Boston University’s PRLab is organizing a Fundraising Telethon on Nov. 29 for the Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School to support student enrichment opportunities, including their Chinese exchange program.
PRLab’s fourth annual telethon will be at Natixis’s office, one of the school’s corporate partners, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Prudential Center. The event will be held on GivingTuesday, a global movement emphasizing a day of generosity.
Director of Development for APR and BU alum Nicole Malo said PRLab is hoping to raise $50,000.
“We want to bring the community together in different forms and we know people can contribute in so many different ways through volunteering, making a monetary gift as well,” Malo said. “(Donations will) make sure that all of those students who plan to go to China this summer can get there and for all the other kinds of enrichment programs.”
PRLab also partnered with local businesses and other corporations, including Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream for the fundraiser.
Volunteers are expected to bring a list of family and friends to contact for donations and will also be provided a list of previous donors to contact, Malo said.
The school’s Chinese exchange program sends students to China in the spring, summer and for an extended semester in the fall, Malo said. The program duration is anywhere from two and a half weeks to an entire trimester.
Farida Mama Graham, the executive director at APR and a BU alum, said she saw the impact of the program on students.
“One of our alums actually was so impacted by the exchange trip that he came back to teach as a mandarin teacher,” Mama Graham said. “So when I first came to APR a narrative that I heard consistently across our alumni bases was ‘this trip truly changed my life and it really increased my global perspective.’”
APR has been a client of the BU PRLab, the longest student-run public relations agency in the nation, since 2019.
An Truong, a senior in the College of Communication and a member of PRLab representing APR, said the undergraduate representatives have been promoting the GivingTuesday Telethon by putting up posters around BU dorms, made an announcement in COM and PRLab and put digital posters up around campus.
Truong said the experience working for BU PRLab as a representative for the school is “exciting.”
“It can be a bit overwhelming but like I’m trying to manage it, about the workflow and everything but overall, I think this is a good experience for my future career,” Truong said.
Suu Hanhtun, a senior in COM and a member of PRLab representing APR, said working with APR is “rewarding.”
“It’s kind of like family in a sense,” Hanhtun said. “I’ve heard of APR for you know from a lot of people that worked at PRLab. It’s been great to collaborate and actually see for myself.”
The BU PRLab and APR encourage students to come on Nov. 29.
“Your generosity can truly transform our students’ lives and don’t underestimate the power of a single dollar,” Mama Graham said.
