McGill management students to raise funds for orphaned children through social media

Students from the Desautels Faculty of Management to generate support for Russia’s Kitezh Children’s Community

Montreal, February 18, 2013 – Thirty-four MBA and Bachelor of Commerce students from McGill University’s Desautels Faculty of Management will travel to Russia from February 28 to March 11 to visit companies, speak with business leaders – and use social media to raise funds for orphaned children in the Kaluga region.

By sharing their experiences through video and written blogs, the Desautels students aim to sensitize at least 10,000 people to the plight of orphaned Russian children. In addition, the students seek to raise a total of $20,000 through individual donations and corporate sponsorships. All funds raised will be donated to the Kitezh Children’s Community. “This trip will allow us to gain first-hand experience on successfully practicing business in a fast-growing economy as well as allow us to bring attention to and support underprivileged children in the country,” said Allison Lickley, one of the students coordinating the fund-raising campaign.

The McGill MBA and management undergraduates, who hail from cities across the world, will encourage those who follow their travels online to donate for the cause. The content will be on the official website at: http://PayItForward.mcgill.ca as well as on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media sites. This innovative fundraising enterprise captures this generation’s ability to use the power of social media to make a difference and create awareness of important social issues.

This student-run initiative is part of a groundbreaking course taught by Professor Karl Moore at the Desautels Faculty of Management. The purpose is to leverage experiential learning by bringing students out of the classroom into emerging hotbeds of commerce and culture. The project highlights a new kind of global engagement. “In previous years we went to Israel, United Arab Emirates, India, South Africa and now, in our fifth year, we’re visiting Russia,” said Professor Moore. “Russia is an important emerging market economy, and so we’re taking future business leaders to the future of the global marketplace. In participating in Hot Cities, students also have the chance to reinforce their generation’s ethical principles and demonstrate their understanding that being a successful leader includes giving back to the community.”

About Kitezh Children’s Community:

“Kitezh Children’s Community is a network of therapeutic education communities that give children from orphanages loving foster families, creating a developing environment for the education and care of orphans and children in crisis. The first Kitezh village is in Kaluga Region, 300km south west of Moscow, and the second village Kitezh-Orion, is located 60 km in the same direction. Family love, beautiful surroundings and an emphasis on individualized education all help children to heal the scars of early traumas, and build the personal, academic and vocational skills to become active contributing members of society. In 2003 Kitezh was recognized as a therapeutic education community when it became the first international associate member of the Charterhouse Group of Therapeutic Communities in Great Britain.” (kitezh.org)

About the Desautels Faculty of Management:

Since 1906, the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University has continued to be one of the top international business schools in the world. The faculty emphasizes the integration of teaching, research and practice, and applies a multi-disciplinary, holistic approach to identifying innovative opportunities and solving problems. Desautels’ exacting standards, innovative approach and historic reputation for excellence continue to attract the finest students, the most prominent professors and the most demanding recruiters from around the globe. Education choices at Desautels include all management disciplines, with programs at the undergraduate, masters, doctorate, and executive levels.