Hospitality Business Management: - College of Business ...
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encouraging to see how much you<br />
can do with so little capital. Some<br />
start with loans for as little as $20.<br />
Some <strong>of</strong> these folks, our partners in<br />
Kenya, are working with the very<br />
poor, living on less than $1 a day.<br />
Lots <strong>of</strong> them are (now) running small<br />
shops…selling candies, food, soap,<br />
detergent. And I met with a gentleman<br />
who made jewelry, and beading<br />
on clothing.”<br />
He urges undergraduates examining<br />
potential career paths to consider jobs<br />
based in social entrepreneurship. On<br />
a personal level, he’s been heartened<br />
by the interest in the field when he’s<br />
met with WSU business students.<br />
“The whole idea <strong>of</strong><br />
social entrepreneurship<br />
is really booming.<br />
Micr<strong>of</strong>inance is receiving<br />
a lot <strong>of</strong> interest right<br />
now. Folks are seeing<br />
you can work within<br />
the business world and<br />
hopefully provide some<br />
social good at the same<br />
time, rather than going<br />
on Wall Street and<br />
doing the typical thing.<br />
It’s much more intellectually<br />
challenging<br />
and stimulating than<br />
the traditional business<br />
world.”<br />
—ELAINE PORTERFIELD<br />
Brooke Randall (right) and Unitus colleague Howard Brady<br />
(left) with a group <strong>of</strong> staff and borrowers from Unitus partner<br />
Jamii Bora Trust, a micr<strong>of</strong>inance institution based in Nairobi,<br />
Kenya.<br />
Marketing Club Students Develop Passion for Social Entrepreneurship<br />
Athena Partners founder Trish May with WSU marketing club students<br />
in Seattle.<br />
Take Washington State University business students, combine<br />
with marketing know-how, enthusiasm, and a strong work ethic,<br />
and add water. Is this a recipe for a cure?<br />
According to Trish May, Athena Partners founder, this winning<br />
mixture is helping to fuel the fight against cancer. WSU Marketing<br />
Club students are spreading the word about Athena bottled<br />
water, and, in the process, gaining valuable experience in strategic<br />
marketing and developing a passion for social entrepreneurship.<br />
A former Micros<strong>of</strong>t executive, May founded Athena Partners to<br />
raise money and awareness for women’s cancers after surviving<br />
her own battle with breast cancer and losing her mother to<br />
ovarian cancer. Named for the Greek goddess <strong>of</strong> strength and<br />
wisdom, Athena donates 100% <strong>of</strong> net pr<strong>of</strong>its from the sales <strong>of</strong> its<br />
bottled water to fund women’s cancer research, and has donated<br />
more than $100,000 to cancer research and education since the<br />
introduction <strong>of</strong> Athena water in July 2004.<br />
The partnership between the WSU Marketing Club and Athena<br />
began when May spoke in a WSU marketing class in 2005.<br />
Inspired by the product and the cause, Marketing Club students<br />
applied for and won a competitive American Marketing Association<br />
grant to help fund their involvement.<br />
With grant in hand, the students dove into the project: helping<br />
Athena Partners prepare for a national rollout. The club traveled<br />
between Pullman, Seattle, and Spokane, meeting with distributor<br />
Sysco, making sales calls to pitch the water and its benefits, and<br />
building awareness for the brand. By spring 2006, the group<br />
began to see the results <strong>of</strong> their hard work: Athena’s sales in<br />
eastern Washington had doubled, and a number <strong>of</strong> new sales<br />
prospects had been identified.<br />
Katie Blanton (’06 <strong>Business</strong> Administration/Marketing),<br />
Marketing Club 2005–2006 president and coauthor <strong>of</strong> the grant,<br />
says the cause is one that most people can identify with. “Almost<br />
everyone has been touched by cancer at some point,” she says.<br />
“Everyone involved in the project is really developing a passion<br />
for cause marketing.”<br />
“To be so committed to socially responsible businesses at this<br />
point in their careers—it’s outstanding,” says May. “I have been<br />
very impressed by the caliber <strong>of</strong> these students, and their dedication<br />
and drive. We have talked to organizations at other schools,<br />
but no group has embraced this project like the WSU students.”<br />
Continuing the partnership with marketing research and test<br />
marketing projects may be in the future for the club. “I would<br />
love to have the students help us figure out what’s next for<br />
Athena,” says May. “Our goal is to engage the community and<br />
ultimately raise one million dollars a year for cancer research.”<br />
With the involvement <strong>of</strong> groups like the WSU Marketing Club,<br />
this goal is in sight.<br />
To learn more about this project and how you can become<br />
involved, please visit athenapartners.org or contact Yany<br />
Gregoire, Marketing Club faculty advisor, at ygregoire@wsu.edu.<br />
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