Management students raise money for charity

A management class service learning project provided a real-world application that taught teamwork, business planning, social responsibility and giving back to one’s community by raising money for charities.

Dr. Sherry Sullivan, professor of Management 4700—Leading for Success, said this was not a typical team project. “It has real-life impact on people who need assistance. It is an opportunity to use business training and experience to benefit others and to showcase student talents and abilities.”

Students wrote a contract, created a logo and developed a strategic plan for raising at least $250 for their chosen charity. They used several methods to raise funds, including hosting a spaghetti dinner, selling hand-made hair ribbons, painting houses and selling coffee and baked goods. Each team created a budget to track revenues, costs and earnings. On the last day of class, teams introduced their charity fundraising projects and presented each charity with their donations.

 One team selected The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation because they know a 2-year-old girl with the debilitating disease. The team’s strategy was to sell low-cost items to a large number of people to raise funds and increase awareness of this disease.

Another team’s charity was The Cocoon Shelter, an organization in Wood County committed to ending domestic violence and empowering those affected by it. Team member Raven Aurand said this project had a positive impact on her. “We chose the Cocoon Shelter because we all faced some sort of domestic violence at some point in our life, whether it be mental or physical, and we believe it is important to bring awareness to the issue as well as serve as a reason the organization is still available to others.”

Also involved in this MGMT 4700 social responsibility project was Target Corporation. Based upon the teams’ written reports, representatives from Target selected the top three teams that made presentations, and Target representatives awarded $3,000 for the best team strategy. The winning team supported The Cocoon Shelter and included Dale Grau, Kassandra DellaPenna, Raven Aurand, Stephanie Swint and Kendallyn Jacobs. Hays said, “This project further strengthened what I've already learned about working in a team. It's about effectively communicating and working together towards a common goal, even when individual backgrounds and opinions may differ.”