College of Business Administration

GROUP MEMBERS:

Erik Blaisdell
Emily Gao
Jennifer Henry
Gabriel Rodriguez
Cris OrozcoMike Murphy

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Objectives:

Our objective was to assist the SK Sanctuary in putting on a special night at their spa for patients with melanoma. Our specific tasks were:

1. To promote the event

2. Attract patients by putting fliers up at hospitals and pharmacies and by contacting Melanoma support groups

3. Find sponsors to cover the costs of putting on the event on a regular basis

4. Provide and plan catering for the guests and staff.

5. Assist in preparing and running the event on November 9th.

Summary:

The initial idea for our project was proposed by Jennifer, who modeled it after the other cancer nights already being held at the SK Sanctuary spa in La Jolla, where she works. We met and established our objectives for the project and divided up the tasks. We all started by distributing fliers and brochures about the spa night to hospitals and pharmacies around San Diego. We also contacted Melanoma support groups and invited them to the event. To try and solicit sponsors, we passed out brochures describing the SK Institute and their dedication in assisting cancer patients through their spa. We promoted the event at Thorton, Green, Scripps Mercy, UCSD Medical Center Hillcrest, Kaiser and Alvarado Medical Center. We also recruited David Weck to be a guest speaker at the event. Mr. Weck is the inventor of the popular B.O.S.U exercise ball and provided a demonstration of the product to the patients and staff. Gabe provided the catering through his Mexican restaurant to feed everyone at the event.

On November 9th we all arrived at the spa around 3pm to help setup for the event. Around 4:30pm the patients began to arrive and we served refreshments and snacks. Doctor Krant began by giving a short speech about the SK Institute’s programs and then introduced the spa’s staff of various specialists. Then Mr. Weck described his BOSU ball and led volunteers from the audience in a variety of exercises. Everyone was very impressed with the BOSU ball and wanted to know where they could buy them. The spa staff then described what services the patients could enjoy and everyone went upstairs for dinner. Upstairs, we had laid out a buffet dinner of tacos, rice and beans. The food was delicious and very much appreciated by all. After dinner, the patients went to get their spa treatments while we helped the staff clean up.

The patients seemed very grateful for the opportunity to relax and enjoy a night just for them. Our main disappointment was that, on the day of the event, the spa received about ten cancellations so only twelve patients showed up. We were hoping for about 25 patients like what they usually get for the breast cancer nights. With this being the inaugural Melanoma night, word will spread and the turnout should improve. Our other failures were our inability to find a sponsor for the event and not getting media coverage. Even though all our promotional efforts didn’t bring in that many people, it was still a very worthwhile event and a great service to people who are living with a terrible disease.