Students in a public relations class hosted Tunes and Trivia, a charity event for Secret Meals for Hungry Children in collaboration with the West Alabama Food Bank and Alabama Credit Union at Innisfree last Wednesday.
Secret Meals helps combat food insecurity by delivering food to underprivileged schoolchildren in Alabama and northern Florida. The organization emphasizes discretion, placing food directly into children’s backpacks during times like recess or lunch to prevent recipients from experiencing potential social ostracization.
“This is the first time I’ve been working in a class for more than just a grade,” said Kayla Beene, a senior majoring in public relations. “We’re causing a real benefit by doing this, and it’s been extremely impactful to be a part of it all.”
The event included music trivia, where visitors competed to identify different songs and had the option to purchase a $10 souvenir cup that entered them into a raffle for various prizes. The cup also offered special pricing on drinks for the duration of the event. All proceeds from the raffle were donated to Secret Meals.
The event raised $3,145.78 in total. The other group in the class, which held a Pilates for a Purpose fundraiser, raised $1797.00. The $4942.78 raised this semester will feed 34 local children every weekend for an entire school year.
“Secret Meals is really unique in that it delivers this food quietly to children so it doesn’t really single them out,” said Gabrielle Uson, a senior majoring in Spanish and public relations, adding that she thinks “it helps beat the stigma around poverty.”
Susan Daria, a senior instructor in advertising and public relations who teaches the class that put on the event — APR 419: Concepting and Implementation — said her students had “passion and drive” when planning the events every year. Her classes have hosted events for Secret Meals since 2011. Her classes have since raised $293,221.42 overall.
“I don’t ever tell them what the benchmark is, and they always surpass whatever it could have been,” she said. “They inspire because they’re creative, they’re young and full of life, and they always come up with these great ideas. Even on their worst days, they’re fantastic. It has become my favorite thing professionally to teach them and this course.”
