Volunteers from Ghirardelli chocolate company and students from Lighthouse Community Public Schools participated in a business case competition hosted by SuitUp. Students were divided into teams and worked with Ghirardelli volunteers as coaches to develop new product or service ideas for the company. The teams then pitched their ideas to judges. The winning team proposed Ghirardelli Ghoul Treats. Both volunteers and students found the experience beneficial, with students gaining business skills and exposure to different career paths, and volunteers seeing their impact on students. The event was deemed a success, with all parties interested in future collaborations.
2. About Ghirardelli
Ghirardelli Makes Life a Bite
Better. The company’s purpose
gives it meaning and inspires
everything its employees do.
Through collaboration, innovation,
and growth, its employees bring
the joy of Ghirardelli chocolate to
new people and new places, and
take great pride in the personal
impact they make on their
business and in communities.
Ghirardelli’s values are
Excellence, Innovation,
Entrepreneurship, Responsibility,
and Collaboration.
About Lighthouse Community
Public Schools
The mission of Lighthouse
Community Public Schools is to
prepare a diverse K-12 student
population for college and a career
of their choice. They believe that all
young people have the potential to
become lifelong changemakers who
realize their unique vision—rooted in
their identity, knowledge, and
skills—to create equity in their own
lives and in the community, leading
to a healthier, more joyful world.
students &
volunteers
engaged
49
3. Volunteers Gender Students
82% Female 32%
18% Male 68%
Meet the Participants
Volunteers Race/Ethnicity Students
N/A African American 11%
N/A
Asian / Pacific
Islander 4%
N/A Black 4%
82% Caucasian/White 4%
9% Hispanic/Latinx 79%
9%
Middle Eastern/ North
African N/A
4. 4
Business Case Challenge
Through SuitUp, volunteers from Ghirardelli and students from Lighthouse Community Public
Schools participated in a SuitUp business competition in which they created a new product or
service for Ghirardelli focused on making life better for people and the planet. Volunteers
coached students in various departments before helping them pitch to judges for a cash prize.
Winning Team:
Ghirardelli Ghoul Treats
Team 1:
Ghirardelli Ghoul
Treats
Team 3:
Ghirardelli Hot
Chocolate Bombs
Team 2:
Mystery Bite
SuitUp to the Challenge
Team 4:
Ghirardelli Bites
5. From Student to CEO…
A look at how we are changing life trajectories
through corporate skills-based volunteering
6. Competitions Make a Difference…
100%
of students feel more confident in school
and preparing for a career after working
with SuitUp and their coaches
100%
of volunteers believe their company
made a positive impact through SuitUp
100%
of volunteers see SuitUp as a way to
encourage more students to explore their
industry or company
AFTER SUITUP...
7. Ghirardelli Impact
SuitUp asked students if Ghirardelli’s SuitUp competition made an impact on
their future career choice. 96% of students said that engaging with the
volunteers influenced their career choice and now they can see themselves
using skills such as communication, teamwork and public speaking. Students
are now interested in exploring the following fields:
Business Administration / Entrepreneurship 71%
Financial Services 11%
Graphic/Web Design 7%
Healthcare 21%
Marketing 43%
Media/Public Relations 4%
STEM 14%
Other 11%
8. Same time
next week?
100% of volunteers are interested in doing a SuitUp competition again
100% of students enjoyed interacting with their SuitUp coaches
100% of students would like to participate in SuitUp again
9. During the competition, we
overheard…
“
“I was incredibly impressed with the students!!”– Ghirardelli
Volunteer
“I liked being able to teach students about various aspects of the
business world, so they get a better idea of what’s out there.”–
Ghirardelli Volunteer
“My favorite part was speaking with the people who work here and
getting to work with them and come up with ideas.” – SuitUp
Student
“I enjoyed the experience and getting new wisdom and knowledge
for the future and in this field of work.” – SuitUp Student
10. Get Involved
A huge thank you from all of us in the SuitUp family…
JOIN SUITUP’S
CORPORATE
BOARD
VOLUNTEER
AT FUTURE
EVENTS
MAKE AN
INTRO TO
ANOTHER
COMPANY
GIVE
A
GIFT
This board meets 4x a year and
helps SuitUp implement its
strategic plan to scale and serve
more students.
Follow us on social media
and stay engaged in order to
sign up for other volunteer
opportunities in the future.
SuitUp is always seeking
new corporate partners to
host and sponsor SuitUp
competitions and events.
We work across the US
and even the UK.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit,
SuitUp is always seeking
financial or in-kind support to
continue our work in
communities that need it most.
All gifts are tax deductible.
