Young Entrepreneurs at Haas Launches Volt Raffle, Undergrad Contest

Out of a single car came a wealth of opportunity for Young Entrepreneurs at Haas (YEAH). The 22-year-old, self-supporting program for economically disadvantaged youth is capitalizing on a generous gift from Haas alumnus and YEAH founding board member David Eckles, MBA 73, to embark on its biggest season of fundraising ever this fall.

It all started when Eckles decided to donate a vehicle to YEAH to serve as an auction item. Together with YEAH staff, he settled on the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that would highlight the program’s commitment to sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Now YEAH has designed a slate of events around the Chevy Volt raffle to help raise its profile and support its mission of making college a reality for under-resourced Bay Area middle and high school students. The series begins with Social Media for Social Impact, a case competition charging Haas undergraduates with crafting a social media marketing strategy to identify target audiences for the raffle and expand YEAH's reach. Students can sign up to compete from today (Oct. 10) through Friday, Oct. 14.

Haas alumnus Bob Lutz, BS 61, MBA 62, who came up with the idea behind the Volt while serving as vice chairman of General Motors, will present the winning teams with $3,000 in cash prizes on Friday, Nov. 4, in the Haas courtyard. That evening at the Haas Gala in San Francisco, Lutz will receive the school's Leading Through Innovation Award.

Volt raffle tickets cost $50 and will be available at all home Cal football games and YEAH’s first golf tournament fundraiser on Monday, Nov. 14, sponsored by Sequoyah Country Club in Oakland. The hole-in-one prize at the event will be a Chevrolet Cruze, another fuel-efficient vehicle sponsored by Bay City Chevrolet in Oakland.

Based on the case competition results and social media campaign, on-campus events related to the raffle will continue into early 2012. The winner will be announced in January or February.
 
"Our goal is that these events connect YEAH to more people who have the drive to change lives," says YEAH Executive Director Jennifer Bevington.

For more information, visit haas.berkeley.edu/yeah.

The Chevrolet Volt
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