. This is also the stage for which our annual scholarship recipients are presented with their awards. The annual pig roast features the entire Nittany Lion Cheerleading squad and the most recognized mascot in the world, our beloved Nittany Lion. As part of the day’s festivities, several prize raffles are held, including the drawing for the winners in our annual football ticket raffle. The last raffle of the day is our autographed memorabilia raffle and has included autographed items from James Franklin, Various football players, both the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams, a signed megaphone from the cheerleaders, a Brad Shoemaker print and many other Penn State memorabilia items. If you have never attended one of our pig roasts, we encourage you to come out and join us for an incredible day filled with Penn State Pride. For more information on the annual pig roast, check our annual pig roast page.
Souvenir Program Booklet – In conjunction with our annual pig roast and scholarship awards presentation, the chapter hands out a souvenir program booklet to everyone in attendance. This booklet highlights our annual scholarship recipients and contains lots of information pertinent to the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chapter and Penn State in general. Many area businesses support the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chapter with advertisements in the program booklet and individual supporters take out patron ads. If your business would like to support our fundraising efforts with a tax-deductible ad in our program booklet, please download our program booklet ad letter, fill out the required information and mail it to the address on the letter. If you would like to support our fundraising efforts with a tax-deductible patron ad in our program booklet, please download our patron ad letter, fill out the required information and mail it to the address on the letter. The Greater Susquehanna Valley Chapter thanks you in advance for your continued support of our fundraising efforts.
Football Raffle Tickets – Each year, the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chapter sells raffle tickets for the chance to win Penn State Football tickets. The drawing for the annual football ticket raffle is held each year at our annual pig roast. The grand prize is a pair of season tickets for the upcoming season, or $500.00 cash. Other prizes on the raffle tickets are single game tickets for each home game throughout the upcoming season, or $70.00 cash. Our chapter will be out and about selling raffle tickets at area businesses throughout the spring and summer. If you would like to sell raffle tickets to help our chapter fundraising efforts, please contact Football Raffle Ticket Chair Bob Barnasconi at (570) 286-2272. If you are interested in volunteering a couple hours of your time to help the chapter sell tickets at area businesses, please contact chairperson Jane Barnasconi at (570) 286-2272 the weekends we are selling tickets, locations and times available.
Annual Wine Tasting Event – 2020 marks the 14th annual chapter Wine Tasting event, held at the Shade Mountain Winery in Middleburg. Chapter members and their guests as well as the general public are welcome to come out and enjoy an afternoon of wine tasting, Penn State fellowship and scholarship support. Shade Mountain Winery graciously donates 30% of all sales from the wine tasting event to our chapter scholarship fund, making this another successful fundraising event. For more info on our annual Wine Tasting event, please contact chairman Jared Kohl at jaredfkohl@hotmail.com.
Other Fundraising Events – Throughout the years, the Greater Susquehanna Valley Chapter has participated in many fundraising efforts. Some of our recent events have been a Penn State Creamery ice cream sale, basket bingo, a Premiere Jewelry party, chapter clothing sale, Longaberger Basket raffle and numerous other events. We are always open to new suggestions for fundraising events. If you have an idea for a fundraising event, would like to get involved in one of the events listed on this page, or would like information about any events listed here, please email chapter President Curt Rothermel at rocktown91@yahoo.com.