“Iowa Nice” meets the state’s love of beer as downtown Iowa City prepares for a philanthropy-forward bar crawl.
Two Iowa City bar crawls, organized by OneBuzz and LineLeap, are donating money made from t-shirt sales for the crawls to two different charity organizations.
The organizations will donate the money to The SAFE Bar Network and the Henry Schueler 41 & 9 Foundation from t-shirt sales.
LineLeaps “Summer Send-Off Crawl” and OneBuzz’s first-ever “Unofficial Bar Crawl” are both scheduled for April 27. OneBuzz and LineLeap are separate organizations but highly involved in student culture across the U.S., including with University of Iowa students.
OneBuzz founder Josh Cohen said one of the primary motives behind their first-ever bar crawl is the Henry Schueler 41 & 9 Foundation, which supports the wishes of Henry Schueler, who died in 2007 from a rare diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cohen said $1 from each “Unofficial Bar Crawl” t-shirt sold will go toward this foundation.
LineLeap co-founder Maxwell Schauff said despite the company’s success in organizing large-scale bar crawls at various college campuses, LineLeap’s primary focus remains on its mobile services.
“We always joke that we’re not a bar crawl company, we just happen to throw the world’s largest bar crawls,” Schauffsaid.
The company’s mobile app exists at over 100 university campuses, including the UI.
Schauff said LineLeap bar crawls produce an energetic, game-day-inspired ambiance. This lively atmosphere also fosters important relationships with local bars, Schauff said.
He said LineLeap actively partners with a range of nonprofit organizations, tailoring its collaborations to align with the specific needs and interests of each university campus.
For instance, Schauff said in the past, LineLeap has partnered with Penn State University’s Dance Marathon organization tailored toward their student body.
Nick Paulus, a UI third-year student, said in his experience with bar crawls, LineLeap crawls have stood out as particularly exciting.
“It’s pretty cool to see how many people show up, just packed and alive in the middle of the day,” Paulus said.
Paulus said with any LineLeap bar crawl, given their high attendance, chaos is inevitable.
“When you see fights, especially at the end of the night, when people have been out drinking all day, there’s bound to be a few fights here and there,” Paulus said.
At the UI, Schauff mentioned that LineLeap is actively involved with the SAFE Bar Network. This network is dedicated to promoting safety for individuals participating in bar culture by fostering a sense of security and responsibility among participating establishments, and with bar staff in particular.
“It’s nice to be a part of that in the nightlife industry,” Schauff stated.
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OneBuzz had like-minded ideas for their “Unofficial Bar Crawl,” donating $1 per shirt toward an organization pertinent to their organization’s beginnings.
Cohen, one of the three OneBuzz founders, said their media venture began through persistent trial and error. While they had initially explored t-shirt sales, they ultimately shifted their focus toward social media sites such as Instagram.
OneBuzz’s partnership with the 41 & 9 Foundation aims to improve and advance research technology surrounding pediatric leukemia, as well as support those suffering from rare forms of leukemia.
Their objective was to captivate UI students by selecting and sharing school-related content, reposting it, and growing a substantial following.
Abby Wisniewski, a bartender at the Iowa City bar Roxxy, said she’s had a positive experience working at most of the bar crawls in Iowa City.
“I love working them, I think it’s a great opportunity for service industry workers and brings great opportunities for the bar,” Wisniewski said.