Monday, May 2, 2016

Johnson & Wales University Hospitality Students Volunteer at Charity Fundraiser

Johnson & Wales University Hospitality Students Volunteer at Charity Fundraiser 

Thirteen student volunteers from the School of Hospitality participated in the Lovely Ladies 2016 Spring Social fundraiser to benefit My Brother’s Keeper.  This was the 10th anniversary of the event. My Brother’s Keeper is a charity that delivers food and furniture to those in need, and is based in southeastern Massachusetts.  The event, which included dinner, a silent auction, and raffle took place on Monday, April 11th at the Granite Links Golf Club in Quincy, Massachusetts.  Students volunteer to gain valuable experience and give back to the community.

The event volunteers were coordinated by Prof. Debbie Howarth with help from Prof. Peter Zacchilli both from the International Hotel School.  Students, including representatives of the Johnson & Wales University Special Events Society (SES) and Meeting Professional International (MPI) collegiate clubs, were responsible for setting up displays, greeting guests, selling raffle tickets, and helping with registration. Event committee member Mary Keough-Anderson stated, “They [the students] were amazing and really worked the event with the utmost professionalism and always had a smile on their faces.  I think they had as much fun as our guests.  They really worked the room with the raffle ticket sales and I'm sure this had a major impact on the revenue [generated from] sales”.   Keough-Anderson, a seasoned meeting planner herself, has guest lectured at Johnson & Wales and has mentored several meeting and event management students in recent years.

Keough-Anderson goes onto say, “Many of the committee members came up to me after the event and said, "This was the first time we ever had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy the meal at this event".  This is because of the help provided by all the volunteers.  Everyone was impressed with the quality and professionalism of each of the students”.   At the end of the evening Jim Orcutt, co-founder of My Brother’s Keeper introduced the students and thanked them.  Keough-Anderson stated, “They [the students] got a huge applause, which was well deserved”.

                  Student leaders from the JWU collegiate chapters of Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Abigail Rubin, President and Danielle DeTrinis, Vice President; Kirsten Werner, Vice President of the Special Events Society (SES); and Kasey Webb, Vice President of International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) were in-charge of recruiting volunteers for this request.  Student volunteers were: Zinah Dabbour, Jocelyn Easton, Kafui Fessi; Guyesha Fils-Aime, Gabrielle Henry, Anh “Roxy” Ho, Jasmine Jones, Daniel Loggi, Alexa Orgias, Mackenzie Thompson, Luisa Ventura, Fiona Walsh, and Paige Zuber.

                  Keough-Anderson was so pleased she stated, “I would love to bring them back again next year”  Johnson & Wales University students volunteer their time for a variety of programs and organizations through the school year.  For more information please contact Meagan Pepper, Assistant Director for Community Engagement; Student Involvement & Leadership on the Providence, Rhode Island Campus at (401) 598-1499 or via email at meagan.pepper@jwu.edu.


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