Paying the potty: Relay for Life fundraiser kicks off

Mayor Paul Finley and his wife, Julie, discover the purple potty placed in their yard for Relay for Life.

Starting this week, you may awake with a purple toilet in your front yard.

Relay for Life Survivors Reception Committee has come up with Purple Potty for a Purpose, a quirky fundraiser to help with planning expenses for Relay for Life to take place April 29 at Madison City School’s Stadium.

The fundraiser works by placing a purple toilet in yards around Madison. The lucky homeowner then has to fork over $20 to have it removed. The fun part is that person then gets to choose whose yard the purple toilet will go in next. Residents can also pay to not have the toilet placed in their yards.

“This type of fundraising is ideally suited for a community like ours, where people know and care about their neighbors, are in tune to community events like Relay and love to have fun while doing good,” said Chairman of the Survivor Reception Debbie Overcash.

Participants can even “track” the potty’s location on Facebook via Relay-Madison, Al.

The fundraiser kicked off Friday, March 25 in the yard of Mayor Paul Finley.

Finley said the fundraiser has full support from the city.

“Cancer has touched everyone’s life in some way,” he said. “This is a great way for folks to raise money for a great cause.”

Finley gave his donation to the charity and plans to place the toilet in the yard of his executive assistant, Taylor Edge, who lives in his neighborhood.

“We hope that the Purple Potty is welcomed with the same enthusiasm that it is offered and travels throughout Madison daily,” Overcash said.

For more information or to donate, contact Debbie Overcash at 256-772-0307.

“We encourage everybody in Madison to partake in this activity or in any level in support of Relay for Life,” she said.