Boxes of goodies designed to delight, Finals Survival Kits are delivered to hundreds of students each fall semester.
By Jeffrey G. Mulcock, ’03
MORE than 50 volunteers from the BYU Student Alumni Association pooled their time and resources last fall to deliver nearly 700 Finals Survival Kits. Thanks to some 340 hours donated, parents and friends helped stressed-out students make it through final exams.
Finals Survival Kits are sold every fall semester and contain various gifts and treats: a BYU T-shirt and mug, fresh fruit, candies, popcorn, juice, gum, Pop-Tarts, and more. The kits, delivered right before final exams, are a service of the Student Alumni Association.
Margie M. Madsen, of Clifton, Va., first heard about Finals Survival Kits three years ago, when she received an advertisement in the mail. Since then she has sent them to each of her three children who have attended BYU. “For me to go out shopping and collect all that stuff is a hassle,” Madsen says. “For the price and the time it saves, these kits are an amazing value.”
The price for each kit is $30, which includes delivery and packaging. A comparable care package company charges around $70 plus shipping, according to Madsen, who had contacted several companies for similar services. This price is made possible through the volunteers who plan, purchase, package, and deliver the kits.
For the students who receive them, the kits represent more than just treats. Madsen’s daughter Sarah Emily Madsen, ’05, a communications student majoring in advertising, sees them as a behind-the-scenes way for parents to lend support. “The kits remind me that someone is thinking of me and understands how hard finals are,” says Sarah.
“I think the survival kits really give students confidence because they know their parents are backing them up,” says France J. Nielson, ’05, from Blanding, Utah, a Student Alumni Association volunteer.
INFO: Todd Hendricks, 801-422-7621
