Friday, December 12, 2003
“Winter Wonderlands” Brings Lessons of Cheer
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Tara Holt, a student in Dr. Tamara Wandel’s strategic writing class at the University of Southern Indiana, never expected wrapping gifts to be a part of her final grade. “It’s definitely not your basic, take notes kind of class,” she said with tape and scissors in hand. As the culmination of a semester-long public relations assignment, Holt and her classmates organized Winter Wonderlands, a holiday event that took place at Kid’s Café in early December for the children at St. Anthony’s Center for Family Life. Festivities included information stations highlighting traditions, foods, and crafts from other countries, as well as pictures with Santa, holiday dinner, and a gift for each child. Holt admitted that gifts were not part of the original plan, due to the class’s limited budget. As soon as the kids heard about the party, however, they requested boxes under a tree. “They don’t have to have presents in them,” one child said. “We just like unwrapping the empty boxes.” The class agreed to pitch in their own money to make sure those boxes were full. “Projects like this present not only public relations issues, but societal issues as well,” said Dr. Wandel, “issues that would’ve never come up in the classroom setting.” As part of the Winter WonderLands project, Dr. Wandel’s class created a public relations firm (“Wandel’s Dozen”) to promote the Kid’s Café, a free after-school food and activities program run by Big Brothers/Big Sisters in partnership with St. Anthony’s Center for Family Life, Tri-State Food Bank, Weed & Seed, Need to Feed, Purdue Extension, and the Salvation Army. Students were responsible for writing press releases and news articles, as well as creating promotional materials and applying for a national grant. Volunteering at least one hour a week at the center was also a requirement. “I had no idea what to expect when I signed up for the class,” conceded Lisa Wilcox, a senior at USI, “but I like applying what I’ve learned over three years.” Her classmates agreed that the hands-on involvement was invaluable and worth the substantial time commitment. Most students were happy to have the chance to volunteer and experience something they would’ve never been exposed to otherwise. Others, like senior public relations major D.J. Martin, appreciated “the tangible connection with ‘the client,’” even if, in this case, that connection came in the form of a hug from a six-year-old. “You learn not to take things for granted,” added Holt, also a PR major, as she scrambled to set up a group with boxes to gift wrap. “You have to be aware of others who are less fortunate.” Holt admitted the experience has opened her eyes to career opportunities in the not-for-profit sector. “That’s what I love to hear,” Dr. Wandel said with a big smile. An avid proponent of service-learning projects, which integrate classroom theory with practical applications, Dr. Wandel believes that giving her students a project with “real world applicability” not only bolsters their portfolio, but also develops leadership and problem solving skills. Nowhere was that more evident, Dr. Wandel said, than during the grant writing process when classmates exchanged endless e-mails outside of class to get it just right. “Students came out of their shells to participate and voice their opinions, because they had a very real deadline to meet,” she noted. That teamwork has paid off. Dr. Wandel received word prior to the Winter WonderLands event that a $600 grant was awarded to Kid’s Café by a national foundation. The money will be used to fund future Kid’s Café programs. |
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