Enactus Team Heads for Regional Competition

Published March 19 at 3:30 p.m. by Rachel E. Dewey.

Imagination. Courage. Determination. Partnership. Accountability. Curiosity. Those six traits and four community service initiatives will be shared by six Keuka students at the regional Enactus competition  in Baltimore, Md. March 22.

Enactus is an international, non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders. The international organization formerly known as Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) changed its name to Enactus this fall.

Regional winners automatically receive an invitation to the national competition, which Keuka has done nine of the past 11 years. This year’s nationals will be held May 21-23 in Kansas City, Mo.

The Keuka team will deliver  a 17-minute presentation outlining four community service projects  it completed this year, Including:

• a Campus Sustainability Initiative (CSI) to reduce energy consumption and promote green awareness;
• One Piece a Week, an initiative to donate restored furniture to the Tompkins County Task Force for Battered Women; and
• entrepreneurial programs with Rochester-based PathStone, a private, not-for-profit regional community development and human service organization that provides services to farm workers, low-income families and economically depressed communities throughout New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Ohio, Indiana, Vermont, Virginia, and Puerto Rico.

Members of the presentation team include:

• senior Desiree Ford of Harpursville, an organizational communication major and president of Enactus;
• freshman Rich Matrassi of New York Mills, an organizational communication major;
• sophomore Brittany Gleason of Carthage, a mathematics and management major and chief financial officer for Enactus;
• junior Darrcy Matthews of DeKalb Junction, a sports management and accounting major who  serves as the team’s competition coordinator
• sophomore Marilynn Schoen of Whitesville, an accounting and management major who works on the CSI initiative
• senior business management major Tom Hoang of Vietnam
• sophomore Josh Crummenauer and junior Jordan Eaves serve as competition alternates; and
• juniors Dan Stephens and Stephanie Collins serve as audio-visual coordinators.

The team is coached by faculty adviser Sam Ferrara, assistant professor of management.

Making the Holiday Season a Bit Brighter for Needy Children

Published Dec. 7, 2012 at 10:57 a.m. by Gretchen Parsells.

The late American educator Mary Ellen Chase once said “Christmas is not a date. It is a state of mind.”

And the Christmas state of mind was evident in the number of ribbons and bows that adorned the bags and boxes for 38 children receiving gifts though Keuka College’s Angel Tree Project. The gifts for the children were wrapped and delivered to the Child and Family Resource Center in Penn Yan Monday, Dec. 3, where Santa Claus was on hand to give the gifts to the children.

“Angel Tree gives the College a way to do community service,” said Valerie Webster, community service advocate adviser and co-curricular transcript coordinator.  “It makes people stop and realize how important it is to help others, and to understand the true meaning of the holidays.”

Freshman Mary Leet agrees.

“[Helping others at] Christmas feels more like Christmas when you give, rather than receive,” said the visual and verbal art major from Stanley, who also serves as a community service advocate.

A community service staple and College favorite, the annual Angel Tree Project is designed to make the holidays a bit brighter for area children in need. Students, staff, and faculty select a paper angel from a Christmas tree. The angel contains a child’s age and gender, and a suggested gift of toys, clothes, or both.

Savannah Fuller, a junior occupational science major from Philadelphia and community service advocate, said Christmas “is a time to cherish all kids, and by choosing an angel from the tree, I felt good knowing I helped make a child’s Christmas brighter.”

Webster said two clubs—Rotaract Club and Drama Club—bought gifts for two families. The clubs combined to give the families necessity items including cleaning supplies, laundry supplies, towels, and pots and pans.

Rotaract Club member Brittany Gleason, a sophomore mathematics and management major from Carthage, says “the club is all about community service, and we feel good knowing that a family is getting things they need that they might not otherwise be able to get.”

Added Webster: “The Angel Tree Project gives everyone a chance to have those wishes we all have. And it gives the community of Yates County insight into the giving spirit of Keuka College students.”