Five guys in granny dresses, old-timey music by the National Biscuit Company, and a "mean steel bed-racing machine that's a cross between a Cadillac and a Harley"--these things do not immediately spring to mind when listing the ingredients for a successful fundraiser. But this year's bed race to benefit the 6 Bank Street Homeless Shelter in North Bennington, VT would not have been the same without them.

For those unschooled in the ways of bed races: Contestants rig up a bed frame on wheels in any way they choose (the only rule is that the finished product cannot make use of motors or animals), and then line up their creations to race. The 6 Bank Street Homeless Shelter began the annual North Bennington bed race as a fundraiser four years ago, and it has raised more money each year.

"We've had many Bennington College students help out at the shelter, whether through volunteering, work-study, or internships, but this is the first year they participated in the race," says 6 Bank Street director Kendy Skidmore. Since 1997, the shelter has served more than 120 homeless families through life skills training, budget counseling, and other programs designed to help the families get on their feet and into housing of their own.

The students' part in the event began when Becca Robinson '06, a Bennington senior and Civic Engagement Coordinator for the Community Outreach Leadership Team (COLT) , began promoting the bed race on campus. She also mentioned it to Ethan Knechel '08 and Guy Snover '06, and it snowballed from there.

"I thought, 'Well, I know how to make stuff; we should get the Sculpture Independent Projects class together to make a bed,'" says Snover. "We constructed it out of steel from the shop and a College bed frame. A few days before the race, we rolled it out to Commons at lunchtime and asked people to make donations toward the entry fee.

"On the day of the race, Ethan drove the thing, wearing this gorilla welding mask and a yellow jumpsuit, and we had Todd Weeks ['07] and Mac Young ['06] pushing on the sides, and James Payne ['06] and I pushing from the back--all of us wearing vintage granny dresses we had bought from another student for fifty cents apiece. Our toughest competition might have been the factory workers from NSK Steering Systems--they had built this thing they called the Tank. Or maybe the high school students, who had a Wizard of Oz theme going on. We were the only team that didn't have a theme--just a mean steel bed-racing machine that was a cross between a Cadillac and a Harley.

"Some of the College staff were there cheering us on, and when we crossed the finish line they high-fived us. We won every race. There were cash prizes, and we won $500 for being the fastest and another $200 for being the best dressed-but we gave it back to the shelter."

Robinson calls both the race itself and the moment when the prizes were awarded "inspiring." "Kendy Skidmore gave the money to the team, and they handed it right back to her. It was a fantastic gesture, and one that I think will resonate in the College and town communities for years to come. Including the pledge money our team raised, Bennington College gave $900 to 6 Bank Street in a single day."

In addition to the enthusiasm, the money raised, and the cheering section of staff and students, the Bennington team brought something else: music to race by. A six-man student band called the National Biscuit Company, complete with banjo, washboard, and stand-up bass, provided the soundtrack for the day. "I'm still hearing comments about how great they were and how much people enjoyed the music," says Skidmore. "It was such a cold day, and they were playing those instruments with their fingers freezing. Not to mention those guys racing with their bare legs."

For more information or to donate to the 6 Bank Street Homeless Shelter, contact director Kendy Skidmore at sixbankst@adelphia.net, or call 802-442-2424.

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