CIE DAILY COLLEGIAN Students launch Innoblue By Kathleen Loughran COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER At the launch party for Innoblue, State College Mayor Elizabeth Goreham said she was impressed by the student-run organization. Goreham, along with about 50 other people, attended the Saturday evening kick-off party for Innoblue at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house, 220 N. Burrowes Rd. Innoblue "starts and supports student ventures and ideas from a civic perspective and a busi ness perspective," said Innoblue member Jon Tornetta, who works closely with founder David Adewumi. "These are individuals who are college students, but they're already adults," Goreham said. "These are people who are going to make a difference... Our town really needs to embrace it." Goreham isn't the only person embracing Innoblue. Schreyer Honors College Dean Christian Brady, Weebly co founder David Rusenko and Vice Provost for Information Technology Kevin Morooney are some of the organization's advis ers. Innoblue operates under three parts: think, labs and create. BIueTHINK falls under the "think" category, and is designed to help Penn State student entre preneurs. With BIueTHINK, students can seek advice from other stu- `Special interest' groups on the rise By Megan Rogers COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Some students just can't get enough of THON something Interfraternity Council/Panhell enic Dance Marathon officials say is evidenced by the rise of special interest groups. Most of the members of the newest THON organization Help Every Angel Live (HEAL) were previously involved with THON committees, Executive Director Danielle Krueger said. But that alone wasn't enough to fulfill their passion for THON. "Being in a committee is awe some, but we all just wanted more THON," Krueger (senior elementary education) said. The group is working to obtain university recognition and is looking into fundraisers like raf fles and sales, she said. HEAL isn't the only special interest group on campus, and THON Overall Committee expects to see an increase in these independent groups since THON is no longer just for com mittee members or greek stu dents, said Adam Fbuntaine, a member of independent THON group, FOTO. The name FOTO pays respects to Fbuntaine's brother, BICYCLE 6 - - _4lP*,.. SHE , BECOME fl A FAN ON % FACEBOOK! You need a BIKE. We can help. Back to school SALE Keep the Summer Rolling SPELML/ZED GIANT WIN A BIKE! One winner each week 441 West College Avenue. 1 www.TheßicycleShopinc.com I 814-238-9423, "These are individuals who are college students, but they're already adults. These are people who are going to make a difference..." dent consultants and adult men tors through weekly dinners and demonstration days, Tornetta (junior-science) said. "You can kind of classify us as a catalyst," he said. "We're trying to get these ideas and turn them into a reality." After the organization has been brought together and the idea for the company has been formed, students can use Innoblue labs to bring their ideas to fruition, Tornetta said. "Labs is empowering giving people the resources physically to develop their idea," he said. "Students can take what they learn in class and apply it to real businesses." Under the "create" aspect of Innoblue's mission is Redbrick Production, which assists stu dents in print, web and video pro duction. "Create is about filling in that gap," said Zach Johnston (sopho more-advertising), who is in charge of the create aspect of Innoblue. But Innoblue is not working alone. The organization currently has four partners Happy Valley Tom, who recovered from pedi atric cancer, Fbuntaine (senior history) said. His brother just recently grad uated medical school and is working in a pediatric oncology ward, he said. "Our main emphasis that we try to drive home is that we're not just an organization it's a cause that's important to all of us," Fountaime said. THON 2011 will be FOTO's second time participating in THON, he said. Last year the group raised $4,100. This year FOTO is looking to host some fundraisers, like a pos sible pancake dinner, a three-on three basketball tournament and color wars, Fountain said. Special interest group Pillar plans on increasing their fundraising efforts this THON season. During their freshman year, Executive Director Ben Greenberg and about 20 friends formed Pillar, after they missed the involvement fairs and still wanted a way to get involved. Greenberg said he hopes the group which has about 40 active members can continue to expand, while still maintaining the small group atmosphere. "You really get a tight feel. 2009 bikes 2010 bikes 2011 bikes 25% Off 15% Off 5% Off cannondale ti-% a -e -§f-/-1 Enter to win cash back equal to your purchase Sale Ends: Sept. sth Communications, Cooley LLE Weebly and Media Temple. To begin Innoblue's presenta tion, David Weekly, founding director of Hacker Dojo, spoke over video chat about the impor tance of innovation and organiza tions like Innoblue. Though Innoblue just held its launch party, the organization is already working with student companies, including Viewcubed. "We're going to be a media conglomerator bring You Tube, Facebook and Twitter together to tell a story," Chief Technical Officer Zach Gotsch (senior-com puter science) said. "David is an excellent resource in keeping us on track and on focus, and getting us to set goals on what we want done." Innoblue Director of Finance Drew Mohoric said the launch party was "a good stepping stone." "We've definitely made a lot of progress for the four or five months we've been working on it," Mohoric (junior-accounting) said. Everyone knows each other's names in the group," he said. "It's a tight-knit group of peo ple, and we'd like to keep it that way." Pillar recruits heavily in East Halls because its members want to get freshmen involved in THON. At least one of their dancers each year is a freshman, Greenberg said. In the past, Pillar has partici pated in many of THON's organ ized fundraisers like the THON 5K but Greenberg said Pillar is hoping to try some inde pendent fundraisers this year. He said the group is talking about doing a fundraiser with Rita's Water Ice, 119 E. Beaver Ave. They are also looking to collabo rate with other special interest THON organizations to host a benefit concert. Family relations is a big focus for special interest group Domani, Executive Chairwoman Elise Rodgers said. Domani means tomorrow in Italian, she said. "We are here to give the kids a tomorrow who might not have had one without THON," Rodgers (senior-early childhood education) said. Over 500 bikes in stock Central PA's largest inventory NOW ALSO: cervolo LOCAL Elizabeth Goreham State College mayor "We're really proud of it." To e-mail reporter: krlslo6@psu.edu To e-mail reporter: mers2oo@psu.edu Hintz Family Alumni Center/Gardens (between Willard and Hammond) fan Wade Heritage/Collegian Nicole Monica, director of Communication for Mount Nittnay Medical Center, walks with other women during Friday's Diabetes Health Walk. The walk was sponsored by the Mount Nittany Medical Center. Walkers take steps toward healthy living By Katrina Wehr COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Grange Fair campers awoke to the sound of footsteps Friday morning as participants kicked off the first-ever Diabetes Health Walk, sponsored by the Mount Nittany Medical Center. Beginning at 9 a.m., walkers met at the grandstands of the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair to set off on the mile-long Diabetes Walk Health Path and to receive their "passports" pamphlets used to log the number of miles walked each day of the fair. After walking at least a mile, participants took their passports to the Mount Nittany Medical Center booth to get them stamped. This Thursday, those who col lected stamps each day of fair week will be recognized and awarded a prize for their achieve ment. The purpose of the event was to show people how easy it can be to add 30 minutes of exer cise to their day, said Amy Leffard, nurse and certified diabetes edu cator at Mount Nittany Medical Center. "We're trying to encourage peo ple to live a healthy lifestyle and prevent diabetes and continue to exercise at home," she said. Signs with different diabetes health facts were posted along the TUESDAY I 5:00-7:00 p.m. Free pizza and Ctem's BBQ, and Berkey Creamery Ice Cream Pick up your membership T-shirt Music Sign up for the Blue & White Society lIIF. BM BLUE & WHITE SOCIETY www.alumni.psu.edu MONDAY, AUG. 30, 2010 I walking route to keep walkers motivated, but Kate Mulberger, a participant from Bellefonte, did not need extra motivation. Her son was diagnosed with dia betes as a child, and Mulberger and her family were walking in support of the cause. She said she was proud of accomplishing the mile-long walk, adding that she plans to continue walking each day for the remain der of the fair. "It was very easy," Mulberger said. "We're going to go for anoth er loop." For Nichole Monica, director of communications at Mount Nittany Medical Center, the goal of the event is to inspire people and help them with the first step toward a healthier lifestyle. "You can tell people what to do to be healthier every day," Monica said. "But to actually show them is a different story." While she hopes all participants will continue with an exercise rou tine of their own, the fact that many tried it at the fair made the event worthwhile, Monica said. "We hope that when they take the RVs back home, they can fig ure out how to work some exer cise into their regular days," she said. "But they still made the choice to try, and we're proud of them for that." To e-mail reporter: kmws34o@psu.edu Penn State Alumni Association
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