Business students help bring ReStore to life
Business students help bring ReStore to life
March 13, 2007
Big box stores, local businesses, contractors and friends are expected to contribute everything from carpet remnants to lumber to Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity's new ReStore coming soon to Clayton.
Rohrer College of Business entrepreneurship students at Rowan University are expected to contribute up to 3,000 hours to bring the facility to life.
Students, under the guidance of four advisors (Dr. Tom Bryant, Rohrer Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies; Allan Connors, executive director of Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity; Jay Gassaway, past-president of the Delaware Valley chapter of the Project Management Institute; and Prof. Dan Davis, of Rowan's Management and MIS Department), have been working this academic semester on a variety of committees to help launch the ReStore. ReStore is a retail outlet where quality used and surplus building materials are sold at a fraction of normal prices, according to the nonprofit organization known for building houses for low-income families. Materials sold by Habitat ReStores are usually donated by building supply stores, contractors, demolition crews or individuals who wish to show their support for Habitat, which then uses the funds from the sales to build more houses, according to Habitat.
At Rowan, 21 students are serving on five task forces:
? The Supply group seeks donations.
? The Operations team deals with what happens onsite.
? The Marketing group seeks customers and donors.
? The Human Resources team focuses on staff requirements and volunteer concerns.
? The Finance group works on tax issues, inventory processing and discounts.
"Our goal is to help build the best ReStore in the country," said Bryant, who noted students must commit 10 to 15 hours a week to the project. "This is a learning experience for which students not only have responsibility for researching the project but also for implementing it."
The Rowan students -? four business graduate students and one engineering graduate student taking Strategic Project-Based Experience and 16 undergraduate students taking the Management Consulting Field Study class ? have been working in the classroom and at the ReStore site, researching, interviewing and planning according to sound business standards. In addition to working on committees in areas in which they have a strong background, the students are required to lead committees in areas in which they have limited experience. The idea, according to Bryant, is to not only support Habitat's ReStore effort but also encourage the students to grow the skills they need to get a business off the ground.
"It's a fairly complex project to start a successful business. Entrepreneurship graduates should be able to do it all," Bryant said.
Jay Shoemaker, 22, of Somerdale, is one of the students working on the ReStore project. A senior business administration major specializing in entrepreneurship, Shoemaker owns his own business, Shoemaker Entertainment, a disc jockey and digital jukebox rental operation, and thinks the ReStore project is helping round out his skills. Working on the Habitat effort, he said, is helping him learn to have a boss, rather than be one, and to be a team player.
"I'm getting hands-on experience like an internship," he said. And there are added benefits. "It really is exciting because it's for a reputable non-profit organization."
"As an alumnus, working with the students is a particularly meaningful experience for me personally," Connors said. "The students' efforts are directly impacting the implementation and success of ReStore. In doing so, they are exhibiting the very best in business practices and good citizenship alike."
The Gloucester County ReStore also will offer furniture and appliances in addition to building supplies at well-below market cost. In accordance with Habitat's philosophy of doing well by the environment, the ReStore will feature recycled items ? such as claw foot bathtubs and radiators ? taken from demolished houses. Located on more than an acre, the ReStore complex comprises two warehouses and an office on Atlantic Avenue in Clayton. The facility will open mid-year
(To learn more about the Rohrer College of Business, visit http://www.rowan.edu/colleges/business. To learn more about Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity, visit http://www.glocohfh.org.)
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Rohrer College of Business entrepreneurship students at Rowan University are expected to contribute up to 3,000 hours to bring the facility to life.
Students, under the guidance of four advisors (Dr. Tom Bryant, Rohrer Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies; Allan Connors, executive director of Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity; Jay Gassaway, past-president of the Delaware Valley chapter of the Project Management Institute; and Prof. Dan Davis, of Rowan's Management and MIS Department), have been working this academic semester on a variety of committees to help launch the ReStore. ReStore is a retail outlet where quality used and surplus building materials are sold at a fraction of normal prices, according to the nonprofit organization known for building houses for low-income families. Materials sold by Habitat ReStores are usually donated by building supply stores, contractors, demolition crews or individuals who wish to show their support for Habitat, which then uses the funds from the sales to build more houses, according to Habitat.
At Rowan, 21 students are serving on five task forces:
? The Supply group seeks donations.
? The Operations team deals with what happens onsite.
? The Marketing group seeks customers and donors.
? The Human Resources team focuses on staff requirements and volunteer concerns.
? The Finance group works on tax issues, inventory processing and discounts.
"Our goal is to help build the best ReStore in the country," said Bryant, who noted students must commit 10 to 15 hours a week to the project. "This is a learning experience for which students not only have responsibility for researching the project but also for implementing it."
The Rowan students -? four business graduate students and one engineering graduate student taking Strategic Project-Based Experience and 16 undergraduate students taking the Management Consulting Field Study class ? have been working in the classroom and at the ReStore site, researching, interviewing and planning according to sound business standards. In addition to working on committees in areas in which they have a strong background, the students are required to lead committees in areas in which they have limited experience. The idea, according to Bryant, is to not only support Habitat's ReStore effort but also encourage the students to grow the skills they need to get a business off the ground.
"It's a fairly complex project to start a successful business. Entrepreneurship graduates should be able to do it all," Bryant said.
Jay Shoemaker, 22, of Somerdale, is one of the students working on the ReStore project. A senior business administration major specializing in entrepreneurship, Shoemaker owns his own business, Shoemaker Entertainment, a disc jockey and digital jukebox rental operation, and thinks the ReStore project is helping round out his skills. Working on the Habitat effort, he said, is helping him learn to have a boss, rather than be one, and to be a team player.
"I'm getting hands-on experience like an internship," he said. And there are added benefits. "It really is exciting because it's for a reputable non-profit organization."
"As an alumnus, working with the students is a particularly meaningful experience for me personally," Connors said. "The students' efforts are directly impacting the implementation and success of ReStore. In doing so, they are exhibiting the very best in business practices and good citizenship alike."
The Gloucester County ReStore also will offer furniture and appliances in addition to building supplies at well-below market cost. In accordance with Habitat's philosophy of doing well by the environment, the ReStore will feature recycled items ? such as claw foot bathtubs and radiators ? taken from demolished houses. Located on more than an acre, the ReStore complex comprises two warehouses and an office on Atlantic Avenue in Clayton. The facility will open mid-year
(To learn more about the Rohrer College of Business, visit http://www.rowan.edu/colleges/business. To learn more about Gloucester County Habitat for Humanity, visit http://www.glocohfh.org.)
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