Creighton’s Enactus chapter is in the midst of a project called “Creighton Plaid” that will not only add to the branding of the university, but also provide the chapter with the funding necessary to carry out other projects.

According to their website, Enactus is a social entrepreneurship club that is comprised of student, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives and shape a better, more sustainable world.

College of Business professor Laura Mizaur is the Creighton Enactus team leader. She views this club as a source of hope and empowerment for all involved. Mizaur brought the idea of Creighton Plaid to her students in one of the social entrepreneurship classes.

“I got inspiration for this project from attending the regional Enactus competition in Chicago last spring to see what kinds of project other teams were working on and how they were funding those projects,” Mizaur said.

Business senior Priscilla Romero said that the idea behind Creighton Plaid is to fund the Enactus program so that they have the necessary resources to take on larger social entrepreneurship projects in the Omaha community.

“Other groups in our class are currently working on projects that attack the issue of the food desert in North Omaha and the idea to install a fitness center in the same area,” Romero said. “Without any funding, we may not be able to make these undertakings possible.”

That is where Creighton Plaid comes into play. Romero said that there is currently a competition in place through which students can submit plaid designs for a chance to win up to $500. This plaid design will be copyrighted and unique to Creighton University in an effort to enhance the university branding and spark interest among the community.

“My favorite part about this project is the execution of it,” Romero said.  “We spent so much time in the planning stage that it is cool to watch it unfold and actually happen.”

Business junior Jessica Wilbanks is part of the team behind Creighton Plaid. Wilbanks said that absolutely any student is able to submit a plaid design; one does not have to be an art or graphic design major. The team behind the project has even provided students with instructions on how to create a plaid design.

“I created a plaid design and submitted it in under ten minutes,” Wilbanks said. “It is so easy and kind of cool to think that I might have just submitted a winning design.”

Wilbanks said that Creighton Plaid has a Facebook page, a Twitter profile and a blog where people can find all the information they need to learn more about the project and get involved with the competition. All submissions are to be sent to [email protected]. The competition will close on April 11 at noon.

Business senior Tim Carnicom has been helping spread the word about the competition and the prizes involved. Carnicom said that each person who submits a design to [email protected] will be entered into a drawing to win one of six $25 Visa gift cards. The winning design will win $500, second place will receive $250 and third place will get $100.

Carnicom said that all submissions will be considered and then narrowed down to between three and five finalists by a panel of professionals from all over Omaha. From there, the competition will be put to a community-wide vote. The winning plaid will be the one with the most votes by April 30.

Romero said that Creighton will copyright the winning plaid and then make trendy apparel and merchandise with it to be sold. Sales will bring in some of the funding that the Enactus chapter has been searching for.

Mizaur and her Enactus team encourage students to get involved with this rare and exciting opportunity.

“I love this school and I think Creighton Plaid is just one more thing that we can do to build unity and identity,” Mizaur said.

Visit creightonplaid.wordpress.com, Facebook, or Twitter for more information about Creighton Plaid.