Sophomore Greyson Winder had one word for the soccer team’s summer fundraiser: silly.
“I’m kind of happy because it’s just something really silly,” he said.
Winder was one of nearly 20 players who spent the last two weeks putting a decorated “Traveling Toilet” into the yards of residents and businesses.
Karen Koehn, a parent on the soccer committee, suggested the idea after seeing it online.
“We were just kind of out of ideas,” she said.
Koehn said those who were toileted had different payment options if they wanted it gone or wanted to send it to a friend’s house.
“It’s $10 to get the toilet removed from the yard or it’s $20 to get it removed and relocate it to the next address,” Koehn said.
There was also a $30 option to guarantee the toilet won’t come back. Those toileted could also pay an extra $5 to find out who sent them the toilet.
“When you scan the QR code on the outside of the toilet, it’s saying, ‘Hey, thanks for supporting the Eudora High School soccer team,” she said. “Then it was a cash or Venmo, and they would just select and fill out the form.”
The team has raised around $2,000 since the fundraiser started July 7. Winder said he was surprised at how successful it’s been.
“I wasn’t actually expecting it to work as well as it did,” he said.
Brie Winder said the parent committee was hesitant about the idea at first.
“It’s so outside of the box and not something that’s been done before. We just weren’t really sure how it was gonna be received by the community,” she said.
She said the community’s feedback has been positive.
“It’s gone beautifully. Way better than anticipated,” she said. “Just the support that the community members and the business members have shown to the team.”
The toilet has visited about 90 locations, including Barbwire Barbecue and Kaw Valley State Bank. Grant High, the bank’s customer service coordinator, said the fundraiser was funny.
High said the bank donated because it’s important to support the community.
“This is Eudora’s community bank. When there’s a community event, we like to give back,” he said.
Koehn said the funds will be used to buy the team’s meals, shirts and tournament fees. She said she is thankful for all of the community support.
“The Eudora community as an entire whole really came on to this new idea. This weird, tacky toilet idea,” she said. “It was a lot of fun for the boys and for the team just having so much support in our small town.”
The fundraiser ends Friday, but Winder said he’s excited to do something similar next year.
“If we could do it next year, maybe the year after that, it should be even better,” he said. “We’re probably gonna do something even sillier next summer. Who knows?”
Reach reporter Ryn Drummond at [email protected]
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