Eating stacks of pancakes may not be your typical way of being charitable, but this Saturday, Miss Auburn University is hosting an all-you-can-eat breakfast with proceeds benefiting Children's Miracle Network for the Columbus, Ga., hospital.
Miss AU 2011 Emilee Williams will be hosting the breakfast from 7:30 to 10 a.m. at Longhorn Steakhouse in Opelika April 16.
"The funds are going to be helping children and families in our area," said Williams, junior in civil engineering.
Tickets, $5, are available in the SGA offices or at the door on the day of the event.
"The $5 gets you all-you-can-eat pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee, juice and all the soft drinks Longhorn normally offers," Williams said.
Michelle Murphy, executive director for the Miss AU scholarship pageant, hopes the extra crowd from A-Day will bring in more people for the fundraiser.
"It's a great opportunity for people who wouldn't normally be in town to support a worthy cause," Murphy said. "Since A-Day doesn't start until four hours after the breakfast, it's a great way to blend events happening on that day."
Williams said she chose CMN because it is the national platform for the Miss America organization and for the Miss Alabama pageant, and each contestant is required to raise money for CMN.
"This is part of my effort to raise money for the organization that Miss Alabama supports," Williams said. "Two hundred fifty dollars is the minimum amount for the Miss Alabama pageant, but my ultimate goal is to raise above and beyond that."
Murphy said money donated to CMN goes toward new technology to provide the best care for children.
"One example is a giraffe bed," Murphy said. "They give the best access for infant care, but cost approximately $35,000.
"We realize we're not going to raise that type of money, but we want to raise as much as possible to directly benefit individuals there and provide better quality of life for those children."
Rebecca Hart, junior in communication disorders and Miss AU 2010, said visiting the hospital in Columbus gave her a new perspective.
"Being able to visit the children's hospital and seeing people who have benefited from that, you see how grateful and thankful they were to have that service," Hart said. "It's one of those things that you never think will happen to you, but if it does and you need their service, it is such a blessing."
Murphy said Williams has been the driving force behind the event.
"She has been the correspondent with Longhorn to organize everything with them," Murphy said. "She has also taken donation letters to grocery stores to donate eggs, juice and pancake mix."
Murphy also said Longhorn has been gracious and flexible to work with.
"Longhorn has been completely supportive of different community events," Murphy said. "For us, they are providing a cook, coffee and butter, and they are allowing us to utilize their facility."
Williams said her family and Auburn students will make up the volunteer staff that will be greeting, serving and preparing plates.
"We've been careful with the volunteers we recruited because we wanted it to be people we know to be in the kitchen and be quick on their feet," Williams said. "Hopefully they'll be able to learn from the chef and join in on the cooking as the morning goes on."
Hart, who attended the pancake breakfast last year, encourages students and families to plan on going before heading to the game.
"It's a lot of fun because Longhorn doesn't usually serve breakfast," Hart said. "And you get to interact with the community while supporting Children's Miracle Network."
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