Marketing Class at Southern Adventist University Raises Funds for International Nonprofit
30 April 2025 |
The following is a press release written by Julia Juler, a junior English major at Southern Adventist University
Each semester, students in the Principles of Marketing course offered through the School of Business at Southern Adventist University raise funds for an organization to learn event marketing. Last year, students raised more than $1,563 for Child Impact International, a global nonprofit providing care for children worldwide headquartered in Collegedale, Tennessee. This year, students taking the course were determined to raise the bar even higher. At the conclusion of the project, they had raised $2,100 for the nonprofit.
The inspiration for this student-led fundraiser came as Ben Schnell, assistant professor of business, brainstormed about how his students could gain experience in event marketing while focusing on philanthropy rather than profit. He decided all proceeds from students’ efforts would be donated to his favorite project supported by Child Impact: Asian Aid School for the Blind in Andhra Pradesh, India, where he volunteered years ago. The result has been an academically and spiritually enriching experience that Schnell’s students continue to cherish.
“Organizing the fundraiser with my group was a great learning experience,” shares Cesia Beltran, sophomore public relations major.
In the classroom, Schnell teaches foundational event-marketing strategies and explains the process for requesting and reserving spaces on campus. Offering a guiding hand, Schnell lets the students take the lead and maintain responsibility for spearheading their projects.
“They do everything!” Schnell says. “They choose what type of event they want to run, where they want to run it, and how much they will charge. I set the date and time of the event, along with some rules to keep it fair.”
Over the past four years, students have creatively organized and managed a variety of events, including sports tournaments, petting zoos, and dating game shows. Whenever difficulties arise, such as an initial lack of interest in certain events, class members “band together and overcome challenges by thinking outside of the box and asking for help, ultimately learning how a united group can achieve more together,” Schnell notes.
“These initiatives provided crucial financial support for our mission and helped cultivate a philanthropic mindset among students,” says Christopher Dubois Atib, director of development at Child Impact International. “The impact was so noteworthy that we shared Schnell’s model with one of Southern’s sister universities on the West Coast to inspire a similar student-led initiative.”
Since the first fundraising event, a total exceeding $4,000 has been donated directly from marketing classes to Child Impact International. Beyond the financial numbers, Schnell emphasizes the intrinsic value students gain through the fundraising process. He also remains optimistic about achieving the newly set goal of surpassing $2,000 in proceeds from a single event.
