University of La Verne Integrated Business Students Raise $20,000 for Charity
Junior business administration major Michaella Saucedo and her classmates found common ground when choosing a charity to support through their Integrated Business Curriculum project.
The University of La Verne business students have all had family members with a disability, so they committed to raise money for Easterseals.
“To give people an opportunity to live a stronger, happier life, we couldn’t pass that up,” Saucedo said.
Eighty business students on nine teams raised more than $20,000 for charity organizations this fall by developing, marketing, and selling products ranging from water bottles to mace dispensers.
The donations spring from the College of Business and Public Management’s Integrated Business curriculum, in which students are required to develop a business plan, present their plan to a bank to secure a loan, and take on business roles found in a typical organizational structure – from CEO to sales manager. Students then market and sell a product, with proceeds going to charities chosen by the students. Faculty from disciplines such as finance, marketing, and public relations show students how to run their business along the way.
The students sold their products on campus, found additional customers by visiting area businesses, and set up sales tables at Southern California events such as the Ski Dazzle snowboard expo and the Amnesia Rockfest.
Teams from the fall 2016 semester presented their charities with checks during a luncheon in the Abraham Campus Center on January 13. The program has donated about $110,000 to charities in the last five years, said Ibrahim “Abe” Helou, dean of the College of Business and Public Management.
“Hopefully this will teach the kids to be givers for life and appreciate what they have,” Helou said.
University of La Verne President Devorah Lieberman said the program is one of the university’s top points of pride.
“I always talk about the Integrated Business Curriculum because it truly represents the La Verne Experience,” Lieberman said.
Senior business administration major Kevin Sin, who served as CEO of Filtered for Life – which sold filtered water bottles – said his group chose the Thirst Project as its charity after learning about the millions of people who do not have access to clean drinking water. The Thirst Project builds clean drinking water projects around the world.
“We learned that more people die of contaminated water than STDs and war combined, which is pretty staggering in my mind,” Sin said.
Olivia Mazurek, marketing coordinator for the Thirst Project, praised the Filtered for Life students for their hard work, saying their proceeds will give 39 people access to clean water.
“We are so proud of you guys. We believe young people will help change the world and help end the water crisis,” Mazurek said.
The student-run Mystery Mace company sold mace dispensers that look like lipstick holders. They donated their proceeds to the Orange County domestic violence shelter Laura’s House.
“We were really impressed by their dedication and their drive to succeed in this project. They raised a ton of money and all of that will go directly to women and children receiving our services,” said Laura’s House representative Danielle DeBellis.
Company names, the charity they supported, and their donations are:
- Lenses for Life, American Cancer Society – $3,440
- Filtered for Life, Thirst Project – $994
- Mystery Mace, Laura’s House – $4,287
- HydroTunez, Easterseals – $2,462
- Tiny Toolbox, National Veterans Foundation – $1,768
- Chill for CHOC, Children’s Hospital of Orange County – $4,893
- Elysian, City of Hope National Medical Center – $954
- Sock it to Me, Breast Cancer Research Foundation – $817
- U Glow Dog, Angels N’ Paws – $668
