CAUSE’s Social Impact Summit to educate students about social entrepreneurship

By Steve Shonder

CAUSE will hold its third annual Social Impact Summit 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 10 in the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center.

The summit will focus on educating students about social entrepreneurship on a global scale and help students network with professionals already working in the field. CAUSE (Collegiate Association of Unreasonable Social Entrepreneurs) hopes to attract more than business students.

“There’s just a lot of inspiring stories that are coming out of this,” said CAUSE faculty adviser Christine Mooney. “It’s just a good networking event, too, for students who [are interested] and who just don’t know what they want to do.”

Admission is $5 for students and $20 for non-students. Anyone who registers prior to the April 3 registration deadline is entered into a raffle to win two free CAUSE pizzas. Walk-ins are encouraged.

The event will feature two keynote speakers and three sessions: a youth awareness panel, a corporate social responsibility panel and a presentation from Engineers Without Borders. The event will conclude with Pitch With a CAUSE, where six groups will present their socially responsible business ideas. The top three winners will walk away with cash prizes to help move their plans forward. Breakfast and lunch will be served to attendees.

“It’s a great opportunity to see how you can use whatever … you’re studying and put that towards helping people,” said Ilsa Chaudhri, CAUSE vice president of Social Impact Summit and a sophomore finance major. “That’s why I love CAUSE.”