Business majors at The College at Brockport, State University of New York, are combining theory, practice, and fun to raise money for two good causes as part of their Project Management course. The class requires students to propose, design, plan, and implement a charity fundraising project. The result? A Carnival and Casino fundraising event that will take place from 11 am until 2 pm on April 25 in Brockport’s Seymour College Union.
Event participants purchase raffle and game tickets for $2 and then can participate in the games of their choice. Proceeds from the event will support one local and one national charity. Saves for a Cure is a local charity that supports children with cancer. The charity was started by alumnus and former Brockport hockey player Todd Sheridan and receives ongoing support from the Brockport hockey program. The Wounded Warriors Project is a national charity that supports wounded service members and their families.
Each student in the Project Management class is required to outline a potential project. That proposal is then reviewed by their peers. The class ultimately selects one project from among competing proposals. Students are then assigned to teams in order to complete various tasks for the event. Those tasks include promotion and marketing, identifying and soliciting project sponsors, designing suitable casino and carnival games, facilities planning, day-of-event management, soliciting raffle prizes, organizing ticket sales, and project bookkeeping.
“Learning is maximized when courses combine classroom theory with hands-on practice,” says Steven Breslawski, PhD, an associate professor in Brockport’s School of Business Administration and Economics. “In many ways this class mirrors the actual practice of business, where things don’t always go as planned and you have to quickly adapt and solve problems as they come up.”
Primary event sponsors include RIT’s E. Philip Saunders College of Business, Barilla Pasta, Sunnking Electronics Recycling, Confer Plastics Inc., and Wegmans Food Markets. Individuals who would like to purchase raffle tickets but cannot attend, should contact Breslawski at sbreslaw@brockport.edu.
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