20110602_oru_sife_hunger_challenge
Oral Roberts University SIFE team wins Campbell's Let's Can Hunger Challenge
The Oral Roberts University (ORU) Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team was named overall winners of the Campbell's Let's Can Hunger Challenge last week. The ORU team donated a total of 158,910 pounds of nonperishable food items, the majority of which went to children in need in Japan.
"The most exciting aspect of winning the 'Let's Can Hunger Challenge' is that it clearly demonstrates our business students can excel in business while actively delivering the ORU difference," said Dr. Steve Greene, dean of the ORU College of Business. "For some students across the United States, it's a once in a lifetime experience to reach out to the hungry. We know our ORU students will have a lifetime of world-changing experiences. What a joy it is to mentor such a generation of difference makers."
The team had donated 137,700 pounds of nonperishable food items to feed 444 Japanese children for a year after the country suffered a major earthquake, and 13,210 pounds of nonperishable food items were distributed to Tulsa and international charities such as Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless, John 3:16 Mission and The North Tulsa Dream Center and African orphans. See the video the students created about their efforts at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv_RaUdWjuM.
As part of their campaign, the ORU SIFE team also provided online training to help people learn their way out of poverty conditions.
"One of our focal points of the "Let's Can Hunger project was to certainly provide immediate hunger relief to people in need in Japan," Greene said. "But we also wanted to help the hungry sustain the change. Sustained change means the people we feed will not need to comeback for more food in six months. We made progress by providing online curriculum to help people. The curriculum was delivered online and through Skype meetings. The ORU SIFE Team wrote and delivered the curriculum and maintains consistent contact with the people who have been served in order to sustain the change."
The team received a first-place trophy given by Doug Conant, Campbell Soup Company chief executive officer; a check for $3,000 and a Campbell executive campus visit on a future date.
"At Campbell Soup Company, we are passionately committed to reducing hunger and obesity in the communities we serve all around the world," said Conant. " I am proud to see our efforts extended through our partnership with SIFE. The Oral Roberts University SIFE Team accomplished incredible things, and I am thrilled we can celebrate the progress they made in the fight against hunger. They have touched many lives and continue to leave a lasting impression."
The Campbell's Let's Can Hunger Challenge, sponsored by Campbell Soup Co. for the past three years, is a comprehensive hunger challenge including: raising awareness, translating awareness to action in the form of urgent hunger relief and empowering those in need to defeat the cycle of hunger. The challenge is offered in three countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. More than 200 teams participated worldwide; 235 teams from Canada, Mexico and the U.S.
According to Campbell's Let's Can Hunger Challenge website, SIFE teams who compete for the grand prize must reach a minimum of at least 25,000 pounds and/or dollars collected.
The ORU SIFE team is in its fifth year and is comprised of over 200 students from 15 different majors. SIFE is an international nonprofit organization active on more than 1,500 university campuses in 40 countries.
About Oral Roberts University
For more information on obtaining a degree from the ORU College of Business, call admissions at 800.678.8876 or admissions.oru.edu. Get more information on the College of Business at http://www.oru.edu.
About Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality foods and simple meals, including soup and sauces, baked snacks and healthy beverages. Founded in 1869, the company has a portfolio of market-leading brands, including "Campbell's," "Pepperidge Farm," "Arnott's" and "V8." Through its corporate social responsibility program, the company strives to make a positive impact in the workplace, in the marketplace and in the communities in which it operates. Campbell is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes. For more information, visit www.campbellsoup.com.
About SIFE
SIFE is an international non-profit organization that works with leaders in business and higher education to mobilize university students to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders. Participating students form teams on their university campuses and apply business concepts to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need. An annual series of regional and national competitions provides a forum for teams to present the results of their projects, and to be evaluated by business leaders serving as judges. National champion teams advance to the prestigious SIFE World Cup. In addition to the community aspect of the program, SIFE's leadership and career initiatives create meaningful opportunities for learning and exchange among the participants as well as the placement of students and alumni with companies in search of emerging talent. For more information, visit http://www.sife.org.