The third annual “Battle of the Cents-es” is under way at North Dakota State University. The fundraising competition, which pits the College of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences Ambassadors against the College of Engineering and Architecture Ambassadors, began Feb. 11 and will go until Feb. 15.

Each day, the student groups will collect donations in the Memorial Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In the previous competitions, each organization chose a charity for which their funds would be donated. This year, both groups will contribute the money raised to the fundraising campaign for NDSU student Hannah Linz, who is a senior guard for the Bison women’s basketball team. Linz experienced a recurrence of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and has begun treatment for the cancer.

In the competition, all change counts positively towards the group’s total. Paper bills are subtracted from the group’s competition total. All donations are welcome.

“The Battle of the Cents-es is a great way to introduce friendly competition between two amazing colleges and help out a community cause,” said Victoria Hammond, a second-year professional pharmacy student from Foley, Minn., and president of the Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences Ambassadors. “The event assists the students of both of our colleges to interact and build relationships with students we usually do not see while raising money. We hope everyone on the campus can join in on the fun banter and fundraising at our table in the Union.”

"This is a great opportunity for both of our organizations to get know one another while creating some healthy competition. Each team has won once, so this year will be the tiebreaker,” said Kassandra Almen, a senior majoring in electrical engineering from Little Falls, Minn., who is president of the Engineering and Architecture Ambassadors. “No matter who wins the competition, we are happy we were able to support Hannah in her fight against cancer.”

Last year, the Engineering and Architecture Ambassadors raised $755.11 that went to 116 faculty and staff members at Minot State University who were directly impacted by the Minot area flood. The Pharmacy, Nursing, and Allied Sciences Ambassadors raised $695.95 for Cully’s Kids.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.