Featuring good food and better entertainment, CARPOOL will host its second annual Crawfish Boil fundraiser, supporting their mission to provide free rides to those who have been drinking or are in need of alternative transportation.
CARPOOL has partnered with Shipwreck Grill in hosting Sunday’s Crawfish Boil. The money raised will support CARPOOL’s new facility, which will be shared with The Aggie Wranglers. The event will also have games, live entertainment and the opportunity to test drive a Ford vehicle. The boil will take place on at the new CARPOOL headquarters, the Lime Green Legacy Center, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are $15 with discounted rates for members of the military, police officers, veterans and fire fighters.
Nickolas Frisbee, plant and environmental soil science junior and director of event coordination for CARPOOL, said the main goal of the group is to give students options when it comes to transportation.
“Carpool is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization that’s entirely student run, we’re all volunteers, and we have permission to ensure that there’s no drinking and driving in Bryan-College Station city limits,” Frisbee said. “We accomplish that by providing free, safe and nonjudgmental rides to anyone regardless of your situation every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m.”
Volunteers hope events like the Crawfish Boil will help change one of CARPOOL’s biggest issues — public recognition.
“We’re always on a mission of outreach,” Frisbee said. “We love to educate people about the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning. The biggest problem we encounter is that a lot of students don’t know we exist. … We really just want to get the word out there that we are a service for students and by students.”
Joseph Lovewell, petroleum engineering senior and director of development for CARPOOL, said the highlight of the crawfish boil is the new partnership the organization has with Ford.
“We’re helping Ford and Ford is helping us,” Lovewell said. “They’re bringing cars out to our event, and for every test drive they get, we get a donation in return. Anybody who wants to come and test drive can. You don’t have to have a ticket to do so.”
Megan Gillar, economics graduate student and director of expansion for CARPOOL, said the group’s relationship with police departments from both Bryan and College is mutually beneficial.
“If we have any issues, we aren’t afraid to call the police,” Gillar said. “We especially look out for alcohol poisoning and we definitely call the EMS. The police work with us, and if they find someone who needs a ride home they’ll bring them to CARPOOL.”
Gillar, who was a part of the division of CARPOOL that created the crawfish boil event last year, said the organization provides a hands on approach to the Aggie Core Value of selfless service.
“CARPOOL is really special in that you’re directly interacting with the people that you’re helping,” Gillar said.“You’re not just donating to charity when you volunteer with CARPOOL. You’re seeing the people that you’re taking home and seeing the lives you save. We’re taking a drunk driver off the road. ”