From soccer to squash to spelling, Berkeley MBA students demonstrated their prowess at a wide range of activities to take third place at the Challenge for Charity (C4C) Sports Weekend April 16 and 17 at Stanford.
The competition celebrates a year of successful fundraising by Berkeley-Haas and eight other West Coast business schools that participate in C4C, an MBA student organization that raises thousands of dollars and donates hundreds of volunteer hours each year to the Special Olympics and another charity of each school’s choosing.
Haas students contributed more than 1,800 volunteer hours and raised more than $35,000 this year for the Special Olympics and Alameda Point Collaborative (APC), a housing community on the converted Alameda Naval Air Station. APC provides 500 homeless residents with a place to live, life skills and job skills training, and advocacy to connect with services.
To cap the year, students competed in 25 events at Sports Weekend. Berkeley-Haas beat out eight other West Coast business schools to place first in Men’s Soccer, Co-Ed Soccer, and Women’s Doubles Table Tennis, and the 5K Race.
Second-place victories included Men’s A Basketball, Co-Ed Football, Squash, Trivia, and the Spelling Bee. The third-place overall finish is among the best in Berkeley-Haas’ C4C recent history, according to Haas C4C President Paul Collins, MBA 11.
Collins called out as highlights a dramatic Men’s Soccer victory over Stanford on penalty kicks and huge support for the Men’s A Basketball team as players battled valiantly against former NBA player and two-time NCAA All-American Mark Madsen and the Stanford GSB team. Adds Collins, “The acclaimed Jean Claude Van Band performance at the finale Battle of the Bands event brought the house down with incredible costumes and unmatched energy.”
Berkeley-Haas Sports Weekend efforts were organized by Co-Chairs Caroline Mock, MBA 12, and Chris Nehls, MBA 11.
Haas C4C participates in landscaping and restoration work at APC, bowling and basketball clinics with Special Olympics, and fundraising through Haas-oween, No Shave November, and the annual C4C Charity Auction. For more information on Haas C4C, visit haas.campusgroups.com/c4c/about/.