by Danielle Boyd | Sep 21, 2011 | News Slider
SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) is an international non-profit organization on college and university campuses, where students do community based projects on relevant economic, social and environmental factors. “They go in and empower people based on those factors to improve their standard of living and quality of life through the positive power of business,” said Duncan Gross, a junior accounting major from Memphis, Tenn., and executive director of Lipscomb SIFE. The organiztion, established on campus Jan. 15, 2010, made its debut as one of the fastest growing student-led organizations on campus. When it first began, SIFE enlisted students to join the efforts for service within the Nashville community. “We sought to really work with the non-profits in Nashville to help them with the process and improvement of the projects they do within the community,” said Gross. Originally taking on 16 projects at a time, SIFE has narrowed down their mark this year to only three, giving students the opportunity to engage and serve at a more feasible work schedule. Within the past year, SIFE members have collaborated with many non-profit organizations such as Greenhouse Ministries in Murfreesboro, Tenn. “One of our biggest projects is Kilowatt Ours,” said Gross. “I plan to reenergize America.” For that project, SIFE members and organization leaders complete a series of workshops to help low-income families save energy and decrease their electric bills by at least $80. “This will help them save money, which they can reallocate to other aspects of life,” said Gross. As SIFE continues to grow, its service has reached beyond state lines and into the international level. In addition to serving the community, SIFE has also developed a pen pal project with David Lipscomb Middle School as well as...
by Emily Snell | Nov 15, 2010 | News Slider
After a Rookie of the Year finish that had the faculty sponsor jumping in the air — “I went wild,” recalls Bill Fredenberger — SIFE is ready for more students to participate. Any students interested in joining SIFE can attend the College of Business organization’s meeting at 3 p.m. Wednesday in Swang 100. Lipscomb’s SIFE (Students in Free Enterprise) team began last year in January when sponsor Fredenberger — an adjunct professor and the Sam Walton Fellow Adviser for the team — and about 20 students met to develop the organization. Duncan Gross, SIFE president and a sophomore accounting major, said the team works on projects throughout the year and then presents them at competitions. “The projects that you’re working on are ways to empower people,” Gross said. “You’re empowering them to change their quality of life and standard of living, all through the positive power of business.” Only three months after its inception, the team traveled to Atlanta for the regional competition and won the championship. The team also received the Rookie of the Year award and qualified for the national competition in Minneapolis, Minn. Fredenberger said that he had hoped the team would do well but had not been expecting to win. “I was very surprised,” Fredenberger said. “We just went wild. They said I jumped about three feet in the air. We deserved it. We worked for it. I just didn’t expect us to get it.” Gross said he was grateful for the recognition they received. “It made me feel like we were really making a difference in our community and that other people were acknowledging that,” Gross said. “The motto of SIFE is ‘a...
