NMU Students Raise Money For Community
Students lead innovative opportunities to engage our communities in benefiting local charities!
Marquette, MI – April 3, 2014 – NMU students raise money for community as professor Dipankar Rai and his Advertising and Sales Promotion (MRTG 432) classes have put together some fantastic projects to raise money for local charitable organizations while utilizing skills they have been learning in school.
The 46 students are working together in groups on projects designed to create a win, win, win experience for everyone involved. Students benefit from a real-life opportunity to apply learned knowledge, donators are appreciated with incentives for contributing, and the non-profit charities gain valuable financial resources.
According to professor Rai the idea behind the class project was to give students a more meaningful and holistic learning experience beyond textbook learning. Says Rai, “I am hoping students can understand, learn, and master social media advertising and at the same time find meaning in helping these amazing organizations who are doing a lot to better our community.”
The students are broken into various groups which are each required to create a unique video to the crowdfunding website indiegogo.com explaining the goals of their campaign, build perks for donors to receive something in return for their contribution, spread the campaign throughout various social media outlets, and ultimately try to raise $3,000 dollars.
Upon completion of the projects on April 23rd, 2014 students will present their class and the team that raises the most money will be recognized with a certificate by the College of Business.
We can all support these wonderful projects by clicking on the following links to view the short videos created by the student groups and sharing their campaigns with others. You or someone you know may even feel inspired to donate to a great cause!
Brief Summaries and Links to Student Campaigns:
GLCYD—Connect the U.P. Program
The U.P. Volunteer Network’s online database matches volunteers with opportunities based on similar interests. The database is a subscription service and for the past three years grant funding has covered the costs. The U.P. Volunteer Network is now at the point where it needs to pay for the service out of pocket. Donations given to the campaign will go toward this year’s subscription. For more information contact Victoria Leonhardt at 906-228-8919 ext. 13 or vleonhardt@glcyd.org.
Our crowd funding campaign is for the Marquette Youth and Family Center, who in association with the YMCA sponsors a summer camp for kids. Most of these kids come from the surrounding low income community of Lake Superior Village and cannot afford tuition to the camp. The total projected cost of one child’s summer camp experience is estimated at $310. The overall goal of this project is to raise $3000 by April 24th to cover some day to day expenses of the camp such as, transportation, maintenance, and supplies.
This group is raising money to help pay the expense of “Coaches” for at-risk high school students from Marquette Alternative High School. These coaches (mentors) will be matched to the students using the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program with the intent of encouraging the student past high school and through a certificate or licensure program. This post high school program might last as long as two years and the resulting Certificate or License will qualify the student for a life-time career in that technical field. Cost for this program is about $1000 per year for the mentor training, background check, and supervision of each matched pair.
The Marquette Youth and Family Center, in Marquette, Michigan, provides an after-school and summer program for children in the region. The staff, consisting mostly of volunteers, offers a safe atmosphere for kids to receive homework assistance, enjoy arts and crafts, and just hang out. Here’s the problem: after important facets like food and utilities are covered by the center’s budget, there is little funding left for creative outlets like music. Which is where you come in! The school-aged kids who utilize this wonderful program could benefit exponentially from support (from great people like you!) for musical instruments. Music is proven to improve focus in children, as well as promote hand-eye coordination, increase both language and math skills, and boost self-esteem. The money donated to the Project Rock campaign can fulfill the musical dreams of many area children. 100% of donations will go directly to buying instruments for the Marquette Youth and Family Center.
The pets of Marquette County need help. Donations will go to help animals at UPAWS get medical care, food, warmth, and keep the building up and running. Our goal is to raise a minimum of $3,000 by the end of April. We will be holding a show at the Masonic on March 28th from 9pm to 3am. This event will include four local DJ’s, music, lights, and dancing!
“Help the Wheels On the Bus Go Round”, a fundraiser ran by Northern Michigan University marketing students, to raise $3,000, for at-risk youths from the Youth and Family Center of Lake Superior Village. The Youth and Family Center at Lake Superior Village is an after school and summer program serving Marquette County youths, ages 5-17 and their families. By donating to this fundraiser, you will know that all money raised will be used to enrich young minds and provide experiences that will last a lifetime through the field trips. By raising funds, students will get opportunities to enjoy and learn new experiences that may not be available otherwise.
While improving the quality of life and welfare for over 1,500 domestic animals in the Marquette area each year, UPAWS sees annual expenses of over $400,000 while maintaining their No-Kill philosophy. These costs include their general operating costs, fundraising expenses, building improvement expenses, and the cost of paying their 11 full-time employees. With our campaign we hope to raise at least $3,000 to go towards the General Fund that will help deter some of the costs associated with UPAWS employee expenses.
Christmas Eve was a difficult one for UPAWS dog for adoption Lily and her foster home. Lily showed signs of sickness early in the morning. Her diligent Foster Mother rushed her to the vet. She was found to have two blockages in her intestines, causing her great distress and possible death if not operated on immediately. But with local awareness and fundraising we successfully raised $1300, which was $300 more than the initial goal. The Pink Lady Foundation is solely responsible for raising money for animals in need of surgery but who do not have owners to pay for their surgery. Currently a group of four marketing students are raising awareness through a popular fundraising website indiegogo.com. This foundation is essential for the success of the entire UPAWS organization and we look to your future donations.
We are a group of NMU students running this campaign for a class project. We are raising money for The Great Lakes Center for Youth Development (GLCYL). This fund is for the development of their website called Amazingyoopers.com. This website will publicize stories of Amazing people from the Upper Peninsula. A couple of people that have already been chosen to be featured include Tom Izzo and Nick Baumgartner. Our goal is to raise money so that we can interview, photograph, and publish these Amazing Yoopers stories. Then they will be posted on the website (Amazingyoopers.com) as an inspiration, mentorship, and interest to others!! You can donate to now at
Love is a 4 Legged Word is a campaign devoted to aiding the Upper Peninsula Animal Welfare Shelter’s Spay and Neuter Community Fund. This fund is specifically used for community members who need assistance paying for their pets’ operations costs. Spay and neuter operations can be very costly, yet they are an integral part of maintaining the health of a pet along with curbing the number of animals that end up in the shelter without a home. Help Love is a 4 Legged Word help the community and show your love by donating in your pet’s name!
We are five college students working toward a goal of creating a healthier, more sustainable, community. We’ve teamed up alongside the Great Lakes Center for Youth Development (GLCYD) in order to raise money awareness for local non-profit organizations that are always in need of additional funding from people like you. The GLCYD provides youth-serving and nonprofit organizations with expertise, training and learning opportunities so that all youth can thrive in healthy communities across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Our focus on positive youth development leads us to serve all regional nonprofits. A strong nonprofit community is essential to creating a healthy environment for youth. Nonprofit organizations play a key role in our region—serving children and families and making this a great place to live.
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