When former men’s rugby president Edwin Morales was diagnosed with kidney cancer last winter, the team knew they wanted to help. Last month, they raised over $650 for the Kidney Cancer Association through Sobelman’s “Give Back Tuesday.”
Nearly every Tuesday for four years, Sobelman’s has given $1 to a cause for every sandwich and burger sold. Any Marquette organization can participate in the events.
“We wanted to do something for Edwin in some way, shape or form,” men’s rugby Vice President Collin Garrity said. “We heard that Sobelman’s is really big on having clubs coming in and doing a fundraiser with them.”
Morales successfully battled a cancerous tumor in 2014 before graduating from Marquette in fall 2016. After he was diagnosed again, Morales went home to California, where he is currently undergoing treatment.
The rugby team came to the fundraiser together after practice, pushing tables together to fit everyone. Garrity said their expectations were blown away.
“(Sobelman’s) did a great job, and they worked with us to make sure that we had everything we needed,” he said. “It was nice to have the Marquette community come together. Even if (customers) didn’t know when they got there, they found out and they were all about it. It was really great for Marquette in general to come in and help out.”
Sobelman’s has worked with a variety of campus organizations, from Mardi Gras to the ComMUnity Physical Therapy Clinic.
Another group, Women and Youth Supporting Each Other, participates in “Give Back Tuesday” twice a year. The organization offers resources and mentoring to middle school girls in the Milwaukee area.
“Tuesdays are the best Sobelman’s day because you get to give back and eat burgers,” said Federica Quattrone, WYSE financial director and junior in the College of Business Administration. “We get the dollar for doing nothing really. We put absolutely no money into this — that’s the most amazing thing. All we did was gain $600 for sitting at Sobelman’s for hours.”
WYSE visits the Barack Obama School of Career & Technical Education every Friday. There the mentors discuss topics such as racism, sexual education and positive body image. The organization puts the money they raise towards field trips, snacks, t-shirts and an end-of-the-year banquet for their mentees.
“We get to go and treat [the girls] with an extra $600 that we didn’t think we’d have,” Quattrone said. “We get to buy a snack that maybe they’ll like a little more. Or we get to buy a shirt that they get to decide on. We go to do things that they want, and that’s the best part of it.”
Owners Dave and Melanie Sobelman have run fundraisers at their other locations for over a decade now, but they began at Marquette due to student involvement.
“The kids started one by one coming in and asking about fundraisers. My daughter and son-in-law have been doing fundraisers ever since they opened up their other locations. At this location, they became Marquette fundraisers. The kids were involved in so many things,” Melanie’s mother, Lynda, said.
“(The fundraisers) mean a lot to me, and they mean a lot to these kids,” Lynda said. “We’ll always do them as long as this place stays in operation.”
Marquette MARDI GRAS • Oct 23, 2017 at 7:52 pm
Sobelman’s at Marquette has always been an amazing supporter for our organization, Marquette MARDI GRAS. For numerous Tuesdays throughout the school year over the past several years, Sobelman’s at Marquette has helped us raise hundreds of dollars. Being Marquette’s largest student ran organization, MARDI GRAS heavily relies on fundraising to support our mission. It is safe to say that without generous and socially aware businesses, like Sobelman’s at Marquette, Marquette MARDI GRAS would not be where it is today. Thank you Lynda and Sobelman’s family!
-Marquette MARDI GRAS