By J1 Reporter Maggie Tynan

Giveback nights have been a Marian Walk-A-Thon tradition for many years. “Givebacks are a good way to get girls involved if they cannot bring cash or give money through online donations. It is also a good way for families to get involved,” sophomore Class Officer Ellie Brabec said.

 Marian students organize restaurant give back nights each year during Walk-A-Thon to raise money for tuition assistance. They organize these events by calling individual restaurants and asking to speak to a manager about it, or by checking the restaurant website for information about donations or givebacks. 

The class officers work collectively to make these happen. This year the junior class had two different nights at all Omaha Arby’s locations. Having connections to a senior last year really helped them out. “Cali D’Agosto [Class of 2022]’s family owns all the Arbys in Omaha so I reached out to her and her younger brother Tony and they responded with two dates quickly,” junior class officer Margaret McGill said. Arby’s raised the most money for the junior class out of all of their givebacks making around $300. 

TCBY was a whole school giveback on Aug 30. Student Board co-moderator Ms. Jessica Abel set up this giveback and a lot of Marian girls attended. Even though TCBY was donating to each grade, the grades were still competing at the checkout counter. They did this by putting their receipt in the respective grade cup.  

Some may argue that giveback nights are not helpful to achieving a class goal, but others disagree. McGill said, “I think givebacks are helpful. Most money comes from students bringing the money in, but it is a good way to get money from the class as a whole and they are really fun.” These nights may not be the most profitable of all ways to donate, but it may come down to a penny in the end, so every donation counts. 

“I went to the givebacks because I like the restaurants they picked and because I think it’s important to help out in any way possible,” senior Brielle Abboud said.

“It’s always really good to go support the other classes, but if you can’t get to them all, don’t sweat it because there are so many,” McGill said. If all the girls have the same goal of winning and bringing in a lot of money, then the give backs will be well supported and make a difference.