UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – It’s quite the scenario: $0, two nonprofit groups in need and six students tasked with organizing successful events to raise funds.
It certainly was no easy task, but School of Hospitality Management students enrolled in Advanced Meetings and Events planned and executed two events to raise funds for Operation: Military Kids, which supports military families living in civilian communities, and Pencils of Promise, which builds schools in impoverished countries.
Starting with a zero budget, course instructor Jackie Golas asked students to create community events to generate funds for the nonprofit groups. The six students then split into two teams to solicit donations and organize events, both of which were held in November.
Lindsey Yealy, a junior from Pittsburgh, assisted with the Operation: Military Families event, which was held Nov. 13 at the Snider Agriculture Arena. The event, Uptown Hoedown for Little Heroes, was an evening reception with music, games and a silent auction, raising more than $1,500 for the organization. While the process ended successfully, it took a lot of hard work to get there.
“Students might take this class thinking it will be all about picking centerpieces and colors. That’s nothing,” Yealy said. “There’s so much administrative work that we had to do for this. There are so many things that you don’t even think about that you have to do, such as conduct surveys, fill out paperwork, consider guests’ diet restrictions, ensure the venue is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. There’s so much that goes into it that you don’t realize. You have an idea of where it’s going to go in the beginning, it was close to what we had in mind, but so many small things changed along the way.”
Yealy gained some event planning experience through an internship at the Double Tree hotel in Philadelphia. However, this was her first attempt at planning an event with zero funds to start.
“I think this is actually truly one of the more challenging events you’d ever face with three student planners who have no true experience and a zero-budget. Yes, our instructor guided us, but it was our event, we were in charge,” Yealy said.
Along the way, students hit roadblocks, like altering a menu to address the needs of guests with food allergies or switching from centerpieces with candles to glow sticks after learning the vendor did not allow candles.
For Yealy, the most challenging part of the planning process was soliciting donations, including food for event guests and items for the silent auction.
“It was awkward to ask people to give you things and rejections are just so awkward, too,” Yealy said. “You put so much time into it and some companies do not even call back to say they’re not interested in donating. It can be very frustrating.”
Still, Yealy felt solicitation experience was one of the best experiences in terms of learning a necessary skill.
“It definitely gets you out of your comfort zone. I do not normally have trouble talking to people, but when it’s about money it’s so different and you need to be put together and professional,” Yealy said. “By the end it didn’t feel awkward for me at all. I now realize it’s definitely hard, but it’s not impossible by any means and you find that people are generally generous and want to help, especially if you’re a student, they want to help in any way that they can.”
Overall, Yealy described the course as an extremely rewarding experience that provided hands-on experience and allowed her to acquire critical skills that will transfer into her career. Ultimately, the best moment in the entire process, for Yealy, was when the event was officially underway and the majority of the guests had arrived.
“I still get choked up when I think of it. I was honestly very proud of my team and myself. We worked really well together. We found ways to get around hurdles. It was so incredibly rewarding,” Yealy said.
Yealy believes the course helped prepare her for a career in event planning.
“I think if you are pursuing event planning as a career, this course should be a requirement. Event planning is not as glamorous as TV makes it seem. This course has prepared me and I am still as passionate about doing this, if not more passionate,” Yealy said.
The Pencils of Promise benefit was held Nov. 16 at Levels Night Club where the formal affair included dancing and dining raising roughly $1,500. Student Alidia Strouse, who helped plan the event, said the course taught her all of the beginning fundamentals of event planning.
“The execution went so well because of our hard work throughout the beginning of the semester. It was great to see our countless hours of dedication and sleepless nights finally pay off for a great cause. Every minute was worth it,” Strouse said. “Going into this course I was not positive of the career path I wanted to take with my hospitality management degree. After participating in this active class, I have found that the event planning path is for me. The rewarding feeling we got at the end of the night was driven through pure passion and was simply indescribable. I can't wait to get to that feeling again.”
Golas described the course as a sort of “make or break” experience, meaning that students who complete the course will know by the end of the semester if event planning is the right career path for them.
“Any student who takes this advanced class is typically seriously considering meeting or event planning,” Golas said. “It’s either going to reinforce their interest or be a signal event planning is not for them. Either way it makes them understand all of the steps that are involved in conducting a successful event. If you don’t do all the pieces, the budget, the sales and marketing, it’s not going to be successful. And then ultimately if that is their career path, they have the experience now, they’ve done an entire event with real hands-on experience.”