Auburn students helped the victims of the Haiti earthquake by doing what they do best: eating.
A Meal to Heal for Haiti, last Monday night in the Student Center Ballroom, fed approximately 1,500 people in four hours.
The price for a meal was $5, but attendees were encouraged to donate as much as they could.
Pannie-George's Kitchen, a restaurant on South College Street in the shopping center next to McDonald's, provided the food for the meal.
Mary Counts, co-owner of Pannie-George's, said she felt honored to be asked to participate in the fundraiser.
"The support that everyone's shown to be able to come together and help is just wonderful," Counts said. "That's how we get things done, in unity, because we're all as one in this world."
Nicole Nero, senior in communication and marketing, was the director for the event.
Nero said the idea for a fundraiser came from a text message from a friend working at the Red Cross.
"Out of that, we thought maybe we'd get a thousand or two thousand (dollars) and it just became something so much bigger," Nero said. Nero and her team had private donors provide money for the food so all the money raised could go to support the victims in Haiti. People attending the event were surrounded by loud music and active TV screens, providing an upbeat, lively atmosphere.
Guests were given a generous helping of fried or baked chicken, green beans, mashed potatoes, a roll and sweet tea. Brittany Abrams, sophomore in electrical engineering, took the food to go, but said it looked delicious. Abrams said she loves to donate to people in need when she can.
"Whatever little bit I can help, that's what I actually strive to do, "Abrams said. "I know I'm a college student and most college students are broke, but whatever I have to donate I try to do that."
Abrams said donating $5 was easy to budget and that every donation makes a difference.
Nero, who had a friend in the Dominican Republic at the time of the earthquake, said watching the coverage made her sympathetic towards the people of Haiti.
"I know it's one of the poorest countries already and then when a natural disaster strikes, what do you do?" Nero said. "What do you do when you have less than nothing?" Nero took a
lot of steps to get the fundraiser together.
Between getting a faculty adviser, securing Pannie-George's and getting donors, her team of students stayed busy, Nero said.
"I look in that room and think 'I did this,'" Nero said. "We were just two friends who wanted to do something."
Donations for the night were close to $4,000 which far surpassed ticket sales.
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