Berkeley MBA students finished a year-long charity fundraising campaign this month by showing off their smarts, speed, and agility with victories over other business schools in ultimate Frisbee, golf, a trivia contest, and a spelling bee.
The students raised some $20,000 this year through Challenge for Charity (C4C), a consortium of eight West Coast business schools that compete each year to accumulate volunteer hours and raise money for such charities as the Special Olympics.
Their efforts culminated April 16 and 17 with the C4C Sports Weekend at Stanford, where more than 1,000 MBA students competed in everything from squash to softball.
Haas placed first in golf, trivia, ultimate Frisbee, and the spelling bee, according to Chris Nehls, MBA 11, Haas VP for sports weekend. The competition included Stanford, USC, and UCLA. The word that Sarah Kwon, MBA 11, spelled correctly to bring Haas its spelling bee victory: unconscionable.
“Facing off against 1,200 opponents really forced us to concentrate our efforts and rally together,” says Nehls, who also touted the spirit of Haas representatives in the cheerleading competition and the all-international Haas musicians in the Battle of the Bands. The Berkeley MBA students generated donations through three major events this year: a Halloween (or “Haasoween”) party, No-Shave November, and the student-driven C4C auction.
In addition to Special Olympics, Haas C4C also raised money for the Alameda Point Collaborative, a housing community located on the converted Alameda Naval Air Station that provides 500 homeless residents with a place to live, life skills and job skills training, and advocacy to connect with services.