Canisius Enactus wins Regionals – advances to Nationals
The Canisius Enactus (formerly SIFE) was selected league champion at the Chicago Regional Enactus Competition on Friday, April 12, and advances to the National Exposition, May 21-23, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Enactus teams and their projects are judged on the basis of how effectively they meet five criteria:
• Target People in Need
• Consider the relevant Economic, Social, and Environmental Factors
• Apply Business and Economic Concepts and an Entrepreneurial Approach
• Effectively Empower its Target Audience
• Improve the Quality of Life and Standard of Living for its Project Beneficiaries
Canisius Enactus represents the Richard J. Wehle School of Business, with members from all majors, as well as from Arts and Sciences. This diversity of disciplines provides a breadth and depth of knowledge and skills acquired through coursework and extracurricular activities that are essential to Enactus economic development initiatives. It is also a reason that Canisius Enactus received two additional recognitions at the regional competition. For the third consecutive year, and since the recognition was created, Canisius Enactus was awarded membership in the “4.0 Club” – a recognition of team quality and sustainability. The team also received recognition for team size, as Enactus studies have shown that larger teams achieve greater success.
Students work hard throughout the year including summer, winter, and spring vacations, to create and implement sustainable projects that fulfill the Enactus evaluation criteria. A year’s worth of work comes down to a 17 minute audio/visual presentation in front of a panel of business executives. Canisius students work equally hard to create a presentation that will persuade the judges that Canisius is among the most effective Enactus teams in the country. This year, 42 Canisius students contributed 2,522 hours to Enactus activities and competition preparation.
Because of the recognition that competition provides, it is easy to overlook the community good accomplished through the students’ activities. The owner of the Bhutanese grocery store, which opened a year ago on Buffalo’s West Side with Enactus assistance, has been able to give up his full-time job, earns twice as much monthly income as in his former employment, and has paid off 1/3 of his 3-year loan from Enactus. Since June 2012, 75 women and men have attended Enactus weekly sewing classes. 20 have earned income from products Enactus developed, one has started a home-based tailoring business, and a local employer is interested in hiring others. East Side youth have developed and executed business plans for t-shirt design businesses through the Enactus YES project. They have earned profit and are expanding their product lines.
Submitted by: Patricia A. Hutton, PhD, professor, economics & finance
