June 7, 2022
SVSU’s Student Association invites regional nonprofits to apply for support
For the 20th year, Saginaw Valley State University students will raise funds for a regional nonprofit organization.
The SVSU Student Association is now accepting applications for the 2022 Battle of the Valleys (BOV) charitable partner. BOV is one of SVSU’s longest standing and most meaningful traditions. Applications can be submitted here: SVSU Charitable Partner Application. The application deadline is June 11.
Madison Pignatelli, an education major from Saginaw and BOV co-chair, said the school is looking for an organization that will be an active partner.
“We are looking for an organization that is willing to send volunteers to be involved in our events on campus,” she said. “We believe that to have a great connection with the organization both parties [have to be] involved and connect with each other.”
Battle of the Valleys began in 2003 as a way to capitalize on the friendly rivalry between SVSU and Grand Valley State University. Since then, SVSU has donated $506,296 to different nonprofits in the Great Lakes Bay Region. The two schools combined have raised $736,879. SVSU has won the fundraising competition 14 out of 17 years, with GVSU taking a break from battling in 2019 and 2020. They returned to the battle in 2021 and continue to participate this year.
The BOV fundraising efforts have included a 5K color run and “Pie a Professor.” The fundraiser ends with the SVSU vs. GVSU football game. A check will be presented to the charitable partner during the game.
Chase Valuet, a pre-accounting major from Warren and Battle co-chair, said BOV gives students a way to give back.
“I believe BOV is important because it provides all SVSU students with an easy way to give back to the community that we are spending a decent chunk of our early adulthood in,” he said. “While most of us aren't from this area, it's where we chose to start our adult lives, so in my eyes it has some form of connection to us.”
In 2021, SVSU raised $41,765.58 for the Children’s Grief Center which provides support and a healing environment for children, teens, and their families going through a loss. The fundraiser also helped the center meet a matching grant from the Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation.
Valuet hopes they can raise even more this year.
“I'm always one for dreaming big, I hope this year we can raise the most money for the chosen beneficiary that SVSU has in the history of BOV,” he said.
Valuet thinks the organization chosen should have an impact on the Tri City area.
“An ideal beneficiary to me would be an organization that provides a much-needed service to the community,” he said. “Not exactly one-of-a-kind, but something that helps the community run at a much higher level than it would without.”
Both Valuet and Pignatelli are excited to see what this year’s BOV brings.
“We hope to achieve connections with others in the community and continue the connections [with past] organizations for years to come,” Pignatelli said.