Organizers Apologize for 'Dash for Cash' Teacher Fundraising Stunt at South Dakota Hockey Game

A South Dakota fundraising stunt for teachers is being called insensitive after a video of the event went viral on social media.

The "Dash for Cash" happened during intermission at a recent hockey game, where bags of dollar bills were dumped onto a mat, and 10 teachers got on all fours to grab as much as they could for their schools. They frantically stuffed cash into their clothing as the clock ticked down. 

The stunt is now being labeled as “humiliating,” “insulting” and “disrespectful” to the teaching profession.

"What other profession would be asked to fundraise this way?” one comment said.

Sioux Falls Education Association, the local teachers’ union, also weighed in, saying in a statement, “No educator should have to crawl on their hands and knees to supply proper educational tools for our students.”

“It was just really demeaning, and it felt really terrible,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation for Teachers, told Inside Edition.

Now the hockey team, Sioux Falls Stampede, and CU Mortgage Direct, the local mortgage company that put up the money, are expressing regrets.

"Although our intent was to provide a positive and fun experience for teachers, we can see how it appears to be degrading and insulting. We deeply regret and apologize to all teachers for any embarrassment this may have caused,” they said in a joint statement.

They also say they will donate an additional $15,000 to local teachers, including an extra $500 to each of the 10 who scooped up the cash.

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