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【CM CSR】Student entrepreneurs donate their income from sand sculpture creativity to give back to society

Group photo of the “Houhai Rensheng” team; from left to right: Chun-Hsiang Wang, Yun-Han Lai, Yun Chen, Yu-Ting Hung, Chia-Yu Lee, and Jun-Xian Huang
Group photo of the “Houhai Rensheng” team; from left to right: Chun-Hsiang Wang, Yun-Han Lai, Yun Chen, Yu-Ting Hung, Chia-Yu Lee, and Jun-Xian Huang
A member of the “Haihou Rensheng” team interacts with students at the team’s booth.
A member of the “Haihou Rensheng” team interacts with students at the team’s booth.
沙小人團員左起郭庭亘、林竹煖、廖宇熙、劉詠竣、莊詠淳
沙小人團員左起郭庭亘、林竹煖、廖宇熙、劉詠竣、莊詠淳
Earring designs of the Mx. Sand team
Earring designs of the Mx. Sand team
Earring designs of the Mx. Sand team
Earring designs of the Mx. Sand team
Interactions with the public at the Mx. Sand booth
Interactions with the public at the Mx. Sand booth
Compassion aroused in innovative entrepreneurs – A group of students of Department of Business Management donated all income from entrepreneurship to underprivileged groups. The course titled “Seminar in Emerging Industries and Entrepreneurship” offered by Assistant Professor Jack Chih-Yuan Wang at the Department of Business Management put theory into practice by providing each group of students attending the course with a venture fund of NT$ 1,000. This fund gave them a chance to implement their innovative ideas in daily lives. Professor Wang points out that the fund was to give students a chance to learn how to use limited resources wisely and an opportunity to apply their acquired knowledge to real entrepreneurship projects. Two of the groups generously donated their profits to Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation and a stray animal organization, turning their creativity and effort into reciprocation to society. 
 
Take from and give back to the ocean – Preserve memories of Sizih Bay in a bottle
 
The members of the “Houhai Rensheng” group (Chun-Hsiang Wang, Jun-Xian Huang, Yun-Han Lai, Chia-Yu Lee, Yu-Ting Hung, and Yun Chen) came up with several options such as postcards, ornaments, and sand in a bottle in the product concept development process. They finally selected sand in a bottle as the most viable option, after considering feasibility, production costs, and consumer intentions. The group further decided to focus on NSYSU students and faculty members, alumni, and Sizih Bay residents as their targeted consumers (Sizih Bay is the bay nearby which NSYSU is situated). Mr. Chun-Hsiang Wang points out that the design concept for sand in the bottle originated in a desire to seal up memories of their lives in Sizih Bay. Customized mini images in the bottles represent traces of human encounters, which are the most beautiful memories in life. The group also designed collector, friendship, and lovers token sets for different customer groups.
 
The product was sold on online platform and physical booths. Over a period of 20 days, the team earned a total of NT$ 5,000. However, instead of spending their profits on food and entertainment, they donated all their proceeds to NGOs. Ms. Chia-Yu Lee explains that “The group name was inspired by our most beloved Siwan ocean, while the products embody our most cherished memories of Sizih Bay. We therefore decided to make a contribution to preserving this ocean through a donation to Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation. We all can turn the practice of social responsibility into a daily routine if we are committed enough.” This action shows the students’ awareness and commitment to fulfillment of social responsibility.
 
Sand is blown away by the wind but memories stay – Let’s create a better environment for all
 
Coincidentally, the concept of “Mx. Sand” (name of the sand in the bottle project group) was also centered around the sand of Sizih Bay. The group manufactured accessories such as pendants and earrings that visitors can wear on the go. Ms. Chu-Hsuan Lin points out that looking back on tidbits of their campus life, the team felt that students resemble tiny grains of sand that hail from different areas and encounter each other at Sizih Bay. She firmly believes that “these intriguing destinies and memories should not only be stored in our brains but rather given a material form.” Ms. Lin and other students (Mr. Yong-Jun Liu, Ms. Ting-Hsuan Kuo, Ms. Yu-Hsi Liao, and Ms. Yung-Chun Chuang) formed this group because they shared the same ideal. 
 
“Mx. Sand” put a lot of time and effort into marketing their products. They designed an exclusive logo, created a slogan, and ran a fan page to convey their concepts. They also wore their products in public which attracted a lot of attention. Even people from other cities and counties were attracted and willing to pay shipping charges to buy their products. All earnings of the team, which amounted to a total of NT$ 12,000, were donated to a stray animal organization to improve the living environment of the poor animals.
 
The experiences of these two teams clearly shows how students apply their creativity to real entrepreneurship projects. What is even more remarkable is that they were willing to devote their remaining energy to contributions to society. Despite the fact that the students only ran a very small business, they still chose to donate all their earnings to charity funds and organizations to spread their love in support of a magnificent cause. Maybe our existence is insignificant in this vast universe, but we can achieve something great and light up the whole world if we show enough commitment.
 
(The above reports about the Department of Business Management was originally in Chinese and written by Ms. Chih-Lin Tsai, a student of the department)
 
 
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