Hello!

I’m Jacque, President of the edun LIVE on Campus (ELOC) program. I am a third year student at Miami University studying political science, sociology, and entrepreneurship.

At the beginning of my second year at Miami, I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of the start-up team for the first ever ELOC program that took place at Miami University. Along with 13 students and 2 faculty members, we worked to develop a sustainable program that would prove the edun LIVE model successful on college campuses.

Not only has it been an amazing experience for me to get actual hands-on experience doing what I want to do when I graduate, by working in a company, it is also working for a great cause. Because of my involvement with ELOC, I am reminded daily of the great work that is being done in the development of some of the poorest countries in the world.

One of the things I enjoy most about being the President of the company is being able to work one-on-one with customers and hear just how much people really do care about what is going on in these regions of the world. It is amazing to know how much passion and commitment people have for this cause.

If you are interested in starting the program at your university, I really encourage you to get a group of students together as well as a dedicated faculty member and/or academic department, and contact me.

Look forward to hearing from you!

Jacque

Entry 4: Our First Expansion Campus

In just a couple months, The Ohio State University will be the first expansion campus to start the ELOC program at their school. We are very excited to have them on board! We hope to have some exciting news/progress coming shortly.

Entry 3: Sorority Fashion Show

On April 26, 2007, ELOC hosted the first annual sorority fashion show at Miami University. Eight sororities participated: Gamma Phi Beta, Alpha Xi Delta, Chi Omega, Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Gamma Delta, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Delta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma. Each created their own, unique t-shirt design that was printed on edun LIVE t-shirts, and they were encouraged to order and distribute them to their sorority members. The sororities then showed up wearing their tees at a local establishment for the fashion show competition. A panel of 5 judges (including the Dean of the Business school, the ELOC faculty advisor, the ELOC President, an ELOC designer, and the ELOC VP External Relations) were given score sheets and told to judge on the basis of the aesthetic of the design and the meaning behind the design.

Brett Smith (faculty advisor), Cole Johnson (designer), Jacque Rupert (president), Joan Schiml (VP external relations), and Dean Jenkins (Dean of the Business School): Judges panel.

Congratulations to Alpha Xi Delta for placing 1st in the competition! Also, congratulations to Gamma Phi Beta for placing 2nd and Chi Omega for placing 3rd!

A special thank you to all those who participated, making it a very successful first year!

Entry 2: Trip in January:

On January 10, 2007, three executives from Edun and edun LIVE - Ali Hewson, Christian Kemp-Griffin, and Christine Driscoll - met with the ELOC team at Miami University to see the progress of the program. The day started with a luncheon attended by the Edun executives, many of the university’s top executives, including the President of the university, and the ELOC team members.

The day progressed with an executive board meeting in which the Edun executives were presented with the ELOC business plan. Then, conversation began about the next steps; it was at this time that the goal of reaching 40 other campuses by 2011 was set.

Christian Kemp-Griffin discussing in board meeting

After a successful first board meeting, the Edun executives had a press conference immediately followed by a public lecture to Miami University. Press members included many local news sources, local TV news coverage, as well as the Associated Press. The story was covered by hundreds of news sources around the world including BusinessWeek, Time, and Financial Times.

Christine Driscoll, Christian Kemp-Griffin, and Ali Hewson at Press Conference

The public lecture that started at 4 p.m. was completely full by 3:30. Over 500 people attended the lecture and over 200 people were turned away due to lack of capacity. The lecture was extremely well received by the student population.

Ali Hewson at Miami University lecture

Student supporters

After the lecture, a private reception was held for the Edun executives, ELOC team and first customers, and important Miami University faculty.

Jacque Rupert and Clare Sturni speaking with Ali Hewson at reception

Edun executives and Miami University team

Entry 1: Campaign Day, November 2006

On November 8, 2006, ELOC created one of the largest student-run awareness campaigns in the history of Miami University. The campaign goal was to raise awareness about ELOC and economic trade and poverty conditions in Africa. For the event, campaign shirts were created that displayed on the front, "I know who made my shirt, do you?" and had a map of Africa with our mission statement filling the interior of the continent. Over 350 shirts were sold on campus before the campaign day. Students were encouraged to wear their pre-sold shirts the day of the event. The event details were as followed:

• 10:45 am – 1:45 pm: ELOC team members were located in two high traffic areas on campus. Students were passing out flyers with candy and hot chocolate. Students were also selling campaign shirts and support wristbands. During this time, all six deans and the president of Miami stopped by to show their support.

Jacque Rupert shaking hands with President Hodge

• 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM: ELOC hosted a social gathering at a local establishment which included food and drinks. Our organization also hosted two faculty guest speakers, Dr. Rodney Coates (Black World Studies department) and Dr. Amanda McVety (History department), who shared their personal thoughts about economic trade and living conditions in Africa.
• The following day, ELOC was featured by the Miami Student Newspaper. A full page story was written about ELOC and the campaign.

Since the campaign, nearly 1,500 more promo shirts have been purchased and distributed around the country!

Edun executives, Christine Driscoll, Christian Kemp-Griffin, and Ali Hewson wearing campaign shirts