SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise)
SIFE is an international non-profit organization that helps students develop skills to become socially responsible business leaders. Located on more than 1,300 college campuses worldwide, SIFE teams work with leaders in business and higher education to create economic opportunities in their communities through projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, success skills, environmental sustainability, business ethics and/or financial literacy.
A SIFE chapter was initiated on Belmont's campus during the 2005-2006 academic year. As a rookie team, Belmont's SIFE was comprised of 14 representatives who provided a unique blend of academic experience and extracurricular involvement on Belmont's campus and in their surrounding community. Today, our SIFE chapter has over 60 active members who remain dedicated to serving our community by sharing knowledge and encouraging success.
During the 2008-09 academic year, the Belmont University SIFE Team organized 10 projects on campus and in the community. Projects included:
- Teaching market economics to recently resettled Burundi refugees. Members created a DVD in four languages to help teach refugees across the country how to open bank accounts, write checks, use a debit card, etc.
- Writing, designing and illustrating a children's book. The book, titled Freddie's Organic Farm, is written in both English and Spanish and educates readers on the benefits of organic farming.
- Hosting an Ethics Essay Competition based on a question they wrote that was asked of the candidates at the Town Hall Presidential Debate. Members visited Metro Nashville Public Schools to educate students about voter issues prior to the election.
One of the team's projects, the development of the Rumba Roast fair trade coffee brand, is being featured nationally on SIFE.com. Sales of this coffee support Latin American farmers by paying them a fair price and profits from coffee sales support local Hispanic immigrants through Conexion Americas.
Belmont's SIFE team achieved Rookie of the Year recognition on both the regional and national levels in 2006. The team has been Champion of its region for four consecutive years and finished among the top 20 in the nation in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
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