On Wednesday, it’s weiners galore.

NIU Rotaract Club is hosting a hot dog eating contest in which students will eat 15 hot dogs in 15 minutes. Rotaract president Steve Dawson said all proceeds will help the club purchase a Shelter Box tent.

“It can help shelter 10 adults for six months,” Dawson said, adding that it costs $1,000 to purchase one.

Brian Adams, member of Sycamore Rotary Club, said the tents are distributed around the world to areas hit by disaster, including the Indian Ocean after the 2004 tsunami, the U.S. south after Hurricane Katrina and more recently the areas of Italy hit by the earthquake.

“Hundreds of these have been sent around the world,” Adams said, adding that 700,000 people have been sheltered in them. He also added the tents also come with a wide array of equipment, including thermal blankets, cooking pans and tools such as hammers and axes.

Dawson said the club was not sure how many students are signed up to compete, but he is predicting 10 to 15 students will be there. Dawson said they might do the contest in timed heats instead of having students eating 15 hot dogs in 15 minutes.

To offset the costs of the competition, NIU Rotaract Club sought local help in acquiring the hot dogs. They approached Tom Inboden of Inboden’s Meats, 1106 N. First Street, who thought it was a good idea.

“There could be some fun and some enthusiasm with young people participating,” Inboden said.

He did not have a final number on how many hot dogs will be made for the competition, but he said it would be well over 200.

The winner of the competition will win a hot dog-shaped sash, along with the bragging rights of being NIU’s Kobayashi. Dawson said the club is still working on another prize for the first-place winner.

In addition to raising money for the Shelter Box, Dawson said the club hopes for the contest to become a tradition.

“If it works and we think we have a lot of involvement, it might become an annual thing,” Dawson said.

Inboden also said he would work with NIU Rotaract Club in the future if asked again.

“They have a good mission,” Inboden said.