Tonight, Penn State students have a new reason to go out bar hopping.

PSU Night Out, a program sponsored by the Professional Management Association, will raise money for the Birch Family Camp, from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. tonight, at nine local bars and restaurants.

The camp holds two-week-long camps to support families with children under 12 who are HIV positive.

"We solicit a lot of the bars and nightclubs downtown, and many of them contribute $1 from their cover charge for the evening," said Liz Griffith (senior-business management), chair of the PSU Night Out committee.

The Professional Management Association is a Smeal College of Business Administration club that has many different committees within it.

Danielle Fuerst (senior-business management), president of the association, said the service committee within the club is organizing PSU Night Out.

She said this is the fifth year that PSU Night Out has been organized, although they have not been consecutive years.

Last year, the event was on a Tuesday night, and it raised about $1,500.

However, because this year's event is planned for the day before Penn State's homecoming, the Professional Management Association is hoping for an increase in funds raised, Fuerst said.

"I chose this Thursday because hopefully many people will be in town because of the weekend," Fuerst said. "We encourage everyone of age to go out and support our cause."

There are many different ways restaurants and nightclubs can participate.

They may contribute $1 from each cover charge, drink or entrée sale, or a certain percentage of sales from the entire evening.

Many restaurants will also have cans to collect money available by the bars and at the front of the businesses.

Tony's Big Easy, 129 S. Pugh St., which has participated in the event each year, is contributing a percentage of its sales from the night to the cause, owner Anthony Sapia said. He added he has not seen a large increase in attendance from one year to the next, but the level of awareness rises each year.

"PSU Night Out is a great way to get people out and about, taking part in a worthwhile cause," Sapia said. "It is a very creative way of generating funds for charity, and people respond in a great manner."

For more information about the event, visit LionMenus.com. Through this advertising, the PSU Night Out committee hopes to reach many Web users, said Lionmenus.com founder Chris Jeffery.

"We like to help out the community and give back to Penn State, which is why we are advertising for PSU Night Out," Jeffery said.

This year, PSU Night Out has the most people involved and the most advertising compared with previous years, Griffith said.

"We are trying to generate interest for people going out, and we hope that people will choose one of our restaurants," Griffith said. "The bars have already committed to making a donation. Students don't have to do anything other than go out to one of the sponsoring bars."