USC class supports Sistercare’s efforts in Wednesday fundraiser
Each semester, students in one USC hospitality class choose a local non-profit to support in a student-organized and executed fundraiser.
This semester, they’ve chosen Sistercare, a program for women and children — living in Fairfield, Kershaw, Lexington, Newberry and Richland counties — who are victims of domestic violence.
The HRTM Tourism Festival Planning and Management class will host the Fall Fair for Sistercare on Wednesday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at The Hall at Senate’s End (320 Senate St.).
This September, South Carolina ranked second in the nation in domestic violence committed against women in a report by the Violence Policy Center. It’s a statistic that rattled the state, and called for action in the capital city.
There’s always a stack of applications from organizations, and the professor, Annette Hoover, picks the winner, said Heather Cooper, a third-year hospitality management student in the class.
Sistercare has applied as the benefactor to the fundraiser several semesters in the past, but South Carolina’s most recent domestic violence ranking has made the organization and the cause a bit more relevant, Cooper said.
Sistercare serves the Midlands and offers victims of domestic violence “freedom from fear.” In addition to a 24-hour service line, it offers transitional housing, outreach and counseling services. There’s also a large focus on community education and awareness.
Wednesday’s fair will be like the State Fair, on a smaller scale, Cooper said — a “backyard fair.” There will be traditional fair games like corn hole, ring toss and bobbing for apples. And it will have a few of the fine fair food favorites, all from local donors.
And although it won’t be the Pepsi Grandstand, the fair has pulled a nice set of live acts. Atlas Road Crew, Columbia’s growing rock ‘n’ roll act, and Barry Michael, an Atlanta-born country artist, will both perform Wednesday night. Cockapella, USC’s co-ed acapella group and the Dance Marathon Morale team will also show their support for the cause.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for children for admission, including food and beverage tickets. A $40 family pack includes two adult tickets, two children’s tickets and 16 food and beverage tickets.
All proceeds from the event go straight to Sistercare.
That’s where the challenge of the class comes in: collecting donations and securing donors. Although Hoover oversees all of the event’s planning, she just guides the students in the right direction, Cooper said.
“Some students come in with the background from internships or just working the industry, and other kids don’t have that background,” Cooper said.
The less experienced students and those who have a little more know-how work together on different committees that cover every in and out of the production: marketing and media, risk management, operations, finance and decorations, just to name a few.
And throughout the planning, the class has taken up the Sistercare cause and helped in the everyday efforts of the grassroots group.
Students represented Sistercare at the Mayor’s Walk Against Domestic Violence in October, and the class has made it a mission to spread the word about the group’s specific services and goals.
For more information about the Fall Fair, visit the event’s website at sistercarefair.com. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.