Willy Walton's Chocolate Factory Teaches Students About Business Basics

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas Students In Free Enterprise have plans underway for Willy Walton’s Chocolate Factory, a project to teach elementary students in Northwest Arkansas about international business by allowing them to create their own chocolate corporation.

The project complements SIFE’s mission -- to learn, practice, and teach free enterprise.

The Chocolate Factory, one of the SIFE team’s oldest, trademark programs, was considered the best Free Enterprise Project at the SIFE National Exposition in 2003. This year the event will be expanded with the team holding three separate events in three different locations to better serve the entire Northwest Arkansas area. The events will end with a Grand Championship for the first- and second-place winning teams of the previously held satellite events.

The event dates are as follows:

• Feb. 19 -- Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development on the University of Arkansas campus

• March 5 -- Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville, Arkansas

• March 12 -- Northwest Arkansas Mall Grand Championship.

A program full of fun and educational activities has been planned. The SIFE team will teach students (grades 3-6) several aspects of chocolate production to help the students design their own chocolate company. After a day of research, critical thinking and creative planning, each group will develop a PowerPoint presentation to showcase their company and their efforts to their parents and other participants.

To create their company, children must consider which type of chocolate product to produce, determine economical locations for their chocolate factories, and design a marketing strategy. They also must consider common ethical issues, work with a budget, use Internet research and, naturally, eat all the chocolate they can.

For more information or to register a student, please visit http://sife.uark.edu/.

Founded in 1975 and active on more than 1,600 campuses in 40 countries, SIFE is a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with business and higher education to provide college and university students the opportunity to make a difference in their communities and to develop leadership, teamwork and communication skills through learning, practicing and teaching the principles of free enterprise.  For more information about SIFE at the University of Arkansas, contact Susan Bristow, SIFE advisor, 479-575-4057, or Michelle West, director of public and media relations, SIFE World Headquarters at 417-575-3517, or visit http://www.sife.org/.