SIFE Week in Chico: Students Making a Difference
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 10, 2000
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
SIFE Week in Chico: Students Making a Difference
The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team from California State University, Chico will host a series of activities and educational outreach projects during SIFE Week in Chico. Mayor Steve Bertagna and the Chico City Council have declared April 10-16 to celebrate SIFE’s involvement in the community.
“We’ve added a lot to our agenda this year,” said Ed Person, SIFE’s vice president of pubic relations. “Tuesday, we are sponsoring the West Coast’s Entrepreneur of the Year. Mr. Robert Bennington, president and founder of National Audit Defense Network, will be on campus to explain how he became so successful and to explain how his company helps taxpayers defend themselves against IRS challenges.”
After Bennington’s presentation, SIFE has plans for the first A.S. Presidential debate modeled after the national presidential debates. “SIFE is a nonpartisan organization, and one thing we want to see is students getting involved in campus politics. Editors from our campus newspaper, The Orion, will be moderating the debate.”
Several other events are planned for the week. The two biggest events will be on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, April 14, the team will host its semiannual Friends of SIFE Banquet at the Canyon Oaks Country Club. The next morning the SIFE team plans to bring over 200 students from grades K-12 to participate in a fun-filled day on campus.
The goal of the banquet is to recognize the outstanding support received from the community. Highlights of the evening include featured speaker Kevin Clark (the state of Illinois Entrepreneur of the Year in 1993), the naming of the SIFE Entrepreneur of the Year, and a 30-minute presentation by this year’s SIFE team from Chico State.
Saturday’s events will introduce children and teens to free enterprise and business and computer literacy. Deborah Fleshman, a junior child development major, said that each fall USA Weekend sponsors a National Make a Difference Day. “Why make it only a once-a-year event?” said Fleshman. “We want to make a difference every day. Our SIFE team hosts a Make a Difference Day on our campus each semester. The activities are a way to bring children together in one place and time to learn from their older role models and from one another.”
A complete agenda has been created for two school age groups: K-8th grade students and 9-12th grade students. Starting at 9 a.m., SIFE project leaders will join their proteges in an activity that promotes community service and free enterprise. One activity includes a Scavenger hunt where they will play games and hear stories about entrepreneurs and business.
SIFE Week
Lunch will be sponsored by Chevy’s Restaurant. After lunch, younger students will learn how to surf the Internet, take digital photos, and insert the photos into a letter to a grandparent or other relative. Older students, including students from several area high schools that have started high school SIFE chapters, will learn about the benefits of a college education. One presenter will include a member of CSU, Chico’s Career Planning and Placement Office, who will show students how to write a resume and provide tips on how to get their first job. After these activities, both groups will come together for a “SIFE carnival,” which includes clowns and face painting, SIFE games, and a dunk tank.
Last May, the Chico SIFE Chapter was named the International Champion in Kansas City, from over 500 competing four-year SIFE teams internationally.
“We want to continue to be number one where it’s most important.” said Person. “The most important part is that we help others in our community become successful.”
The public is invited to attend the Tuesday night events in Performing Arts Center 144, Harlen Adams Theatre, 7-9 p.m., and the Saturday activities in the Free Speech Area,9 a.m.Ð4 p.m. Also, the media are invited to Canyon Oaks Country Club on Friday night, 7-9 p.m., to cover the events at the banquet.
For more information, contact Deborah Fleshman at 898-2513 or Ed Person at 570-8266.
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