Integrated Business Students Donate $21,000 to Southland Charities

When students in Bre Gallegos’ Integrated Business Curriculum group began discussing a charity to donate their company’s proceeds to at the end of the fall semester, Gallegos immediately thought of her aunt.

The senior business major says her aunt has been fighting breast cancer for six years, and will soon be undergoing chemotherapy at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center.

Gallegos suggested supporting Orange Coast Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization that collects philanthropic donations from the community to support the hospital.

“To be able to contribute to a cause that will benefit her and to other people is very rewarding,” Gallegos said.

Five groups of students presented checks totaling $20,925 to Orange Coast, City of Hope, the Be Perfect Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Wounded Warrior Project on Feb. 3 in the Presidents Dining Room at the University of La Verne.

College of Business and Public Management Dean Ibrahim “Abe” Helou said Integrated Business program students have raised about $70,000 for charities in the five years the program has existed.

“We expect that total to grow exponentially over the next few years,” Helou said.

Business students participating in the program develop a 60-70 page business plan, present their plan to a bank to secure a loan, and assign themselves titles seen in a typical organizational structure – from CEO to sales manager. They spend eight weeks marketing and selling a product. Faculty from various disciplines such as finance, marketing and public relations show students how to run their business along the way.

“What I love about Integrated Business Curriculum is that it truly represents theory to practice,” said University of La Verne President Devorah Lieberman.

Though there is no reward for making the highest profit, the project brings out a competitive spirit between teams, faculty say. And all the while, students learn valuable lessons about the business world.

“They learned that corporate social responsibility or caring for the community is important for them and I hope they will take it with them for life,” said Professor of Management Dr. Issam Ghazzawi.

Hal Hargrave ’15, founder of the Be Perfect Foundation, attended the check presentation ceremony and complimented students on their hard work and professionalism. The students sold bicycle lights under the company name Light4Life and donated more than $3,400 to the foundation, which helps people suffering from spinal cord injuries.

“They’re going to be some of our great young leaders of the future,” Hargrave said.

Students who donated to the City of Hope sold infused water bottles and used the company name H2.O. They raised more than $6,300. Even though students were assigned specific duties relevant to their corporate titles, they easily jumped into multiple roles when the need arose, said Kevin Martinez, who acted as Chief Executive Officer.

“We all blended really well as a group,” he said.

The group chose the City of Hope because student Maureen Garza’s cousin began receiving treatment there for leukemia after being denied for treatment by other organizations.

Students had help in addition to faculty because mentors with the organization SCORE regularly met with students to provide them guidance. SCORE is a national nonprofit organization of retired executives.

Bob Godlasky, a SCORE mentor, said students were not the only ones benefitting from the Integrated Business projects.

“Working in collaboration with the students and faculty literally enriches our lives too,” he said.

Following are the student companies for the fall 2015 semester, the donation amounts and recipients:

– Simple Find – a company that sold Bluetooth trackers. They donated $2,549 to Orange Coast Memorial Foundation.

– H2.O – a company that sold infused water bottles. They donated $6,306 to City of Hope.

– Light4Life – a company that sold bicycle lights and donated $3,426 to the Be Perfect Foundation.

– Unwired – a company that sold wireless headphones. They donated $4,934 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

– EvoBandz – a company that sold seamless headbands. They donated $3,708 to the Wounded Warrior Project.