Fundreds still going strong
The Fundred Dollar Bill Project is still going strong, as both St. Edward’s University and the Austin communities come together to raise more money for the project’s mission.
The Fundred Dollar Bill Project asks participants to create their own artistic representations of the U.S. $100 bills. The project provides templates for the bills, on which participants draw their own artistic expressions by hand.
Each participant is allowed to submit one bill. The Fundred dollar bills are then mailed or given to a local collection site until the Fundred armored truck, which runs on waste vegetable oil, picks up the bills.
The program raises money for neutralizing contaminated soil in New Orleans. The project’s founder, Mel Chin, came to the university to speak on behalf of the Fundred Dollar Bill Project.
Chin, a renowned artist who was featured on the PBS series “ART21: Art of the Twenty-first Century,” created the Fundred Dollar Bill Project after visiting New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2006.
At his address, Chin was hopeful, but realistic, about the fact that the project still has a ways to go.
“Chin has been talking to every member of [the United States] Congress, one at a time—both democrats and republicans—to try to get the funding for the PayDirt project in New Orleans,” said Hollis Hammonds, assistant professor of art and Fundreds coordinator.
The project supports Operation Paydirt, an organization that specifically targets the cleaning of New Orleans soil, as it is one of the most lead-contaminated cities in the United States.
“[Project Paydirt] offers a scientifically-proven method to neutralize hazardous lead that contaminates soil and compromises the health of children,” according to the Operation Paydirt Web site.
The Fundred Dollar Bill Project is supporting Operation Paydirt by collecting 3 million Fundred bills that will ultimately be delivered to the U.S. Congress. Project leaders will request an even exchange of the 3 million Fundreds to obtain authentic funding of $3 million for Operation Paydirt.
Chin said he is speaking with the Smithsonian and hopes that all of the Fundreds will become part of the museum’s collection. He also stressed that the Fundreds project is really a project for all people, not just the art world.
The project had its first major push last month at St. Edward’s. On March 8, the Fine Arts department held a Fundred pick-up event where students and members of the Austin community were invited to enjoy music and baked goods. The bake sale at the event offered sweets in exchange for creative Fundreds cash only; no actual currency was accepted.
“Our Fundred event went really well,” Hammonds said. “We turned in 3,000 Fundreds.”
Hammonds added that the project is still going strong after the initial Fundreds pick-up.
“We just distributed about 2,000 Fundreds at our recent Art and Community conference this [past] weekend to faculty and students at other universities in Texas who wanted to get involved,” Hammonds said.
The Fundreds are scheduled to be delivered to Congress near the end of spring this year, and although the armored truck has already picked up the bills from St. Edward’s, the Fine Arts department will continue collecting Fundreds through the spring semester.
There might be other Austin pick-up events in the future, though none are officially scheduled yet.
“There will definitely be more Fundred events on campus in the future,” Hammonds said. “If possible, we may do another bake sale before the semester ends, but if not, we will definitely have more events in the fall. We still need two million more Fundreds before they can be turned in to Congress, so the project doesn’t really end until at least three million Fundreds are drawn and collected.”
Junior Nicole Ryder has been coordinating with other Texas schools and sites around Austin in order to get them involved in the project.
“The project has been moving on steadily since the first pick-up,” Ryder said. “Faculty and students around Texas are still participating. Also, there are sites around Austin who have templates and drop boxes for those who would like to contribute, including Amy’s Ice Creams and Garden District [Coffehouse] on South Congress. “
Ryder added that, in addition to allowing drop boxes to be set up, Garden District Coffeehouse also donated vegetable oil for the Fundred armored truck to use to fuel its journey.
The St. Edward’s Fine Arts department will continue to collect Fundreds until the project ends, though the end date is still unknown.
“It is for a great cause, and we feel it is worth continuing our support of it,” Hammonds said. “We can really make a statement, make a difference. That is the main message at the heart of Fundreds, and St. Edward’s will continue to support the project until it is completed.”
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