Purple potties begin to multiply

Have you ever wanted to pull a really embarrassing prank on a friend but just couldn?t get past the guilty feeling that comes from doing something silly and non-productive? But what if you could come up with a way to prank that friend and support a good cause at the same time?

Well, now you can. It?s that time of year again where you can send out the infamous Purple Potty to a hapless friend or business and raise money for cancer research in the process. This is the fourth year the Motlow College Relay for Life team has held the Purple Potty fundraiser.

It works like this: You can anonymously place a purple potty in someone?s yard or business site for a minimum donation of $20. Of course, if you?d like to donate more, Motlow?s Relay for Life team says you can certainly do so, and be assured it will all go to help fight cancer.

And the good part is you won?t have to wait in line anymore. Where once there was only one purple potty, thanks to Motlow team co-captain Paula Hennings there are now nine purple thrones in circulation. Obtaining this commodious number of, uh, commodes, came about through a rather serendipitous series of events that began with Hennings joining the Phi Theta Kappa honor society at Motlow.

?They said they needed some potties to paint purple,? Hennings said. ?So one day I happened to get behind this truck that was full of potties, so I followed them until they stopped. And, as it turned out, they were actually throwing the potties away. So I asked them if I could have some and they gave me like nine potties.?

But it wasn?t quite that easy. Turns out the potties were discards from a local government agency, so when Hennings went to pick them up, she was informed the employees couldn?t just give her the toilets due to possible liability issues, but it was suggested once the potties were thrown in the dumpster, and thus no longer under the ownership of said government, folks might not notice if someone pulled them back out.

?So they put the toilets in the dumpster,? Hennings said. ?And then I got them out of the dumpster.?

But despite their dubious provenance, the dumped commodes turned out to be just the thing.

?We took them and cleaned them and painted them and now we are using them in the Relay fundraiser and they are making money for cancer research,? Hennings said.

Normally most fundraisers end with the Relay for Life event, but Hennings says that isn?t the case with the prettified purple privies.

?It?s going to be continuous until people stop calling,? Hennings said. ?Because they?ll use the money, even after Relay for Life. They?ll use it for next year.?

To send out one of the purple potties, contact Motlow at 668-7010 ext. 0 for the operator and leave your name and number and the name and number of who you want it sent to, or send your request with a check to Motlow College, c/o Purple Potty, 225 Cadillac Lane, McMinnville, Tenn., 37110.