The McDonald’s Peppermint for PNW campaign gave $1 for every purchase of a hot or iced peppermint beverage on Nov. 7 to PNW for the Future Leaders Scholarship.

PNW athletes and students from Purdue’s Hospitality Tourism and Management Program worked with 11 McDonald’s locations in Northwest Indiana during the campaign.

The Future Leaders Scholarship was founded by the Northwest Indiana McDonald’s Operators, an organization that developed a partnership with PNW and recognizes Northwest Indiana students who excel in college while working at a part-time or a full-time job along with volunteering in the community and participating in athletics, clubs or organizations.

The scholarship began last year in the fall of 2015, and McDonald’s Operators has donated $40,000 to PNW students through scholarships.

Jamie Manahan, PNW’s major gifts officer in the Office of Institutional Advancement, said that because of the great success of the scholarship last year, McDonald’s Operators wanted to expand this idea so more students could be able to receive this scholarship. This is how the idea for the Peppermint Mocha campaign began.

“NIMO is very generous and gives to the community, which is why they are so interested in students’ paths to success,” Manahan said.

Through this campaign, Manahan wanted students to help with the scholarship fund. PNW athletes and students from HTM quickly got involved.

Ten McDonald’s locations were assigned to each athletic team, and one location was assigned to the HTM students. Each team competed against one another to try to make it fun competition. The team that sponsored their McDonald’s location the most creatively won a trophy and a prize. The students made ads, got the word out through social media and interacted with the community.

“Students talked to people at the drive-thru or inside of their McDonald’s location, trying to get people to buy a peppermint mocha,” Brandon Swanson, development officer of the Development department, said. “The men’s and women’s tennis teams had put out a little bowl of peppermints and told customers to have a peppermint and get a peppermint mocha with their peppermint. Each team got really creative with what they were doing to raise money for this scholarship.”

McDonald’s managers from across Northwest Indiana got involved with the competition as well. Some of the managers helped students decorate, and some even wore PNW T-shirts.

“Through this scholarship fund, it says a lot about Purdue Northwest and the commitment that people have and how they have helped this university further in education and in academic success,” Swanson said. “It shows such dedication from everyone.”

Manahan and Swanson said that this event was successful, and it reflects how professional PNW students are. They hope that students will continue thriving and being successful not only in classes, but also in the community.

“You can learn everything and anything from a book,” Manahan said, “but being involved and working in the community is just as important, and you learn even more.”

Manahan and Swanson both plan to do more of these types of funds in the future for scholarships.

“We will definitely see something like this happening again,” he said.