The entrepreneurship club Venture hosted its third annual Spring Sale fundraiser to benefit Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 19, on the Horn Commons.
Fifteen students participated in the event, working in groups of one to four to plan and operate their own small businesses. In addition to building entrepreneurial skills, the fundraiser supported a meaningful cause. One hundred percent of proceeds were donated to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
“Each group varied, but we had around four club meetings for participants to work on their projects,” Hudson Shen ’28 said. “Most groups, however, decided to work independently in their own time.”
Students sold handmade items to their classmates, including origami, cookies, 3D-printed custom phone holders and clay mask kits. Each group selected their products independently for various reasons.
“I sold 3D-printed phone holders using the Makerspace 3D printers,” Tyler Kravetz ’29 said. “We chose phone holders because we knew people were going on vacations over spring break and on planes for long periods of time, and something to hold your phone up would be a commodity.”
As part of learning how to start a business, students sold their products during break time. Several students said tables were crowded with eager buyers.
“I bought a snickerdoodle cookie because many of my friends had been talking about how good it was,” said Melody Ge ’30, a customer of Breakabl Cookies. “I was curious to try it for myself. The whole process felt very organized.”
“It’s important for people to learn valuable skills like marketing, branding and business concepts,” Shen said. “We chose to support CHLA because at Harvard-Westlake, we are provided with many opportunities to pursue our individual dreams. We wanted to help kids around LA have that same opportunity.”
In total, the Venture club raised almost $600 dollars to donate to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
