From left: Jamie Greenberg, Brittany Fouskas, Mike Yatsko and Caiti Kaminski.

The Quinnipiac chapter of Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) won the SIFE Northeast Regional Championship on April 4 at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, N.Y.

The Quinnipiac team included presenters Jamie Greenberg, Caitlin Kaminski, Brittany Fouskas and Michael Yatsko. Ten other students also participated in the competition by handling video production, slide presentation, coaching and reporting.

The presentation focused on the group's Café Cameroon project, a social entrepreneurial venture aimed at creating a sustainable economy in the African village of Bawa, Cameroon, by helping residents to export their high-grade coffee beans to the United States. The goal is to create enough profit to eventually build a much-needed health center in the 400-person Bawa community.

"This is a very exciting time in our organization, and we are proud of how far we have come," said Greenberg, the Quinnipiac SIFE president. "The experience has been rewarding for our entire team. We are looking forward to competing in the national competition next month." The Quinnipiac team will compete in the SIFE National Exposition Competition on May 13-15 in Chicago, Ill. The winner of that competition will move on to the SIFE World Cup, which will be held in October in Singapore.

SIFE is an international organization that mobilizes university students around the world to make a difference in their communities while developing the skills to become socially responsible business leaders.

Rick Hirsch, director of the Family Business Center, serves as adviser for the Quinnipiac SIFE chapter. "Participating in a SIFE project such as this helps the students connect the theoretical classroom education with the practical aspects of actually running a business," Hirsch said. "Incorporating the philanthropic piece makes the experience even that much more meaningful."

SIFE teams are invited to showcase their community outreach projects at an annual series of competitions. Through a written annual report and live presentation, teams describe the impact of their projects to panels of business leaders serving as judges.

Every year, thousands of university students and business leaders participate in SIFE competitions around the world. These competitions are challenging, team-oriented events that motivate and reward students for continually improving the quality of their projects. They also provide a forum for best-practice sharing and a unique opportunity for the students, professors and executives in attendance to connect, collaborate and learn from one another.

For more information, contact Hirsch at 203-582-3850 or e-mail him at rick.hirsch@quinnipiac.edu.