“Give a bit, donate a kit” is the tagline some fourth-year marketing students are using for their C.A.R.E Kits.
The Kwantlen Polytechnic University students have created the C.A.R.E (Community, Aid & Relief Efforts) kits are a part of their practicum and online business.
The team of seven (Ruskhaar Ali, Elodie Egersperger, Sebastian Hermannes, Jasmin Sahota, Christina Wiebe, Lindsey Zinn and Anthony Andreone) came of with the idea of kits for the Syrian refugees arriving in the Lower Mainland.
“We wanted to apply our classroom lessons and knowledge in a way that would benefit others positively, instead of marketing yet another product in a saturated world,” said Wiebe in a press release.
C.A.R.E Kits offer two packages: A Child Kit containing toothpaste, two toothbrushes, baby powder and baby biscuits, and a Family Kit containing toothpaste, toothbrush, shampoo and condition, a bar of soap and a bag of rice.
Each kit is sold for $25 and can be purchased online at www.carekits.ca until March 23.
The products are delivered by the team to the Muslim Food Bank who then directly distribute the care packages to refugee families.
At the start of the project, every team was given a $200-seed capital from the school to start up the business, which the teams need to pay pack at the end, according to Wiebe.
Since being given the money, the C.A.R.E. Kits team has grown their business and used the sales revenue to purchase more inventory.
As of today (Feb. 18), the team has sold 175 care packages, but their goal is 400.
After the team pays back the $200 and subtract their inventory expenses from their profits, the remaining money goes toward the Kwantlen Bachelor of Business administration in Marketing Management (BBAMM) Scholarship Fund.
