Many of us know someone who has been impacted by cancer whether they fought the battle or supported somebody else who did. This semester, the Sport Management and Hospitality program’s Event and Conference Management class teamed up with Massachusett’s local non-profit 15-40 Connection – their goal to create, plan and execute events that raised awareness for the non-profit’s mission of the early detection of cancer.

15-40 Connection is a non-profit organization located in Westborough, Massachusetts. The organization was started by Nichols College alum Jim Coughlin to raise early detection of cancer awareness amongst people whose ages ranged from 15 years to 40 years. The biggest concern is that the cancer survival rates of this age range have remained stagnant since 1975. The organization works to diminish this statistic and provide the public with the resources and education that promote the recognition of cancer at its earliest stages.

Nichols Business professor Bryant Richards, Mohegan Sun executive, decided to take a hands on approach with his Spring 2013 event planning class. Instead of presenting content filled PowerPoints and lectures Richards sent his group of undergrads into the real world and pushed them to take create successful events while satisfying the mission of 15-40 Connection.

Many students enrolled in the class had never planned an event before. Even though this was the case, students formed teams and took on the challenge. Since January, students have been perfecting their events. As a result, the Nichols campus will be swarming with 15-40 Connection awareness events starting next week as four of the six event planning teams make their debut with a 5K (Sunday 4/7), haircut-a-thon (Monday 4/8), 3 v. 3 basketball tournament (Tuesday 4/9) and scavenger hunt/race (Wednesday 4/10).

Starting next week, come out and help the teams accomplish their mission and support the movement to improve cancer survival rates amongst 15-40 year olds. Team up with 15-40 Connection and Nichols event-planning students as they strive to make a difference!