The Evangel University Enactus team was judged as one of the top 32 out of 444 university Enactus teams in the nation, at the 2018 Enactus National Exposition in Kansas City, Mo., May 20-22.
Enactus is an international organization that helps college students connect what they are learning in the class room to real life through entrepreneurial projects and community outreaches.
The annual Exposition draws 3,000 student, business and academic leaders from around the U.S.
Evangel qualified for the nationals by advancing through one of the six regional competitions in April.
The 87 teams that advanced to the national competition were placed in 16 leagues with 5-6 teams in each league. Each team then provided a 17-minute presentation followed by a 5-minute question and answer period with a panel of 12 corporate judges.
Evangel’s seven-member presentation team shared six of the 12 projects the Evangel team completed to fulfill the Enactus mission to take entrepreneurial action to improve the lives of people.
Evangel was judged as second place in the opening round, coming in behind the team that placed 3rd in the nation last year and was one of the 8 best teams this year. The Evangel team was awarded a trophy and $1,000.
“The 79 members of the Evangel Enactus team had another amazing year working on 12 projects that impacted the lives of over 75,000 people,” said Bernie Dana, business professor and primary Enactus advisor. “I could not be more proud of the presentation team and the community impact that the entire team is having.”
SIDEBAR: Related stories from 2018 National Exposition
• Evangel students earn 2 of 3 national “Enactus USA Leader of the Year” awards
• Evangel graduate, Walmart exec. Chase Tacker named 2018 “Enactus USA’s Over 30 Alumnus of the Year”
Evangel projects help the community
Evangel’s Enactus team raises their own funds to support their projects and activities by encouraging parents to purchase “Survival Kits” for their EU students during mid-term and final exams. They also launched a “Birthday Surprise” that enables parents to purchase 4 to 8 Texas-sized cupcakes in one of 8 flavors for delivery to the student’s room, along with a bouquet of balloons and a poster for the door.
The resources earned enabled the team to allocate more than $8,000 to various projects and to enable members to participate in regional and national events.
Community projects this year included:
- Creating and piloting a program called BizKids that will be used by the Springfield Boys and Girls Club in after school programs to help elementary age students learn about economic and financial decisions.
- Helping Weller Elementary School gain support from businesses in the Weller Neighborhood to fund student field trips that enhance their life vision.
- Creating a model for Harmony House to engage the Greene County faith community to raise awareness of domestic abuse.
- Developing a marketing program for Victory Mission to expand their Street Chef catering business.
- Partnering with I Pour Life to create a community fund in Kore, Ethiopia, that empowers women to decide how to improve their community of 100,000 that is ostracized because of leprosy and HIV.
- Developing all of the tools and resources that enabled the Assembles of God to expand its National Fine Arts program to include students with business interests and talents.
About Enactus
Formerly known as SIFE, or Students in Free Enterprise, there are 444 active Enactus groups in the U.S., and on more than 1,730 college and university campuses in 36 countries around the world. According to their research, there are more than 72,000 students participating in Enactus programs, positively impacting more than 1.3-million people a year.
Corporate sponsors such as Walmart, Walgreens, Fidelity Investments, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, and Enterprise Holdings play a major role in providing financial support and in recruiting students for jobs.
Evangel’s Business Department
The Evangel University Department of Business offers a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with majors in accounting, business education, finance, management, marketing, and nonprofit business & social enterprise.
Evangel’s College of Adult and Graduate Studies also offers online and seated programs for a Bachelor of Science in Management and a Master of Organizational Leadership.
For more information, visit the Evangel University Department of Business or contact Eveline Lewis at (417) 865-2811 ext. 4117.
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