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Models walk the runway of a Dec. 4 fashion show and silent
auction, a joint venture of MU’s Service Learning
Program and Unlimited Opportunities, a nonprofit organization
for people with disabilities. The Savvy Seconds Resale Shop
donated many of the items featured at the event. Amy
Sanders photo
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Course
Helps Students Develop and Run a Clothing Business
Some entrepreneurs work years to develop
an idea and take the plunge to start a successful business. For
students in the University of Missouri-Columbia's College
of Human Environmental Sciences, the process of planning,
designing, implementing and marketing a new business took place
over the course of a few weeks. Under the guidance of Jana Hawley,
assistant professor of textile
and apparel management, who developed a service-learning course,
the students created a resale shop that is having a marked effect
on the community.
The goals of the independent study course
were twofold: First, to set up a textile-recycling program and
resale shop, and second, to provide students with valuable experience
in the field of textile and apparel management. The beneficiaries
of this project were the mentally and physically challenged individuals
in Boonville, Mo., who would gain work-training experience through
the operation of this store. And, of course, the students themselves
put their undergraduate education in textile and apparel management
to the test by participating in every aspect of the project’s
execution.
“It was a really interesting
way to put what we have learned at school to use,” said
Jenna Mason, a junior textile and apparel management major. “Working
with people with various disabilities and featuring them in the
fashion show was a rewarding experience.”
Savvy Seconds and the
fashion show and silent auction event generate funds and
work for the local sheltered workshop and promote textile
recycling. Amy Sanders photo
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The resale shop, named Savvy Seconds, is administered
by Unlimited Opportunities,
a nonprofit organization in Boonville committed to meeting the
needs of people with disabilities. According to Hawley, in the
first semester of the service learning course, 12 students organized
into four groups and pitched their marketing plans to the Unlimited
Opportunities board of directors. The board then chose parts of
each of the four plans. From there, the students helped to take
Savvy Seconds from a facility with potential to a fully operational
second-hand clothing store in a matter of weeks. During the second
semester of the course, students perfected the marketing and operations
of the store.
“This was a very successful project,”
Hawley said. “Not only have MU students and Boonville residents
benefited, but plans also are in development to expand Savvy Seconds
to include general materials, and not just textile, recycling.”
The success of Savvy Seconds in creating funds and providing work
training for people with disabilities and in supplying practical
training for MU students might soon be seen in the environmental
and economic rewards from its expansion. Hawley intends to continue
her successful textile and apparel management service-learning
course with Savvy Seconds to allow future students to gain from
this valuable experiential opportunity.
“This experience would have been
hard to get anywhere else,” said Maura Martin, a senior
textile and apparel management student. “Working with people
with disabilities to set up and run the store was gratifying.
I enjoyed feeling that I had a positive impact on the community.”
For more information about this project, please
go to the Unlimited Opportunities
and Savvy Seconds Web site.
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Copyright © 2007 — Curators of the University of Missouri
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Last Update:
March 12, 2007
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