Students’ creative fundraisers turn class project into $3,500 for local nonprofits

Liberty University students in the Department of Family & Consumer Sciences (FACS) are trained for success in many industries, but no textbook or classroom lecture could have prepared those in FACS 351 for the challenge of hosting fundraising events in the midst of a pandemic this past semester.

FACS 351 is an event management course primarily taken by upperclassmen who are interested in event planning. The main project is organizing a fundraiser for local nonprofits. Students formed five groups and planned an event from start to finish with the goal of raising $500 or more for their organization of choice.

“This allows the students to gain experience with planning an event from the ground up and all of the steps and problems that go along with it,” Professor Alison Pettit said. “They learn the importance of communication, teamwork, and having to step out of their comfort zone. It’s not that simple to put an event together and have it go right without preparation.”

The students selected the Liberty Godparent Home, Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center (BRPC), Freedom 424, Motherhood Collective, and YWCA Domestic Abuse as the recipients of their fundraisers, and they worked with these organizations throughout the planning process.

Jessica Suiter, a junior studying fashion merchandising, and Meagan Richardson, a senior graduating with a degree in professional and creative industries, helped their group host a bingo night on March 3 with the proceeds going to the BRPC. The event was held at the Liberty Mountain Conference Center.

“We were doing a repeat event that (FACS students) had done in the past, but we wanted to put a twist on it,” Richardson said. “We did a bingo night, but this year we had it as a ‘Roaring 20s’ theme because it’s 2020 and that’s what people have been doing. It also allowed for people to dress up in costumes, and that made it fun.”

Despite not knowing what kind of a turnout they would get on the night of the event, Suiter and Richardson said that they welcomed more than 150 people, ultimately raising over $1,400.

“We didn’t really know how it was going to go until the last minute, but then the room filled up and we were so excited,” Suiter said. “For this event, I was really excited to have a strong and equal team that could work together and find each other’s strengths.”

Susan Campbell, executive director of BRPC, expressed her gratitude for the students’ work.

“They provided a wonderful event with a great turn out and lots of support,” she said. “It gave our organization a time to be the spotlight and share with the community the mission of the BRPC. With classes like this, it also has helped to bring us all together for the good of a great evening and fellowship, along with promoting (the) cause of saving lives in Central Virginia.”

Olivia Riggs, a fashion merchandising senior, helped her group organize a concert fundraiser on March 6 at Speakertree, a coffee shop in downtown Lynchburg, for Freedom 424, which aids in the fight against modern-day human trafficking. The night featured covers and original music by Nice, a band comprised of members of the Liberty Worship Collective, and local artist Joshua Sosin. By the end of the night, Riggs’ group raised $865.

“This is my first time planning a professional event for a nonprofit, so it was definitely a learning experience,” Riggs said. “Professor Pettit was such a big help with encouraging us, and she wasn’t on top of us or telling us exactly how to do things. She let us make our decisions and gave us the creative reigns to do what we envisioned for the event.”

Two groups were able to host their events prior to the onset of COVID-19 restrictions, but three fundraisers were canceled.

“Three of the events were scheduled after Spring Break (when all of Liberty’s classes were moved online), and since the students had already been working for about two months with their nonprofits, I didn’t want the nonprofits to suffer, especially because nonprofits are suffering right now,” Pettit said.

The group supporting the Liberty Godparent Home had originally planned a trivia night. They had already started a Facebook fundraising page to bring in more money, but when the event was canceled, the page soon became their only source of donations. Junior Shawnee Haseley said the experience offered them a perfect example of adapting to difficulties, a skill that will come in handy in their future event planning.

“Within the first week or so, we were able to raise $250 through Facebook, and we sold tickets to the event prior to COVID-19 and raised around $150,” Haseley said. “When COVID-19 hit, we told people that they could have a refund of their ticket because the event wasn’t going to happen, but they told us to keep the money, and that just showed their generous hearts.”

“When you’re studying event planning, there’s really no textbook answer for how to deal with a pandemic,” she added. “We learned the value of using the season you’re in, whether that’s in your career of event planning or just in regular life, so this experience came with a lot of real-life application.”

Pettit said she is immensely proud of her students.

“I was disappointed for the students who had to cancel their events, but I really appreciated all of the students’ hard work and dedication to serving the community this semester.”