On Feb. 17, WJ students filled the auditorium and strutted the stage for a good cause.  WJ Bachelor’s, an annual event where male students are “auctioned off” to go on dates with lucky bidders, exceeded expectations and raised $3028.  The money is being donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as part of the Pennies 4 Patients fundraising event.

Senior and Leadership class member Ashleigh Wager helped plan the event, and was very pleased with the amount of money raised.

“[Bachelors was] very successful because in the past they raised they raised around $1500 and then last year it was almost $2000.  We wanted to focus on what date everyone was going on because we knew that would bring in more money, but we weren’t expecting $3000,” she said.

Senior Jackson Miller was a bachelor for the second year in row, and is taking his date and a friend to a Washington Capitals game.

“[My favorite moment] was easily rollerblading on stage around [host] Dillon Jobes while dumping cool ranch Doritos on my head.  That’s a first for me,” Miller said.

This year’s event did prove to have many “firsts”.  Memorable moments included SGA vice president senior Siavash Ebrahimi rolling on stage on a “hover board” dressed as Aladdin, the first ever “double date” with sophomore Cole Bagshaw and freshman Hank Roll and several pants ripped off.

Wager and her leadership team found success for the event by focusing on the dates themselves.

“One thing that was hard was that our main goal was to provide as many dates as we could for the bachelors so they didn’t have to pay for it themselves.  But a lot of companies and businesses we reached out to were hesitant or just didn’t respond,” Wager said.

Audience member senior Lee Kirshemboim thought the event was very fun.

“[It] probably takes lots of courage to embarrass yourself on stage, but it was definitely worth it for our entertainment,” she said.

All in all, Bachelors exceeded expectations and helped bring WJ closer to the $50,000 donation goal.