Entrepreneurship Business Club makes popping sales with Kettle Corn Fundraiser
The sweet smell of kettle corn lingered in the air of the Student Services Building at Delaware Technical Community College Owens Campus on Nov. 15, as the Entrepreneurship Business Club hosted a fundraiser.
Selling fresh popped kettle corn to students and staff, the club was there all day raising money.
Keiren Cluscas, a business student at Delaware Tech, organized the event as a final project in his leadership capstone course. Cluscas said as part of his course he had to develop a plan for a small business venture, and then complete it. He said the assignment taught him a lot about the process of both wholesale and resale.
“I spent around five or six hours of class time coming up with the plan, and then another 10 hours or so putting it into action, organizing it all, getting the materials, and making it a reality,” said Cluscas.
All proceeds from the event went directly to benefit the Entrepreneurship Business Club, said Cluscas. More than $240 was expected to be raised by the end of the kettle corn sale. The kettle corn was purchased from a local friend of Keiren who makes the treat for different local events throughout the year.
While the event was created and run by Cluscas, Entrepreneurship Business Club members acted as his “employees,” selling to customers as well as making deliveries.
Charles Worris, a member of the club and a fellow business student, was standing outside of the room in which they were selling, advertising the sale to passersby.
Worris said that while the majority of the sales were being made at the Student Services Center, some staff had pre-ordered kettle corn to be delivered to them the day of. The kettle corn was being sold in bags for $4, or two bags for $7.
“All the money we make from this sale will go directly to the Business Club. We’ll be here all day trying to sell to anyone interested...We are giving out small baggies full as free samples so people can taste it and hopefully want to buy more,” said Worris.
The funds will help for future events and and general operations of the club, said Worris.
Alex Bendistis, a nursing student, was in the Student Services Building on the day of the sale. She said she was killing time in between classes and saw the sale so she tried a free sample.
Fundraisers such as the one by the Entrepreneurial Business Club take place often on Owens Campus, many of which are student organized. These events raise money for student clubs and events, while providing an educational purpose. Upcoming fundraisers can be found on Delaware Tech’s activities calendar.
Charles Worris (pictured on the left) stands in front of the kettle corn stand, beckoning passersby to try a sample of the corn in hopes they’ll buy more, as two other Entrepreneurship Business Club members sell to students in the Student Services Center of Owens Campus. Photo by W. Voges