College students' marketing plan helps food pantry help others

Published: 2005-12-21

CHICAGO (CNS) -- A marketing plan developed as a college class project brought a merrier Christmas to the beneficiaries of a Knights of Columbus-run food pantry in Chicago. Emilio Scalzitti, vice president of Sheridan Carroll Charitable Works Funds, had been frustrated as he tried to figure out how to meet the growing demands on the organization's food pantry. As Christmas approached, the organization also needed to collect food for the gift baskets that they give needy families. Then an entrepreneurship class at nearby Dominican University in River Forest volunteered to develop a marketing plan. The students had learned about marketing for a nonprofit organization, and Scalzitti and Sheridan Carroll received the benefits of the students' work. Because of their efforts, Sheridan Carroll's pantry fed a record 280 families in November and was on track to feed a record number in December as well.

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