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Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)

SU's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization is open to a select group of Syracuse University students with multiple talents who are committed and dedicated to developing community outreach projects that reach SIFE's six educational criteria:

  • Market Economics
  • Success Skills
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Financial Literacy
  • Business Ethics
  • Program Sustainability

Founded in 1975, SIFE is a global non-profit organization that helps students develop communication skills through learning, practicing, and teaching the principles of free enterprise on their campuses, in their communities, and beyond. SIFE also emphasizes teamwork, leadership, and community outreach. With more than 1,600 participating colleges and universities in 40 countries and territories, SIFE is one of the largest university-based organizations in the world.

Faculty advisor: Amanda Nicholson, agnichol@syr.edu
Student President: Matt Gartner, mrgartne@syr.edu

2006/07 SIFE projects include:

  • Hurricane Katrina: Raising sponsorship from Federated Department Stores to manufacture 1,000 custom designed "Syracuse Cares" T-shirts that were sold on the SU campus, with 100 percent of the proceeds ($10,500) going to the Red Cross for humanitarian relief after Hurricane Katrina.
  • Retail Therapy: This team’s first project involved working on the re-opening of Salina Shoe Store, a retail store on Syracuse's South Side. This year, the Retail Therapy team has been working weekly with a local children’s clothing store and helping turn it around from the brink of bankruptcy.
  • Chadwick Residence: Tutoring women staying at Chadwick Residence, a transition home for homeless women, to prepare them for the GED exams. In addition, the SU-SIFE Chadwick team is now offering independent living skills seminars to the Chadwick residents and others from local shelters in the area.
  • HW Smith Elementary: Working with English-as-a-second-language students at H.W. Smith Elementary School in Syracuse to improve fundamental financial skills, currency recognition, and the function of money in the American marketplace. Two teams work with two separate classes every week.
  • Team Guatemala: SU-SIFE has created a business partnership through a fair trade organization in Guatemala. On a trip in 2007, SU-SIFE students helped train a group of impoverished Mayan women in the basics of jewelry making with the goal of selling their pieces, among other Mayan handcrafts, in the SU bookstore. The first merchandise went on sale in February 2007 and an estimated $10,000 is targeted to be returned to this group of women to help improve their lives and the lives of their families.
  • Feel Smart: This team has developed a financial literacy program for students at GED classes in a downtown adult learning facility in partnership with the Syracuse Federal Credit union. The team teaches financial literacy in two classes each week.

In March 2006, SU's SIFE team came away from its first regional competition with both “Regional Champion” and “Rookie of the Year” honors. In 2007, they again won their league at the regional competition in Boston and competed in the Nationals in Dallas. In addition several members participated in a SIFE Ethics Bowl competition hosted by Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y., in the spring of 2007 and took first place.

Students of all skills are invited to join SIFE. There's a special need for those who have public speaking and presentation skills, design skills, and technical skills. However, most important is a sense of commitment and caring.