On Saturday Jan. 27, the Red Wings defeated the Las Vegas Knights in a 5-2. However, the Red Wings were not the only ones feeling accomplished after the game, because Eastern Michigan University raised more than $1,600 as part of its TRUEMU Night collaboration.
Five dollars from each of the 324 tickets sold to EMU students and faculty were donated to the university's Student Emergency Fund in addition to participants receiving custom green and white, Red Wing-EMU hockey jerseys.
Matt Mortier, director of alumni, donor, and volunteer engagement at EMU, said he believes more tickets would have been sold had the game not been sold out.
"Each year the various emergency funds receive anywhere from $10,000 to $40,000 depending on various initiatives and projects," Mortier said.
Read More: Detroit Red Wings host TRUEMU Night fundraiser.
Various engagement opportunities are focused on helping students overcome financial stress and make their stay at EMU an enjoyable experience. More TRUEMU Nights and other events are in the works to promote engagement with the university and major sports teams.
"We will begin a larger push to promote the EMU Night at the Pistons over the next few weeks. It's hard to predict how many EMU supporters will be interested in attending the game on March 7. The Pistons are having a difficult season, but we know the game experience at Little Caesar's Arena will be a great time as always," Mortier said.
Mortier also mentioned that these collaborations and events are not just restricted to sports.
"Countless businesses and organizations support various programs and initiatives across campus at many different levels. These fun engagement partnerships with the Red Wings, Pistons, and Tigers are not built as fundraising initiatives. They are engagement events and the organization chooses to give back as part of their ticket package," Mortier said.
The Detroit Pistons will host a similar event to the TRUEEMU Night on Thursday, March 7, at 7 p.m. For this upcoming event students and faculty that buy a ticket through EMU will receive a EMU and Detroit Piston crewneck sweatshirt. For those looking for more information or interested in buying a ticket visit this website.
