Mark Lacker, one of PSW’s board members, teaches a class at Miami University called ESP 321: Startup Development Using SCRUM (more information about this class is available at the bottom of this post). His class for the past semester has been working on projects for PSW that have actionable deliverables that we will be rolling out in the next few months. We can’t thank them enough for all their hard work!
Here is a quick summary of all the projects worked on by this class:
Created a plan of action for our social media and ways we can improve awareness and outreach via Facebook and Instagram.
For PD Awareness month one of the groups took over our social media for the month of April to help us raise awareness on Parkinson's. Click here to follow us on Facebook and see their efforts!
Came up with an engagement strategy for outreach to past grantees and new grantees
Created an impact report template for us to utilize and update every year
Curated a list of potential new sponsorships to engage and suggestions on outreach methods to them
Research on new exercise partners and network with a few of them on our behalf
Designed a new annual fundraiser idea for us to try
“Working with PSW this semester has been an energizing experience for our students. They built out seven different programs to expand and deepen the reach and impact of the PSW mission,” says Mark. “Thank you to Julia and Chris for this wonderful opportunity to make a difference!”
We have enjoyed working with this group of students. Here is what a few thoughts about their experience working with us!
Parkinson Support and Wellness was easily one of the best organizations I have ever worked with. Our class was fortunate enough to get to know their staff. Their care, dedication, and passion for this organization is truly inspiring. - Cassidy Schlotterbeck
Working on sponsorship outreach and engagement with PSW has been one of the most rewarding client experiences I've had through Miami so far! I'm really glad we could help a local organization make a difference! - Andre Farinazo
One thing I love about our Entrepreneurship department here at Miami is the emphasis they place on practical, real-life application of the principles they teach in class. I had never worked with an actual client before, providing real value and real assets that they will use. This was a very exciting opportunity for me! - Malcolm Vanderwoude
Here are pictures from their final presentations to Chris Gaffney, our Executive Director, and Julia Burks, our Assistant Director.
ESP 321: Startup Development Using SCRUM is a course at Miami University based on conversations with more than 200 founders, funders, and management team members in startup and early stage growth companies in an effort to understand what it takes to be a successful member of such organizations. In this course, students will have the opportunity to build a foundation and understanding of commonly used processes/techniques used in many startups to “get stuff done.” These include focused productivity by operating in short sprints to complete work and running a series of ongoing iterative tests to optimize common business model opportunities.