Despite temperature approaching 70°, more than 100 Union College students stayed indoors on Saturday to play Monopoly for charity.
More than $12,000 was raised for Family and Child Services of Schenectady as students battled wits at the Second Annual Capital Region Monopoly Tournament, held inside the Reamer Campus Center.
“Traditional fundraising methods are failing,” said Maria Sunukjian, executive director of Family and Child Services, a community service group. “We wanted to come up with something more creative.”
Parker Brothers, the company that makes the board game, donated about 40 game boards for the contest. An anonymous graduate of the school who works with the Family and Child Services donated the top prize: plane tickets to anywhere in the continental United states.
College of Saint Rose senior Lauren Wheeler, who won last year's title, returned to defend her title. She parlayed her Monopoly skills into a trip to Florida after last year's conquest and hoped to go to California this year.
“I buy everything!” she laughed, explaining her game strategy.
To speed the game up, the tournament was divided into two rounds, lasting 90 and 75 minutes, with one person from each round advancing to the final table.
The top five money winners at the end of the second round earned prizes, including ticket packages to local sporting events and four round-trip rail tickets to New York City. The event was organized by the Sigma Phi and Delta Epsilon fraternities.