SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - The Salvation Army Eastern Michigan, in partnership with Palace Sports & Entertainment (PS&E), announced that they have selected the following winners of “THE INTERNSHIP” competition: Alan Jaros of Oakland University, Kristina Howard of Oakland University and Justin Hatch of Lawrence Technological University.
Each will receive an internship with PS&E President and CEO Tom Wilson and the team will split $15,000 in scholarship money from the Salvation Army, SAM’S Club, Wal-Mart and Sprint Nextel. “THE INTERNSHIP” competition challenged students to develop and implement plans that would boost fundraising for the Salvation Army’s 114-year old tradition of the Red Kettles.
“I was briefed on the plans that these students turned in and I heard great things from the Salvation Army about how hard all the teams worked during the Red Kettle campaign,” said Wilson. “We were all impressed with the students’ efforts and their initiative. I believe everyone who participated was touched by the experience. When you have the opportunity to teach young people, work in the community with an organization as well respected as The Salvation Army and affect the lives of many, that is the ultimate win-win-win situation.”
The team of Jaros, Howard and Hatch, which was selected from more than 60 entered teams, raised more than $8,125 for their Red Kettle during the campaign, which ran from November 18 to December 24. The team was honored at halftime of the February 23 game against the Indiana Pacers as part of the Detroit Pistons and American Red Cross Michigan Heroes program.
“My teammates and I are extremely excited to ‘go to work’ at The Palace,” said Jaros. “The Pistons set the standard for hard work on and off the court in the NBA and Justin, Krissy and I want to help do the same.”
Overall, the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign raised an all-time high of more than $6.7 million dollars during the 2005 holiday season.
“The Pistons and The Palace are the leaders of the sports and entertainment industry in many respects and I really look forward to the opportunity that this internship experience will provide,” said Howard.
Teams were judged on a set of criteria that included creating a brief business plan, establishing a relationship with the kettle site store manager, recruiting volunteers to staff the kettles, and overseeing all donations at their kettle site.
“The competition was a great learning experience as it basically emulated what it is like to run a small business,” said Hatch. “I highly recommend for all students pursuing higher education to take a look at being involved not only with the Salvation Army Red Kettle campaign from a philanthropic standpoint, but also from an educational standpoint.”
Winners was based on each team’s their ability to fulfill the requirements of the assignment and a team interview with staff members from PS&E and The Salvation Army.
“Eighty percent of all new jobs are created by small businesses,” said The Salvation Army’s Jason Hale and the creator of “THE INTERNSHIP” competition. “We want to do our part in creating more jobs for the area by developing these small business management skills and encouraging the students to stay in the area after graduation. That won’t happen unless someone gets them involved.”
Founded by William Booth in London, England, in 1865, The Salvation Army is a faith-based, non-profit organization dedicated to serving people in need without discrimination. At work in Michigan since 1887, The Salvation Army operates 180 facilities throughout the state. Annually, these facilities provide more than 3.5 million meals and 600,000 nights of shelter for the homeless.