Georgia College’s Small Business Institute Class is in partnership with the GCSU Athletic Department as they sell tie-dye t-shirts on Tuesday, October 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on front campus to fundraise for the women’s soccer team.
There will be white t-shirts for purchase and a separate table that will supply a variety of paint dyes to choose from since students will dye their own shirts.
A unique design imprinted on the shirt will arise once the dye sets, featuring the school’s infamous bobcat mascot named Thunder and a quote which reads, “Bring on the Thunder!”
The event will continue every Tuesday and Thursday at the same time and location until supplies run out.
The class currently has 225 shirts that range from sizes small (S) to double extra-large (2XL). If there is a large demand for shirts in the month of October, supplies will be restocked for November.
This fundraiser will mirror small business work by allowing students in the class to separate themselves into groups with a managing director, head of marketing, head of finance and subgroups for each department.
Through these positions, students are learning different factors that small businesses must account for, such as finance and budgeting.
Kent Hill, a relatively new professor at GCSU, is organizing this fundraiser for the first time on campus.
He previously taught in North Carolina and taught entrepreneurial classes where they partnered with local businesses to sell and advertise items from the shops.
Because this fundraiser is new for all involved, it is not only a learning experience for the students, but also for Hill as he navigates the behind-the-scenes aspects. Hill remarks that every school is different in the steps toward approval as he handles the challenges of this at GCSU. “This was like the guinea pig class as I tried to find out who to contact. I got the first bit of groundwork laid out for them, and now they can do everything,” said Hill.
In future reference, he also hopes to find sponsors that will help with the prices and make items more affordable for students. The current price is $24.99 with tax, but if students cannot afford this, there is an option to provide a smaller donation amount for the women’s soccer team.
“I feel like this shows how special a liberal arts education is because at a bigger school like UGA, it would be a lot harder to put on something like this,” said Julia Whalen, a senior marketing major. “I feel like because we have such a small school, we were able to find funding really fast, get approvals for graphics and push this whole process through.”
Students believe that this is also beneficial for women’s soccer at GCSU because it brings more attention to their team.
“I think that it’s just a good way to show school spirit. I feel like they’re always giving away things on campus, but I think that because we aren’t such a sports-centered school, it’s kind of hard to find that combination between Bobcat pride and sports. I feel like it is beneficial for that connection and also has an experimental marketing aspect to it,” said Whalen.