Stetson University partnered with Feeding Children Everywhere this month to raise money and pack more than 5,000 meals for hungry children in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

About 75 students, alumni, faculty and staff and their family members from the business, education and counseling programs at Stetson’s Center at Celebration in Osceola County worked together in groups on five assembly lines packing nutritious meals to help those in need this holiday season.

Program Coordinator Wendy Lowe worked in advance with Stetson’s various Celebration-based programs and learned that students and alumni were interested in participating in an activity that would have a meaningful impact. Feeding Children Everywhere was selected because it has both a global and local presence.

On Dec. 3, Feeding Children Everywhere staff arrived at Stetson with all the supplies needed for the assembly lines. Executive MBA students assisted with the unloading of the truck and setting up the assembly lines. “Their enthusiastic support and interest were undeniable!” Lowe said.

After the assembly lines were ready to go, detailed instructions were given, and the work got under way as holiday music and spirit filled the room. Each assembly line packed meals that consisted of rice, protein (lentils), vegetables, vitamins and minerals. These ingredients represent an easily digestible source of protein, necessary carbohydrates, and vitamins such as A, B6, C, D, E, folic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and minerals complete with the nine essential amino acids. The meal is scientifically formulated to combat the effects of hunger on the human body. All that is necessary to cook the meal is adding boiling water. More information is available at www.FeedingChildrenEverywhere.com.

As the meals were packed into boxes, the youngsters flattened the meal pouches for shipping purposes and added personal messages and drawings to the outside of the shipping containers for the children in Guatemala. Guatemala City was selected because these meals will be added to a larger shipment headed that way soon.

“Our EMBA students Duane Trumble, Glorimar Hefner, Melania Lavezzi and Raul Herrera brought their entire families to share in the experience, and their smiles said it all,” Lowe said.

“This philanthropic effort at the Celebration Center was a success! We re-evaluated our goals early on and, based on the participants’ infectious joy, we feel fortunate to be able to proudly say that Stetson University contributed to feeding over 5,000 starving children and fundraised over $1,500,” she said.

Participants agreed it was a positive experience – and promised to look for other philanthropic opportunities in the future.

“It’s always a more meaningful feeling when I’ve reached out to support a reason that’s greater than myself,” said participant Monica Jordan, an Executive MBA student at Stetson and associate facilitator at Walt Disney World Resort’s Disney Institute.

Kathy Hannon, assistant director of the Professional MBA program at Stetson, said she enjoyed the stories shared by the Feeding Children Everywhere staff throughout the event. She said, “These stories allowed us to understand the impact that we were making globally.”

The Stetson University Center at Celebration offers advanced degrees in business, educational leadership, reading education, and counseling, as well as an undergraduate degree-completion program in business. The center also provides in-service training for teachers and other educators.