PRSSA Hosts Second Annual Carnival First Silent Auction
On Wednesday, April 24 PRSSA hosted their second Spring Carnival, in conjunction with their first Silent Auction. The Carnival and Auction were held on the patio of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm. The festivities included games such as ring-toss, baggo, and mini-basketball; while slushies, cotton candy and baked goods were sold for $1 apiece.
The Silent Auction, however, drew the largest crowd during the event. With over 100 people partaking in the Spring Carnival, it helped the University PRSSA Chapter raise over $700 to go towards their chapter and the National Eczema Association. The event was made an official Facebook event, promoting it through social media channels. Flyers were also made and distributed throughout the University.
Victoria Jordan, CEO of PRSSA, felt the addition of the Silent Auction to the Spring Carnival was a great idea and that they both complemented each other, bringing about the tremendous success of the Carnival overall. For the silent auction, all the gift baskets were donated by local businesses, Jordan’s favorite part was “seeing so many people get excited to see the baskets, bid on items, and have a fun competition to win. Everyone was so impressed to see so many baskets totaling to be worth thousands of dollars.”
President of Fundraising & Event Planning for PRSSA, Alexis Ceponis, said, “We began planning our carnival and auction right at the beginning of the spring semester. It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year so it required a lot of planning. It also had a lot of different parts, like the food, games, and auction items, so it was important to start early and stay organized.”
Although this was not the first time the PRSSA Chapter has hosted a Spring Carnival, planning the event came as no easy task. The event planning for the Spring Carnival was in the works for months. Members of PRSSA felt it was imperative to start planning early because of all of the different aspects of the event. Between games, food and gathering sponsors for the event, without proper planning, the outcome would have been a lot different.
Ceponis went on to say, “This was the first time we have ever done a silent auction, and the support from local businesses greatly surpassed our expectations, it was the most successful fundraiser our chapter has ever had in terms of money raised. The students and faculty both seemed to enjoy the auction and the high attendance rate of University staff and students was a contributing reason for the overall success.”
Kristi Silver, PRSSA President of Finances spoke as to the reason why the National Eczema Association was the philanthropy of choice. “I have suffered from eczema my whole life and unfortunately there is no cure. I recently connected with the National Eczema Association and am the chair for the second ever Itching for a Cure eczema awareness walk that will be held at Monmouth on June 8. [The] walk raises funds and awareness to improve the life of eczema patients and their families.” For more information about the Itching for a Cure Walk, or even eczema in general, visit www.itchingforacure.org.
The University PRSSA chapter has done many community service activities, fundraisers and other events this year and as the academic year comes to an end, PRSSA will be hosting a Beach Cleanup on Saturday, May 4 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on the beach at Pier Village. They are joining efforts with the Outdoors Club to support their Beach Bash, also at Pier Village on Saturday, May 4 from 12:00 pm to 7:00 pm. PRSSA will also be assisting SGA with Springfest.
If you would like to get involved with PRSSA, there are general meetings in The Jules L. Plangere Center for Communication building during meeting times. President Victoria Jordan urges anyone who wants to attend to feel free. “We have so many events, fundraisers, community service activities, client teams, and writing opportunities for everyone to be a part of, and that is what I love most about PRSSA.”
