Tag: United Way



The Coin Battle has returned pitting staff, students, and faculty in a three-way competition to see who will raise the most money for United Way. The competition began this week and will end on Friday, October 30.

Coin jars are located  in front of the Graduate Programs Office in Knight Hall and in front of the Undergraduate Programs office in Simon Hall.  The team bottle that contains the most money at the end of the competition will be declared the victor and the team will earn bragging rights until next year.  All proceeds of this competition will be donated to the United Way.

Enter the 25/75 Raffle

Raffle tickets will be available to purchase at $5.00 each (cash only) starting Monday, September 14 and will end on Friday, October 30.  Tickets will be sold two times during the day from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. and from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. in the dean’s office (Bauer Hall, room 440).  25% of the prize pool will go to the winner at a random draw to take place following the campaign.  75% of the amount collected will go to the United Way.

Guest bloggers: Terry Wirtel and Joyce Montgomery




Congratulations to the second cohort of the Certificate in Business Management for Non-profit Leaders who ‘graduated’ on July 30. The program is a unique Olin partnership with the United Way of Greater St. Louis and the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, and is offered to select executives with United Way agencies.  This year’s cohort included 11 top leaders from various services agencies. They completed a curriculum focused on effective application of strategy, leadership, management, finance, and marketing, while exploring several critical questions facing their organizations.

Guest Blogger: Michele Ralston, associate director of open enrollment, Olin Executive Education programs

Participants also completed a comprehensive active learning project in which they were asked to identify and investigate a key challenge faced by their organizations, and then develop recommendations and action plans for addressing the challenge.

To celebrate completion of the program, Dean Gupta and the Executive Programs team hosted a luncheon for the participants, members of their staffs, and agency board members. Each participant shared his or her project ‘elevator pitch’ and engaged in table discussions about the project.

Bonnie GSEM-Olin Talk 2Bonnie Barczykowski of the Girl Scouts of Greater St. Louis was selected to give a more in-depth presentation. Bonnie delivered a 25-minute project overview and made a compelling case for a program delivery innovation that was very well received by the 40 guests in attendance. In her talk, Bonnie credited the certificate program as a key catalyst that helped her re-frame an organizational challenge in a new light. We are so excited to see the impact of this certificate program with our students, their organizations, and the communities they serve.

DeCola Olin Certificate talkGuests at the luncheon were also treated to keynote remarks from Michael DeCola, Chief Executive Officer of HBM Holdings and Mississippi Lime Company.  Mike sits on the Board of the United Way and was co-chair for the United Way’s record-setting 2014 annual campaign.  He stressed the importance of clarity of purpose as well as the need for synergy with other community partners.

The Certificate in Business Management for Non-profit Leaders — along with the Olin United Way Board Fellows program and the Taylor Community Consulting Program — continue to place Olin at the intersection of leading business and non-profit thinking.


Over the past year more than 30 MBA and PMBA students have held a seat on the board of directors of a United Way agency. They have had the opportunity to engage in small to large non-profit organizations within our community.

“The challenging part of being part of an organization where you are on the board of directors is that you have a lot of different people with a lot of different interests and backgrounds,” says Shaun Reed, MBA’15. Shaun was a member of the board at Lemay Child and Family Center. Working with a diverse board and learning how to communicate and collaborate together was exciting according to Shaun. But he admits, “it’s been a bit of a challenge and harder than I really expected.”

Watch the video to hear from more Board Fellows about their experience.

Olin/United Way Board Fellows make a positive impact on the St. Louis community by serving as local nonprofit board members. During the year-long board membership, students work on projects for their agencies, engage with community leaders, and develop valuable skills in board governance, interpersonal communication, and leadership.

Learn More About the CEL

The Center for Experiential Learning (CEL) is an educational center located in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. The CEL is focused on creating innovative learning opportunities that result in meaningful impact in the business and nonprofit communities. Learn more about the CEL and its programs at olin.wustl.edu/CEL.

 


Olin kicked off its annual United Way campaign with a big goal and an enthusiastic call to action from Al Kent, Director of the Olin/United Way Board Fellows Program and Adjunct Professor of Accounting. United Way is truly changing and improving lives in our community.

Kent told a gathering of faculty and staff at a lunch kick off meeting, “Giving back to our community is a responsibility and a privilege for those of us who are able. The amount you may decide to give is not the important factor, rather, your participation is what is critical. Working together we can continue to improve the lives of those in our community, many of those people are right here among us.”




“The 2013 Olin United Way Campaign has come to a successful close,” writes Dean Mahendra Gupta in an email to faculty and staff today. “We exceeded our aggressive goal of $30,000. Through your efforts we raised $31, 402.

“Those of you who supported this year’s campaign should be proud. Because of you, we were able to exceed last year’s pledged amount by approximately 8%.  Your contributions will make a significant impact within the St. Louis Community, by helping those with a special need.

“Thank you for your ongoing support of the Olin United Way Campaign.  Please join me in thanking Bill Behr, Todd Milbourn, Dorothy Kittner and the Olin volunteer committee to lead our campaign efforts this year.  They did an awesome job!”

Sincerely,

Mahendra Gupta