Alumni charity challenge issued by Notre Dame Club of Blue Ridge

ROANOKE, Va. – As the Hokies and Fighting Irish get closer to kickoff, the Notre Dame Club of the Blue Ridge is preparing for the same.

The group has planned a number of events leading up to Saturday night and an initiative to give back to the community.

There will be a pep rally starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Roanoke Catholic School that will feature guest speakers and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders. Admission is free with donations to Roanoke Catholic being accepted. 

The club will be hosting alumni family and friends from as far away as Indianapolis and Chicago.

Aside from the game on the field, the club is also having an alumni charity challenge to see which school can help raise the most money for Feeding America Southwest Virginia.

"We've been meeting biweekly, weekly for the last 10 weeks I think, trying to get ready for the weekend. Between the big pep rally up at Catholic high tomorrow night, big tailgate party at Tech. We're a small group of people in a large area," said treasurer Kevin Deane.

"We're just thrilled to be chosen as a recipient for this great initiative," said Anna Goltz, who serves as the annual fund and corporate relations officer for Feeding America Southwest Virginia.

"Both Notre Dame and our hometown school have really deep cultures of service and to have that service be something that the Notre Dame Club and fan base brings with them when visiting a local community is just phenomenal and I know that our hometown is going to be great full and rise to the challenge as well," Goltz said.

This is the first time Feeding America Southwest Virginia will use the text-to-donate platform. Notre Dame fans are encouraged to text "ND1989" to the number 91999. 

Virginia Tech fans can text "HT2018" to 91999. All of the donations will stay here in the area and benefit Feeding America Southwest Virginia.