SMU entrepreneurship students raise money to fight leukemia

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary’s University business students raised $157 for the local chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Minnesota during the Fall 2011 academic semester. Each semester, undergraduate entrepreneurship students manage a not-for-profit retail store, aptly named the “Cardinal Corner,” located in the basement of the Toner Student Center.

Students choose products to sell in the store, garner donations from around campus, and sell items for on-campus organizations as part of the Entrepreneurship major at SMU.

Each semester the class chooses to donate their profits to a different charity. This semester, the class chose the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Minnesota. The LLS is the largest health agency devoted to blood cancers. Their mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s, and myeloma, and improve the quality of life for patients and families.

Students chose this organization because of a personal connection with fellow classmate, SMU senior Tony Olson. Tony’s grandfather passed away from leukemia in 2008. Olson’s family has been involved with LLS since his grandfather’s death.

Profits from previous semesters have also been donated to causes close to students’ hearts including: the Winona Area Humane Society, Haiti Medical Mission of Wisconsin, Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance, and Dom Dziecka, a children’s orphanage in Chotomów, Poland.

For more information on the Cardinal Corner or to present your request to the class to be considered as the charity of choice for the semester, contact Jana Craft, at (507) 457-1491 or jcraft@smumn.edu. Become a fan and receive the latest updates at www.facebook.com/cardinalcorner. For more information on the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, check out their website at www.lls.org.