For the second year in a row, graduate-level accountancy students in the College of Charleston’s School of Business helped area families enjoy the holiday season this year as part of The Palmetto Project’s Families Helping Families (FHF) Program.
Over the past several weeks, nearly all of the students in the Master’s of Accountancy program, along with several members of the Mu Beta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, made donations, purchased and wrapped presents and/or helped to transport the donated gifts to the FHF distribution center.
After a few weeks of receiving gifts and donations, they recently held a “wrapping party” during which other volunteers ensured that each gift was properly wrapped and labeled with the correct family member’s name. Once wrapped, an SUV was packed full of goods and driven to the FHF distribution center in Mt. Pleasant.
While accountancy students do a variety of service projects, student organizer Whitney Jewett noted that this one was particularly successful because the amount of gifts and funds students donated allowed the families to receive above and beyond what the FHF recommended be purchased for them, including $75 gift cards for groceries.
“It was amazing how every student in the program wanted to be a part of this effort, even as many of them struggle to pay their own bills,” says Jewett.
Beta Alpha Psi is an honorary organization founded in 1919 for financial information students and professionals. The primary objective of Beta Alpha Psi is to encourage and give recognition to scholastic and professional excellence in the business information field. This includes promoting the study and practice of accounting, providing opportunities for self-development, service and association among members and practicing professionals, and encouraging a sense of ethical, social, and public responsibility. The Mu Beta Chapter was installed at the College of Charleston in September 2008. The Chapter’s current faculty advisor is Dr. Dana Garner.
