MBA Students Raise Funds for Special Olympics
Participants from 13 of the nation's top business schools, along with Special Olympics athletes, will compete in such events as the briefcase toss and a swimming race in business suits in the 13th annual MBA Games tournament benefiting Special Olympics North Carolina Friday and Saturday at Duke University.
In addition to Duke's Fuqua School of Business, schools participating in the tournament are: the University of Chicago, Columbia, Cornell (Johnson), Virginia (Darden), Dartmouth (Tuck), Georgetown, Harvard, the University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler), Michigan, New York University (Stern), Pennsylvania (Wharton) and Yale.
The MBA Games, free and open to the public, are a two-day athletic competition featuring various serious and not-so-serious events, including a golf tournament and a 5K road race in addition to the briefcase toss, swim relay and a tug-of-war.
The MBA Games are the focal point of an intense, year-long effort that involves hundreds of students. As a result, the games have become one of the largest fund-raising events for Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC), raising more than $185,000 this year alone through a campaign of corporate sponsorship, yearly fund-raising events and individual contributions. This year, MBA Games reached a $1 million milestone in cumulative donations to SONC.
"Each person who has participated in this effort has made a difference by providing the financial resources to help Special Olympics reach any athlete who wants a chance," said Tim Shriver, president of Special Olympics International. "To the Fuqua MBA students, I say you indeed inspire greatness and I celebrate your participation in this extraordinary work."
Corporate sponsorship is the principal source of money raised. For the fifth consecutive year, Ford Motor Co. has signed on as the lead sponsor. In addition, other sponsors include CS First Boston, Chase, Lehman Brothers, First Union, Miller Brewing Company, Eli Lilly, Unilever, Deloitte Consulting, Kraft, Accenture, Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Johnson & Johnson, Exxon, Pepsi, Southern Co.,The Hartford Group, Merck, Guidant, Boston Scientific, Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, Dell, Siemans, Drugstore.com, Boston Consulting Group, Hoffman La Roche and GE Capital.
"Thanks to MBA students and corporations from across the country, Special Olympics athletes in North Carolina will have another opportunity to train and compete," said Keith L. Fishburne, president of Special Olympics North Carolina. "This event is a major highlight in the lives of the athletes and significantly contributes to the continued success of Special Olympics North Carolina."
SONC offers year-round sports training and competition opportunities for more than 25,000 children and adults with mental retardation or closely related developmental disabilities.