KINGSTON, R.I.– July 2, 2013— Aided by wonderful weather and a corps of volunteers, the University of Rhode Island collected thousands of pounds of food and clothing for local charities while raising a record amount at the 10th annual Rhody the Ram Yard Sale held last month. Funds raised at the yard sale go to the Rhody the Ram Endowment.

The event raised $3,371 to help provide scholarships for students who don the Rhody the Ram mascot costume and engage the public when they attend sports, alumni, University and community events.

“The mascot is very important. Rhody is the face of the University,” said Gerri Beagle, human resources manager of the URI Foundation and founder/coordinator of the yard sale.

Recipients of Rhody the Ram Endowment scholarships must be at least sophomores in good academic standing. The scholarship program helps recruit prospective mascots, retain current ones and reward them for their hard work.

The Rhody the Ram endowment has a current market value of about $52,000, with annual earnings awarded to those lucky Rhody the Ram students.

The student ambassadors weren’t the only beneficiaries of the generosity of student, faculty and staff. Peace Dale’s Jonnycake Center received more than 1,805 pounds of clothing and 780 pounds of food. When the event ended, the University donated all unsold items to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Rhode Island.

“It was a wonderful event with people coming from Massachusetts and Connecticut, stating they wouldn’t miss this sale. There were thousands of people coming through in a steady stream all day long” said Beagle.

The success was made possible by the help of 30 volunteers from faculty and staff to students and community members.

Items were stored at the Boss Arena for six weeks before getting hauled to the parking lot and set up for the sale, no easy task considering the massive amount of donations.