IN THE COMMUNITY: OUTREACH AND SERVICE
Business Without Borders CONTINUES PROGRESS Villanova Business without Borders (BWB) is a Net Impact affiliated group of sociallyminded business students. The purpose of BWB is to show VSB students how business skills can be leveraged for the social good. Through presentations, events and discussions, students are exposed to opportunities for those who want to use their business skills and serve the community. BWB hopes to inspire, educate and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world. BWB was recently awarded Silver Standing by the international Net Impact organization. Only five of 67 UG Net Impact chapters achieved Silver status this year. Chapters that receive this recognition create opportunities for their members to develop business acumen, network and build a community focused on creating change. CGL sponsored five BWB officers to attend the annual Net Impact conference in Baltimore. This year, BWB continued with ongoing activities including the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program and entrepreneurial projects in Nicaragua, but also branched into a number of new areas. A member’s interest in microfinance led to the creation of a KIVA subcommittee, in which the students raise money on campus and lend it out to entrepreneurs in developing economies in the form of microloans. An organization called Profugo, based in Ardmore but working to improve the lives of those in rural India, asked for some business advice, and BWB students are developing inventory management and marketing consulting plans for the organization. Another new connection made was with the Starfish Foundation, an organization that provides educational assistance to at-risk youth in Ecuador, for which a successful benefit dinner was planned and run by BWB members. BWB is led by Faculty Advisor Debra Arvanites, and the following Executive Board: Co-Presidents, Erin Digan ’14 VSB and Kaitlyn Dormer ’14 VSB; Administrative and Net Impact, Lori Jamolawicz ’14 VSB; Campus Leader, Katie Schaad ’14 VSB; International Projects, Wyatt Craig ’15 VSB and Will Seabaugh ’16 VSB; Local Projects, Caroline Turpin ’15 VSB; Profugo (Local Projects), Vidhi Shah ’15 VSB; Outreach, Phil Brady ’14 VSB and Griffin Coakley ’15 VSB; VITA, Tiffany Weisbecker ’16 VSB and Ling Han ’14 VSB and, KIVA, Alison Mead ’16 VSB.
Developing Business Leaders for a Better World.
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