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MBA students get hands-on experience with social entrepreneurship

Author: Communications

Posted on Mar 22, 2012

Category: UNB Fredericton

Master of Business Administration students at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton have organized a unique dinner event that aims to raise funds and awareness for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

Dining in the Dark Fredericton, will take place on Sunday, April 1st at Kingswood Lodge and will feature a dinner where guests will eat wearing a blindfold. Each table will have CNIB clients or representatives who will act as a guide so guests feel comfortable and can enjoy their meal.

The evening will also include entertainment by musician Jim Noseworthy and MBA students John Morrison, Brittany McQuinn and Ysabelle Vatour 

Before the dinner, there will be a silent auction featuring items such as an iPod, a GPS unit, accommodations, car rentals, and gift certificates to a Fredericton restaurant.

“This has been both a challenging and rewarding project for our class,” says Essam Al-Habsi, MBA student and chairperson of the event.  “We had a chance to meet with the CNIB in February and we’ve learned a great deal about how they help thousands of New Brunswickers. We hope to help them do that.” 

The CNIB serves more than 2,000 clients in New Brunswick each year.  Amanda Bent, the manager of fund development for CNIB New Brunswick, says there are more than 22,000 New Brunswickers who are living with some form of vision loss.

That number is expected to double over the next five to 10 years.

Growing need

“We know there are many more people who could benefit from our programs and services,” says Bent. “We are here to provide assistance to anyone who has vision loss that is affecting their daily life.”

Bent noted that CNIB can provide support ranging from advice on the right magnifier for reading to technology for enlarging print on a computer to learning to adapt to doing different household tasks or travelling independently with a white cane. 

“Dining in the Dark Fredericton is a wonderful way to raise awareness about CNIB and its services,” says Bent.

“I’m proud of all the work this year’s class has put into this event,” says Liz Lemon-Mitchell, instructor for the MBA Professional Development course.  “Our class is also grateful for the support of the business community, who have generously sponsored our event and donated items for the silent auction” 

A number of local and regional businesses have signed-on to sponsor Dining in the Dark Fredericton, including:  Accreon, ADI Group, Atlantic Business Magazine, ARC Financial Group, BIDS, the Crowne Plaza Lord Beaverbrook, Fortis Properties, FredFM, MRDC Corporation, PQA, Summit Dodge, Tim Horton’s, the UNB Office of the President, UNB Associated Alumni, UNB Faculty of Business Administration, UNB Vice-President Advancement Office, and the Pond-Deshpande Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UNB.

Tickets for Dining in the Dark are $65 and are available at Read’s Newsstand and Café at 435 King Street, the CNIB Office at 77 Westmorland Street, and the UNB Bookstore at 29 Dineen Drive.

For more information, visit www.unb.ca/dininginthedark. You can also follow Dining the Dark on Twitter at twitter.com/DITDFredericton or become a fan of Dining in the Dark on Facebook.

Contact

Media Contact:

Liz Lemon-Mitchell
Director, Communications & Operations
Faculty of Business Administration
University of New Brunswick Fredericton
www.business.unbf.ca  
(506) 458-7492
llemonmi@unb.ca

Amanda Bent
Manager, Fund Development
CNIB – New Brunswick
cnib.ca/nb
(506) 857-4240 x 5611
amanda.bent@cnib.ca

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