On Wednesday, November 2, 2011, PBU-Students in Free Enterprise (PBU-SIFE) hosted an event to celebrate the launch of a new social media campaign. In partnership with RA Dickey, New York Mets pitcher, PBU-SIFE is launching a social media campaign to raise $100,000 for Bombay Teen Challenge (BTC).
PBU-SIFE has worked with Bombay Teen Challenge over the past year. BTC is an organization in Mumbai, India, which rescues women out of human trafficking and teaches them business skills. PBU-SIFE is working to expand an existing small enterprise called Set Beautiful Free with the goal of business ownership for the women. PBU-SIFE developed a curriculum to teach basic accounting, marketing, distribution, and profitable business management, which six students took to Mumbai in May 2011 to teach the women working in the enterprise. In addition, through the Hope.Beauty.Fashion. sales events, PBU-SIFE has promoted the sales of goods produced by entrepreneurs in third world countries.
These activities take place in conjunction with the many seminars, community service opportunities, and awareness events that PBU-SIFE sponsors throughout a given year. This fall the PBU-SIFE team are organizing and marketing the eighth annual Career Fair for job-seekers in both the student body and the local community. In October, PBU-SIFE and other student groups mobilized students to take part in the fourth annual “Can-o-Treating,” a collection of non-perishables for a local food bank. PBU-SIFE also will participate for the fourth year in Campbell Soup Company’s Let’s Can Hunger, a hunger awareness initiative. Financial and business preparation seminars will be offered to students and members of the community in the spring. The work done by PBU-SIFE has taken them to the National Competition of university SIFE organizations for 8 years in a row.
Wednesday evening’s event highlighted the new partnership with RA Dickey to benefit BTC. Dickey, a knuckleball pitcher for the Mets, has become a leader on and off the field, and with his own commitment to Christ, he desires to use his position for a worthy cause. Dickey has decided to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in January 2012 to raise funds and awareness for BTC.
PBU-SIFE’s task is to help BTC and RA Dickey maximize awareness of his efforts. The goal is to raise $100,000 to purchase a new health clinic for BTC in the heart of the Red Light District of Mumbai.
The PBU-SIFE team interviewed Dickey and produced a 60-second promotional video to promote his climb. In addition they have developed an online fundraising platform for the project.
Students in Free Enterprise is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders.
