Students Donate $3,600 They Earned From Ribbons to White Sox Charities at Aug. 17 Game

As a former high school and college baseball player, Jon Hennessy came to bat hoping to knock the cover off the ball. Now he and a team of four other DePaul University students have come to bat for Chicago White Sox Charities and inner city youth baseball by literally ripping the covers off baseballs.

Hennessy and fellow business students Sean Curran, Jenin Musa, Jay Steuber and Jasmina Saracevic raised nearly $1,800 for charity by selling ribbons crafted from the seams of donated baseballs, an initiative that began with a class project. They sold the ribbons to baseball fans who wear them to show support for inner city youth baseball programs. After persuading the John E. and Jeanne T. Hughes Foundation to match the cash they raised, the students donated $3,600 to White Sox Charities, which supports Inner City Little League, a program that gives 500 kids from Chicago’s public housing communities the chance to play baseball in an organized Chicago league.

Hennessy, 22, of Lincoln Park officially presented the donation check to White Sox Charities’ representatives during a U.S. Cellular Field ceremony prior to the White Sox-Minnesota Twins game Aug. 17. “We’ve suggested they use the money to buy the kids mitts that they can take home,” Hennessy said.

The fundraising effort began as a class project for an entrepreneurship strategy course taught by DePaul Assistant Management Professor Raman Chadha in the spring. Chadha challenged the course’s 44 students to form teams and use $10 to create and sell a product in 10 weeks, donating the profits to charity. Each team completed a journal and a final paper about their products’ development and business strategy.

“The goal was to give students a practical entrepreneurial experience with no risk,” said Chadha. “Although entrepreneurship can be taught through more conventional methods, nothing beats the learning experience of actually developing a product or service, selling it, and trying to make a profit, with limited resources and time,” he said. “It was a joy to see many of the student teams embrace the opportunity, but also make a difference for various charities.”

During a group brainstorming session, Hennessy’s team discussed launching a charity ribbon campaign. “I mentioned that I had seen someone wearing a bracelet made of baseball seams,” he recalled. “We merged the two ideas and came up with ribbons made of baseball seams.” Hennessy became “CEO” of the new venture, which the students called “Homerun Distributions.”

Hennessy, who played baseball for Downers Grove South High School and North Central College before being sidelined by a shoulder injury and transferring to DePaul, called a former coach and other baseball contacts, including the Schaumburg Flyers. They donated 150 used baseballs to the effort. The students cut the seams from the balls and fashioned them into ribbons using glue guns to secure them to pins. They used their $10 business investment primarily to fund the pins and glue. The students initially sold the ribbons for $3 each to friends, family and acquaintances.

The team found its greatest success by selling ribbons at Hi-Tops sports bar in Wrigleyville before and after Cubs games. Beer-soaked baseball fans with soft hearts for youth baseball programs loosened their wallets, allowing the DePaul team to collect a higher-than- expected $5 per ribbon. The initial goal was gross sales of $180, but the team was delighted to report in its final paper that it raised nearly 10 times that amount, plus the matching grant.

Hennessy, a budding entrepreneur who has already started a music production company with his brother, wants to continue the charity venture beyond the classroom.

“I’m glad to have had the opportunity to do something school-related that also makes a difference, especially for inner city baseball programs,” he said. “This project gave me more confidence as an entrepreneur and businessman. It was great to see results from our actions.”

Caption: DePaul University student Jon Hennessy (center) presents a donation to White Sox Charities to benefit the Inner City Little League prior to a White Sox game at U.S. Cellular Field Aug. 17. Hennessy and four other students raised $3,600 by selling ribbons made from baseball seams and attracting a matching grant, as part of a DePaul management class project to create and sell a product to benefit charity. Hennessy is surrounded by (back row, left to right): Tim O’Connell of the Inner City Little League; DePaul student teammate Jenin Musa; Dale Caridine, Sr., a Chicago police officer involved with the little league program, and children who play in the league.