By Ethan Summers
Contributing Writer
The aftermath of the April 27 tornadoes left a lot of work in Tuscaloosa, and some UA students are keeping the work going, even in class.
Students who enrolled in David Ford’s Foundations of Entrepreneurship class, MGT 386, for Summer 2 found themselves assigned to create a small business.
They planned to raise money via a raffle for a football signed by Nick Saban. The contest generated $870 that the class donated entirely to the Backpack Coalition, a charity dedicated to providing 10,000 Tuscaloosa students with school supplies.
The class’s donation contributed alongside such organizations as the Tuscaloosa City and County Schools, Temporary Emergency Services and The Hope Initiative, according to the Backpack Coalition’s Facebook page.
James Gilbert, a senior majoring in management who took the class, initially suggested a raffle sale and organized the project, including a radio promotion and a sale in University Mall and at Sam’s Club.
Gilbert said the time frame of a one-month class provided challenges.
“The time we had to finish the project was stressful, but our team contributed very well, and they took a lot of stress off me,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said he valued the opportunity to continue helping Tuscaloosa recover.
“Besides the initial work available in May after the storm, there hasn’t been much available charity work for students to participate in,” Gilbert said. “It was a great experience and something I enjoyed working on.”
Gilbert donated the money through Melissa Rogers, a volunteer with the Backpack Coalition. Rogers worked to organize volunteers and donations, specifically at the University Mall location.
Rogers said the students’ donation came at a good time.
“I thought it was awesome because we were running short on supplies. We always have several hundreds kids we need donations for,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the Coalition did not have enough donations yet to meet needs, and welcomed the money and the chance to continue providing supplies for kids as the school year approaches.
Ashley Olds, a senior majoring in fashion retail, also took the class. Olds said she’d volunteered previously with the West Alabama Food Bank and the “Dressing Up Tuscaloosa!” event, and found the class experience to be a good experience.
“As a charity, the project really showed that you do not have to be overly ambitious to make a difference,” Olds said. “We worked with the time frame and resources we were given and did a great job raising money.”
Olds said the project also worked out well as a group venture within the class.
“I thought that the project was a great idea,” Olds said. “For school, it really gave us as a group the opportunity to work against the odds; and by odds I mean because of summer classes when there aren’t a lot students on campus or in town and because we had a very short time frame with this being a one-month course.”
Rogers said anyone looking to help should seek out a unified outreach effort.
“When you can cross over lines and come together in unity, I think that really makes a big difference,” Rogers said. “I would encourage people that are looking for opportunities to raise funds to look for those outreaches that are a combined effort between a lot of different groups in the city.”
