UA students raise more than $5,500 for Secret Meals

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Alabama APR students raised $5,585 for Secret Meals For Hungry Children, an Alabama Credit Union (ACU) program, Nov. 1 – 8. With the help of local businesses, including Piggly Wiggly, Innisfree Irish Pub and the Bear Trap, they gathered funds to supply meals for 46 children for an entire year.

“As a former two-time University of Alabama graduate myself, I was so proud of the caliber of students that we have and the caliber of work they can turn out,” said Steve Swofford, president of ACU. “… Not only did they provide us with funds to feed 46 children, but they provided us with ideas we can use for the future.”

Students in Susan Daria’s APR 419 Service Learning class assisted Secret Meals with the design and implementation of awareness materials and events. All proceeds and donations were given to the program, created by ACU in 2008. For only $120, Secret Meals can feed one child for an entire school year.

The program discreetly provides impoverished school children with packets of food for the weekend. Teachers identify children based on signs such as habitually eating everything available to them and hoarding food as the weekend approaches. The packs are secretly slipped in the child’s backpack while they are out of the classroom. They include items that provide children with adequate nutrition and are nonperishable and child-friendly.

Fundraising events included a trivia night at the Bear Trap, an awareness campaign at Innisfree Irish Pub and a Textathon to raise money. The students also set up a donation drive at four Piggly Wiggly locations around Tuscaloosa. Participating stores included the Northport, Alberta, West End and Greensboro Avenue locations. Customers could donate $1 at the register to help a child in need. They then had the option to sign a backpack to hang in the store window and received a sticker signifying they helped feed a hungry child. The Piggly Wiggly drive raised approximately $4,169.