MAHONING VALLEY Business students help out nonprofits

Business students volunteered at 16 nonprofit agencies that serve Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- At the Girl Scouts of the Lake to River Council in Niles, they donated their time to help plan a fund-raising campaign for a new climbing wall at a Girl Scout camp.
At the Jewish Community Center in Youngstown, they staffed a phone bank to do marketing research of members.
At the March of Dimes in Canfield, they helped prepare an awareness campaign.
About 200 business students from Youngstown State University spread their talents throughout the area Friday, during their "Dare to Care" event, said Betty Jo Licata, dean of YSU's College of Business.
The event gave students an opportunity to practice their skills hands-on at 16 charitable organizations.
Licata said it was an "important experience in the area of social responsibility."
"It provides a valuable way for them to apply what they learn in the classroom," she said. "But, more importantly, it's a way for them to make a difference in their community and develop an understanding of the role nonprofits play."
About the project
The project was developed by students with Dr. Jane Reid, professor of marketing. The project came out of a business school center that offers a certificate in nonprofit leadership.
Students volunteered in either one or two two-hour sessions during the day at nonprofit groups that serve Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties.
Mary Isa Garayua, executive director of the Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana, said students would help market the Youngstown organization's kitchen and develop a brochure.
At Youngstown Goodwill Industries, Inc., students completed phone surveys of listeners of the organization's radio station for the visually impaired.
At the Girl Scout council, executive director Karen Conklin said students would use flip charts to devise a marketing plan.
"I want to pounce on their creative energy," she said. "And I want them to leave here with a sense that just because we're a nonprofit doesn't mean we're not a business. I want them to leave with a sense that this is a wonderful career path."