Cocktails for a Cause, an event organized by the Student Bar Association on Sept. 23, raised more than $1,200 for a charity that supports first responders who face catastrophic health effects from their heroic efforts on and after 9/11.

Faculty and administrators tended bar for the event, held at Mad River near Penn’s Landing.

A flood of students and alumni put the moonlighting professors and deans through their paces, ordering drinks at a vigorous pace for a good cause.

“I’d actually missed going to the gym that day, but the crowd gave me such a workout that it hardly mattered,” Professor Clare Coleman said of her stint as barkeep.

The money will go to the FealGood Foundation, a non-profit organization that assists first responders who struggle with lingering health effects from their exposure to toxins at Ground Zero while educating the public about the issues they face.

SBA representative Ted Kopec said the recent 10-year anniversary of 9/11 made the foundation a natural choice to become a beneficiary for the annual charity.

“A lot of us were in middle school or high school when 9/11 happened, and it had a major effect on us,” Kopec said.

The gathering provided a valuable networking opportunity, said Jim Rosica, a Class of 2009 representative on the law school's Alumni Council.

“Within 20 minutes, I got a lead on a job opening from another classmate,” Rosica said. 

The event, which drew 180 participants, exceeded the amount of money the SBA fundraiser brought in last year by 20 percent.