Day in Durham 2005

DURHAM, N.C. August 27, 2005— Fuqua’s Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) and the Social Impact Club (SIC) Co hosted the second annual Day in Durham on August 27, 2005 with over 130 daytime MBA students, partners and staff in attendance.

"The turnout for the event was outstanding,” commented student organizers Hayden Smith and Lauren Gardner. “It was great to see nearly a quarter of the first year class meet with community leaders and local organizations that are using business skills to make a difference.”

All 130 attendees were treated to lunch and a keynote address by Martin Eakes, the founder and CEO of Self Help Credit Union. Eakes founded Self Help in 1980 and has since provided over $3.8 Billion in financing to 40,000 homebuyers. A native North Carolinian Eakes is a nationally recognized expert on development finance and has been honored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation as a MacArthur Fellow.

First year student Anne Kallus was inspired by the speech. "Martin was able to remind us that ambitious professionals have a unique opportunity to improve their community as a whole, and that their efforts can make impacts on the national level. Spending the day in Durham re-ignited in many of us an interest in finding sustainable ways to change the community via non-profit and traditional business models.”

After the keynote address, students boarded buses and headed out to three different neighborhoods in Durham to experience first hand just some of what the non-profit community in Durham is doing and what challenges the leaders in this community face.
Attendees visited the neighborhood of Southwest Central Durham and heard from key individuals involved in the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership and the Emily Krzyzewski Family LIFE Center among several stops. Others visited Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers, Inc. (TROSA) which is a nonprofit focused on helping recovering drug and alcohol abusers get back on their feet. The third and final group visited two organizations in downtown Durham, El Centro Hispano, Inc. which is dedicated to strengthening the Hispanic community and improving the quality of life of the Hispanic residents in the Durham area and SeeSaw Studio, Inc., which is a nonprofit that provides educational experiences and business opportunities for creative, motivated teenagers.
The day was not only an opportunity for students to hear about what these organizations do and the challenges they face, but it was also a way to let students who are interested know how to get involved.
Reflecting on the event, CASE Managing Director Beth Anderson noted, “This year, Day in Durham exceeded my expectations on all fronts. I only hope that we can translate this experience into meaningful community involvement that has an impact on both our student volunteers and the greater Durham community.”

The second annual Day in Durham was sponsored by Johnson & Johnson and General Motors with additional support from: Honest Tea, Fox Student Center Catering, Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership and the Graduate and Professional School Council.