The event will occur in three time slots of 8-10 a.m., 10-noon and noon-2 p.m., and tickets cost $20. Proceeds from this event will be donated to the Marquette Women’s Center in support of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“On the day of, (participants) start their ‘crawl’ at the start of their time slot at the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum, where PRSSA and other volunteers have a booth,” said Emma Schmidt, team lead for PRSSA’s traditional media team. “At the booth, participants pick up their ‘passport’, which is essentially the punch card we use. They bring the card to each coffee shop they visit and get a punch.

“Once participants visit the booth and get their punch card, they’re ready to go! On the passport, we lay out a “best route” for participants to walk from shop to shop, but participants are more than welcome to walk in any order they wish! It’s a fun walk with good drinks!”

Many area businesses will be participating in the Coffee Crawl this year, including 231 West Patisserie, Blossom Bird Bubble Tea, Cruisin’ Coffee, Dead River Coffee Roasters, Donckers, Peace Pie, Provisions MQT, Trenary Toast Cafe, Velodrome Coffee Company, Babycakes, Contrast Coffee and Iron Bay Restaurant & Drinkery.

Pictured are participants and event organizers at past Coffee Crawl events. (Photos courtesy of Northern Michigan University’s chapter of PRSSA)

“We are beyond excited to host the Coffee Crawl again this year,” said PRSSA President Brooke Kluz. “The Coffee Crawl has become a well-loved event for the community to support an important cause while enjoying some of the best coffee Marquette has to offer. This event is fully organized and executed by NMU PRSSA students, and I am incredibly proud to be leading such an amazing group that has developed the Coffee Crawl into an event that brings the community together every year.”

Organizing the annual Coffee Crawl is one way that PRSSA students prepare for futures in their field. Public Relations Student Society of America is a pre-professional student organization for students interested in professional development and public relations. NMU’s chapter of PRSSA is responsible for all of the planning and coordinating of the Marquette Coffee Crawl.

“The Coffee Crawl helps prepare PRSSA students for their future careers by giving them the chance to work on a real-world event, which is something we don’t always get the chance to do while in the classroom,” said Schmidt. “The Coffee Crawl is entirely student-run, so we get to really dive in and get into the nitty gritty of how to plan and execute the event.

“We start by splitting our club into teams: traditional media team, social media team, logistics team, and the monetary team, and for each team, there is a team leader … This way, everyone gets the chance to participate on the team that best aligns with their career goals, and everyone has the chance to participate as much or as little as their schedule allows.”

Donating proceeds to the Women’s Center creates ev

en more incentive for PRSSA students to create a successful event, as well as even more incentive for community members to participate.

“Last year, we raised over $8,000 for the women’s center,” said Schmidt. “The Coffee Crawl is the Women’s Center’s largest third-party fundraiser! This year, we’re hoping to raise even more money for them. Just $250 can house and feed a family in need at the Women’s Center’s Harbor House.”

Tickets are available online at nmu.universitytickets.com, and can be purchased up to the day of the event. The first 100 participants to buy a ticket will receive a free t-shirt, and t-shirts will also be available for purchase at the event.

Annie Lippert can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 550. Her email address is alippert@miningjournal.net.