Hayleys, the bar at 278 Dauphin Street in downtown Mobile, paired the biggest college football Saturday of the year with a charitable cause in December 2012, serving as a drop-off point for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots campaign during its Southeastern Conference Championship watch party.
A Toy for a Shot
As Alabama prepared to face Georgia in the SEC Championship Game that Saturday, Hayleys offered a simple trade: bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots and receive a free shot. Guests could drop toys off and head out or stay for what the bar billed as its SEC Championship Potluck Jam, with game-day drink specials including $2 Roll Tide and Bulldog Bite shots, $2.50 Coors Light and Miller Light, $3 wells and $5 Bloody Marys.
The drive was in keeping with the bar’s long record of community involvement — by then, Hayleys had spent more than two decades hosting benefit functions and supporting local organizations from its spot in the LoDa entertainment district.