Hunger Games pre-showing raises $2,000 for food pantry

by Aubrie Waldron

A group of Utah State students organized and held a fundraiser on Nov. 19 at the University Stadium theater where a private pre-showing of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I was played. All proceeds from the event, which was organized as a final project for a management class, went toward the Cache Community Food Pantry.

According to Max Benson, a member of the group that organized the event, 376 of the 402 theater seats were filled, and about $2,000 was raised for the pantry.

“We wanted to not only raise money,” Benson said, “but bring the community and the food pantry together.”

Before the movie began, food pantry director Matt Whitaker stood at the front of the theater and addressed the audience about how “hunger is no game.”

All attendees that brought canned foods to the movie were entered into a raffle.

Management 3110: Managing Organizations and People, which is taught by David Herrmann, overviews the role of management and introduces leadership theory and practice. All students in the class are required to work in groups to organize a fundraiser. If their project raises at least $1,000 for a charity of their choice, they receive an automatic A on the final and do not have to take the written exam.

Victoria Awada, another member of the Hunger Games project, said that their fundraiser wasn’t just a fun event or school project. For her and the group, it was helping a good cause that needed donations at this important time of year.