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Furman students break fundraising records for HAVOC
Furman University students stepped up for the annual HAVOC fundraiser, raising more than $58,000 for various charities. From left: Emory Waite ’29, Luke Sherry ’29, Dani Wolan ’26, Meghan Bové ’26, Alexis Akers ’27, Tate Denham ’26 and Jeff McLane ’26.
Through competitions and a week of roughing it in tents on Furman University’s Milford Mall, three HAVOCers reigned supreme: Mr. Clean, the Liberty Mutual emu and the Chick-fil-A Cow. The annual student-led fundraiser, HAVOC ran from Nov. 2-8 this year and raised more than $58,000 in donations for a variety of charities.
A student-favorite tradition, HAVOC challenges 20 participants to spend a week in a themed costume, sleep in tents and pitch their cause to everyone and anyone they can to raise money for their chosen charities. It’s a student-run event organized by the Furman University Student Activities Board (FUSAB), which invited this year’s participants to dress as mascots.
Tate Denham ’26, right, takes a donation from Nick Abell ’27 during the weeklong HAVOC fundraiser.
“Not only is it completely unique to our school, but it has the ability to connect every part of campus and even the greater community,” said Cooper Pope ’26, a communication studies major from Atlanta and the FUSAB officer organizing HAVOC this year.
Dani Wolan ’26, a psychology major from Lexington, South Carolina, dressed as Liberty Mutual’s Doug, complete with a hand-puppet emu straight from the commercials. She was raising funds for the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, and received donations from students, faculty, staff and total strangers – someone she didn’t know gave her $100 for the cause.
“It’s totally surreal to see people on and off campus feel so passionate about what we’re doing,” Wolan said.
Camping on Milford Mall isn’t roughing it in the woods, but it isn’t easy, either. Temperatures dipped below freezing multiple nights. Tate Denham ’26, who’s “Ikea” costume came equipped with Allen wrenches in the tool belt, said getting up in the mornings was tough but the HAVOCers were able to spend every night together before retiring to their sleeping bags.
Every evening during HAVOC the students took on challenges and their performance, combined with how much money they’d raised, determined who would be eliminated. Wolan took third place, politics and international affairs major Alexis Akers ’27, from New Orleans in second place raising money for Prisma Children’s Hospital and accounting major Grace Gibson ’26, from Orlando, Florida, raised the most funds in support of the Costello Syndrome Family Network.