AAA sells lollipops on campus this week

AAA will continue the sale on Feb. 18-19.

By Juana Summers

Published Feb. 17, 2009

Members of the Asian American Association are selling eight flavors of lip-shaped lollipops on campus for $1 each to raise money for this semester's activities.

The sale began Monday and will continue from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 18 in Brady Commons and Feb. 19 outside of Memorial Union.

"We don't have a target goal since this is the first time we are attempting this fundraiser," said AAA External Vice President Michelle Ji, who organized the event. "If this goes well, we will try to make it an annual fundraiser because it's fun and easy to set up."

Ji said the group's aim for the money is to help fund external and internal programming, including a sponsored dodgeball tournament for members of the campus community.

It will also help to defray members' personal costs for events, such as the association's intramural teams and a planned trip to the Midwest Asian American Student Union Spring Conference.

Ji said the candy sale was her idea and stemmed from childhood fundraisers she remembered well.

"My elementary and middle school sold Lips lollipops during the week of Valentine's Day and it was very popular and generated a lot of profit," Ji said.

The group ordered the lip-shaped treats from The Goodie Factory, a company that sells various candies and cookies mainly for organizational fundraisers.

According to The Goodie's Factory's Web site, after an organization makes an order, the company ships the treats by the crate. Then that organization can set the prices and sell the items independently. On the Web site, the lollipops similar to the ones AAA is selling cost the organization about 24 cents for each pop purchased.

So far, AAA has made $50, Ji said.

Lollipop sellers competed for patronage Monday with the Girl Scouts selling cookies at the table next to them outside Memorial Union.

The organization, along with fundraising, will start the semester with a joint effort with other organizations that represent students of color.

AAA, along with Four Front, the Hispanic American Leadership Organization and the Missouri Students Association's Black Programming Committee, will put on "Black Out Hunger," a semi-formal event held from 8-11 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the Reynolds Alumni Center to bring more attention to world hunger.