“Our main goal was to raise awareness of social entrepreneurship,” said Megan Clower ’12, Intern for Social Entrepreneurship with the CCE. “We wanted to provide a conversation topic, and we got a really great response.” Clower headed the Gumball Challenge’s Organizing Committee, which also included Conny Morrison ’12, Sasha White ’10 and Anna Scheidt ’12. Clower was responsible for publicizing and organizing the event.
The money raised from Amherst’s chapter of the Gumball Challenge will be invested around the world through kiva.org, the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending Web site that allows individuals to lend to low-income entrepreneurs around the globe. Kiva’s mission is to alleviate poverty through microfinance.
Each team came up with innovative ways to raise money. Team “Seelye” raised $45 by selling cupcakes, the “Noms” had people pay to aim gumballs through holes made in a piece of plywood in exchange for raffle tickets, raising $190, while Team “US” garnered $173 selling cupcakes and having a team member donate profits from his weekly hair-cutting business. Team “Are You Game?” hosted Game Night in North College, earning $200. Mr. Gad’s raised $87.50 — partially paid in Thai baht and Canadian dollars — by having people donate money to vote to save or shave the hair and beard of Zach Cherry ’10. The results indicated that Cherry’s beard would remain but his gum-covered hair would be shaved at a Gad’s show.
Teams were judged on the amount of money they raised, the degree to which they involved the community and their creativity in using gumballs. Each team was given a creative award in addition to a ranking. Prizes included acertificates to Panda East and Whole Foods, a movie screening at Keefe Campus Center and two Antonio’s pizzas.
This was the first year that the Gumball Challenge was held at the College. “Megan first approached the CCE last year about creating a social entrepreneurship piece,” said Oscar Lanza-Galindo, Community Partnerships and Programs Coordinator at the CCE. “This semester she found various programs for us to explore, and we decided that the Gumball Challenge would be a fun and creative way of reaching out to students who want to develop direct, hands-on [and] practical event-planning experience.”
“What the Gumball Challenge did was allow for Amherst College students to do what they do best, which is to think about a given challenge and produce creative and unique solutions. Also, one of the great things about these types of events is to witness the energy and competitive drive of Amherst students on projects that will directly influence others in the local, national and even international community,” added Lanza-Galindo.
“I entered the challenge, really, just for fun; my friends and I saw the table tents at Val, joked around about potential ideas, and eventually went through with it,” said Amanda Rodriguez-Newhall ’12. “I got a good sense of what it’s like to start a business. It’s much more intense than I imagined. It’s time-consuming and frustrating, and working as a team was difficult because no one was ever free when we needed them to be free. But most of all it was really fun.”
“We would love to have this become a yearly event,” said Lanza-Galindo. “The Gumball Challenge is a great way to bring students together who are passionate about making a positive influence on campus and in the world. I think we have good momentum right now, and social entrepreneurship is a great way to think about ways that we can become more engaged citizens.”