t would be quite difficult for a student to tell you how many lectures take place over a college career. Lectures are the basis of most college courses. But if you ask a student in the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management to tell you about a course that requires a project that gives back to the community, the answer will most likely be “HRSM 301.”

In Spring of 2005, now Dean Emeritus Pat Moody first introduced the HRSM 301 professional development course. The course focuses on workforce preparedness, financial responsibility, and teamwork. Since 2005, this course has become a requirement for all students in the college.

The “Giving Back” project is the cornerstone of HRSM 301. In the course, lectures take a back seat to a semester-long group project that is designed to teach students the importance of giving back to the community in which they live.

The “Giving Back” project operates on simple instructions: the class is divided into groups, the groups are each given $100 seed money, and the groups are instructed to grow their money in a way that gives back to a charity of their choice in the community. At the end of the semester, groups conclude their projects with an in-class presentation and written report to highlight their efforts and detail their final results.

In the spring of 2009, there were a total of 42 groups in the HRSM 301 classes. These 42 groups raised a total of $57,201.45 for charities in South Carolina. A total of 29 non-profit organizations benefitted from the projects.

Perhaps more important than the money raised was the lesson the students learned that can only be learned outside the classroom and inside a team working toward a common goal: there is a sense of accomplishment and great reward in working with others and giving of yourself.

One hallmark of our college is that our industries are closely tied to the community in which we live. It is because of this that many of the companies within our industries give so greatly to their communities. This project further prepares our students for the industries they will soon enter.

We expected the worst

Faced with the assignment to take $100 and give back to the community, one group in Instructor Lori Hedstrom’s class decided to work with Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. Everyone in the group agreed that they were working for one goal and purpose: to raise money for the children in the hospital. The group members set a monetary goal of $1,000 for their project, but they were also aiming to establish a relationship with the hospital and patients by meeting and interacting with the children in treatment.

Working diligently throughout the semester, the group raised funds well beyond their initial goal; they collected a total of $2,145 in cash and gifts for the hospital. The hospital requested that the cash they raised be spent on items for the children and the playrooms, so the group purchased and donated stuffed animals, DVDs, and games.

Beyond the success of raising money and providing gifts for the children, however, was the realization for the group members of how their time and energy gave back to the community. “From the moment we walked into the hospital, one thing was clear—our efforts would be appreciated,” the group said in their presentation. Mindy Chapman, one of the group members, said, “I am really glad I could be a part of this whole experience. It really taught us all a lot about showing our community how much we care.”

It was somewhat of a surprise to the group that the most rewarding part of their project was their actual visit to the hospital. The group took a day to tour the facility and then spent time going into patients’ rooms with the nurses to greet children. The hospital also allowed the students to assist Ted, a well-trained golden retriever, and his owner during pet therapy.

“Although we are much older and maybe even wiser [than the children we visited], we were the ones
who learned something
that day.”

In their written report, the group recalled their visit to the hospital and what they learned. They said, “The hospital was such a special place. After we visited the hospital, we were positive that we had made the right decision about the charity we chose. We expected the worst, but we got to meet the best set of kids we could have asked for.

Although we are much older and maybe even wiser [than the children we visited], we were the ones who learned something that day. We stress about exams and daily drama, while these kids stay in a hospital all day and sometimes weeks or months at a time. It made all of our problems seem so insignificant.”

That’s how bad it was

Some of the charities chosen to receive funds from 301 group projects are less known. Angels House, a transitional housing facility for homeless female veterans located in Northeast Columbia, was another recipient of HRSM 301 project funds this semester.

Angels House was opened in connection with Lutheran Family Services in January 2009, and is a fully furnished and operational home. However, until this semester, the backyard of the home was mostly untouched since the land was cleared for the home to be built; it was filled with only dirt and sand. A group in Instructor Tina Weaver’s class wanted to give Angels House what the charity considered most needed, so they landscaped the entire backyard of the home.

This group of five students put in a total of more than 60 hours of manual labor to complete the landscaping. But it took more than hard work and sweat to complete their project. They didn’t have a budget beyond their $100 seed money for the project, so they turned to local retailers and community members for assistance. They received $840 in goods from Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Wal-Mart, and $228 in cash and other needed items from personal and business contacts, for a total of $1068 worth of goods and cash donated to the charity. In addition, their labor on the landscaping was estimated to be worth $1000.

During their in-class presentation, the group thanked Tony Mitchell, whom they called their “number one donor.” Mitchell, a Home Depot store manager, alone donated $550 worth of items for the project from his store.

What was once just brown sand and dirt in the backyard of Angels House was transformed into a beautiful landscape complete with a vegetable garden, flowering plants, and a patio with a swing when this group’s project was complete. Luis Perez, one of the group members who is also an Army sergeant, said in a YouTube video about his project that before the group started their project, the backyard was reminiscent of Afghanistan, Iraq, or Kuwait. “That’s how bad it was,” he said. “Hopefully [the new backyard] gives the residents a serene area where they can come out, relax, and enjoy their new home.”

According to Lutheran Family Services, South Carolina is home to more than 33,000 female veterans. It is estimated that nearly 300 of these veterans are homeless, many suffering from post traumatic stress disorder or other combat related illnesses. Angels House provides this population of women the necessary tools to become self-sufficient.

To see the YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/atch?v=N8TfCJo1YgM

We all got tired and were ready to stop

Groups this semester have arguably been tasked with a more difficult assignment than those who have completed the project in past semesters given the downward trend of the economy. A group in Instructor Collin Crick’s class that worked with The Women’s Shelter of Columbia said in their written report that “the current economic situation has strained [The Women’s Center’s] funds; they are in need of any type of contribution.”

The Women’s Shelter is a non-profit agency that serves as a safe environment for homeless women in crisis and provides necessary resources for them to build strong and healthy lives. While The Women’s Shelter would have been appreciative of any donation, this group decided to meet with the charity to determine what items and services were most needed. This meeting helped the group develop their blueprint for the project.

The shelter’s top requests for assistance were deck repairs for one of the homes the shelter operates as transitional housing, business clothing for the residents who would be searching for and starting new jobs, and cash donations. With this information in hand, the group ambitiously set out to meet all three needs.

Beginning with the deck repairs, the group of four men and one woman said they painstakingly scraped and stained the deck and replaced damaged steps resulting in a completed project with services worth approximately $650. One group member said, “There were many times when we all got tired and were ready to stop.”

But their work didn’t stop with the deck repairs. In an effort to raise cash for the shelter, the group also hosted a carwash. They were somewhat disappointed when they didn’t have the attendance they were expecting at the event.

That disappointment was short-lived, however, when they scored a great success in reaching out to the corporate sector. Seibels Bruce Group, Inc., a provider of property and casualty insurance products and services, selects a monthly charity for which they raise funds. The students partnered with the company who sold “dress down” tickets to their employees for casual dress days and held a yard sale. The result was $1521 in cash for the shelter.

The group also collected the women’s clothing that the charity requested, and reported a final total of $3386 raised in cash, goods and services. But they specifically noted in their written report that the project “became less about a number and more about knowing we helped people who were in need.”

“After putting all of our efforts into raising money and awareness for the organization, we realize that it was well worth the time and money to support something that we now truly care about,” they said.