Appalachian State University’s Student Government Association was awarded $3,000 in grants by the Association of Student Governments on Saturday.

Appalachian’s SGA was allotted $1,000 toward the Tie Dye Dash and $2,000 in two separate grants to go toward the Blue Light Safety apps through TapShield and Lifeline.

SGA President Dylan Russell said it is a competitive process getting awarded grants from the association.

“[ASG] typically approve[s] $24,000 worth of grant money, with some added grants offered on a case-by-case basis,” said Alyssa Frizzelle, SGA Director of Student Affairs. “Any school can apply for up to $1,000 per grant out of the $24,000 pot.”

SGA has worked since May to demo apps with the two companies that will alert campus police in the case of an emergency, according to a Feb. 20 article in The Appalachian. The demos for the apps will start this semester.

The $2,000 granted for the apps will pay for the subscriptions for students to demo the app during the trial period.

SGA’s goal is to eventually provide the iPhone/smartphone app to students for free, according to the article.

SGA will host the second annual Tie-Dye Dash on April 26 on Sanford Mall.

“The Tie-Dye Dash is essentially a color run,” said Zach Yllanes, the SGA director of Campus Outreach. “Students run a 5k and celebrate at the end by launching all sorts of colorful paint in the air.”

The money raised from the run is intended to go toward an SGA scholarship fund, but it is still in the planning stage, Yllanes said.

The ASG is an organization associated with all the SGA programs of the 17 schools in the UNC system.

“Once a month, the student body presidents and their delegates get together to talk about policy, apply for grants, and discuss what is happening on a national and state level,” Russell said.

Story: Nicole Caporaso, News Reporter