According to marketing professor Brett Smith, social entrepreneurship is becoming more common throughout out the world, and at Miami University is at the forefront of the trend.
"Social Entrepreneurship combines the imagination and creativity of entrepreneurship, but applies it primarily for the creation of social (rather than economic) value often for those who are marginalized or poor," Smith said.
Taking on the social entrepreneurship charge in Oxford is Miami junior Jessica Reading. Reading is a management and organizations major with a minor in American studies. She is also a Wilks Scholar, which has allowed her to become heavily involved in the "Think Globally, Act Locally" program. The program gives Wilks Scholars the chance to integrate class room learning with a community based experience.
Reading's involvement in the program, and her work in Entrepreneurship (ESP) 464, a social entrepreneurship class taught by Smith, have caused her to spend countless hours developing an independent study initiative called Partners for Change.
The initiative, which is set to begin in the fall of 2008, will allow Miami students to assist Latino-owned small-businesses in Hamilton while gaining real-world experience.
Partners for Change will be a semester-long program and is not limited to students in Smith's ESP 464 class.
It was Reading's exposure to the negative stereotyping of Latinos in Hamilton that moved her to start her initiative.
"In Hamilton, some see Latinos as a threat to the community because they are thought to cause much of the violence within Hamilton, to reside in the country illegally, and take jobs away from other citizens," Reading said.
Reading learned of this negative stereotyping through her work with La Voz.
La Voz is an organization in Hamilton that strives to cultivate support and cultural awareness about the positive aspects of Latino businesses. The organization facilitates communication among business owners in Hamilton and allows them to be proactive in the community, according to Reading.
Reading, who began working with La Voz through the Wilks Scholar program, found out firsthand that there are many Latino entrepreneurs who have a positive impact on both the economy and community of Hamilton.
Seeing this made her want to change peoples' negative perceptions about Latinos. This motivated her to start working on the Partners for Change program.
La Voz will be responsible for finding the businesses that Miami students will partner with, according to Reading.
This service learning-based venture has two primary objectives, according to Reading.
"We want a partnership that offers Latino small-business owners the opportunity to partner with young eager college students to teach them about real-life business practices," Reading said.
Reading said the second objective is to give students the opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to help empower the small-businesses.
The initiative will allow Miami students to learn from the business owners and visa versa, according to Reading.
Most of the Latino owned small businesses have insufficient automation and technology, or do not know how to properly use it, Miami Hamilton Spanish and Portuguese professor Shelly Bromberg said.
And according to Bromberg, this is an area in which Miami students should really be able to help the small-business owners. Bromberg also works with the Wilks Scholar program and has collaborated with Reading in her efforts.
The small Latino businesses are typically restaurants or grocery stores that really need support, according to Bromberg. Bromberg said this need for support and empowerment come from the negative Latino sentiments and a lack of support from the Chamber of Commerce.
Bromberg said that after putting so much time into planning Partners for Change the expectations are high.
"(But) even if it doesn't get past a pilot, it's still been a success," Bromberg said.
However, Bromberg feels that the program will get past its pilot and be around for a while.
Reading's other main faculty supporter, Smith, was hesitant to say whether or not the program will be around for a long time.
"At this time, it is too early to speculate on the long-term viability of the project," Smith said.
According to Smith, something like Partners for Change takes a lot of patience and time. However, Smith said it is his hope that Reading's program will successfully build a strong relationship between Latino business owners in the greater Cincinnati area and Miami.
Both Bromberg and Smith can agree on their high level of respect for Reading and her efforts. They are also confident that her actions will serve as an example that students can make a big difference in the community.
Reading would like to see Partners for Change happen every fall semester, and then use each spring semester to market and gain interest in the program.
As of now there, Reading said there is not a final number of students who will be in the program next semester, but she is hoping to start out with a few enthusiastic and ambitious students. Participation in Partners for Charge is not limited to Wilks Scholars, she said, or students Smith's social entrepreneurship class.
An information session for Partners for Change was held Thursday, but Reading said not very many people attended. She attributed this to how busy students get at the end of the semester. Reading is still hopeful that students will show an interest and participate in Partners for Change in the fall.
