AMA receives grant

By: Heather Lowery

Posted: 1/27/10

The American Marketing Association at Robert Morris has been awarded a $200 American Marketing Association Foundation (AMAF) Collegiate Chapter Community Service Grant for their 'Focus on Renewal' (F.O.R.) project.

"The American Marketing Association Foundation (AMAF) is pleased to provide support to the American Marketing Association at Robert Morris University for Focus on Renewal. The AMAF's mission is to be an essential resource to nonprofits, helping them to achieve greater success through effective marketing. As the nonprofit philanthropic arm of the American Marketing Association (AMA), the AMAF also champions and supports excellence in marketing and diversity in the marketing profession," said the AMAF Programs Manager, Jason Oleniczak.

Focus on Renewal, formed in 1969, is the community service project that the Robert Morris chapter of American Marketing Association decided to participate in. F.O.R. focuses on adult education, the community, youth intervention and economic depravity.

"The main reason we received the grant was so our chapter could provide the necessary marketing tools to help Focus On Renewal further their position within the community," said Tricia Zagorski, vice president of community service for RMU's chapter of AMA.

"We divided the project into three main areas. One, the organizing, marketing and implementing of a food drive to benefit F.O.R.'s Food Pantry by using a variety of marketing tools such as fliers, posters and emails. Two, the Fashion Bug Gift Wrapping Event was held on November 28th, where our AMA students volunteered their time to wrap gifts and the proceeds went to FOR. And third, we did the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community. Our job is to assist with marketing and recruitment of walkers/donors for 100 FOR 100, to participate in the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community, January thru April."

This is not the first year that the American Marketing Association has received a grant such as this.

"Again this year, the RMU AMA has been awarded a community service grant. This money will be used on our Focus on Renewal project in McKees Rocks," said Dr. Jill Maher, professor of marketing.

The AMAF Collegiate Chapter Community Service Grant will provide the American Marketing Association with more money for their 'Focus on Renewal' project, which is a focus on community service in the McKees Rocks area.

"Focus On Renewal is an amazing organization who I am very excited to be working with. This organization is not very well known so the more publicity we can stir up the better. I heard about F.O.R. from the Office of Student Civic Engagement. This organization is very close to my heart because it is full of a wonderful group of people just trying to make a small difference in one little town that is very close to RMU. I thought that this project would personally interest the AMA members and allow us to make a difference in our immediate area," ended Zagorski.