March Featured Partner: UF Bateman Team

UF Bateman Team's balloon race

The UF Bateman Team kicked off its plans for a competitive 2011 year on February 9th with a balloon-popping event designed to promote financial literacy through the SCORE! Campaign. This campaign is the UF Bateman Team’s project for 2011 and will be entered in the PRSSA’s Bateman Case Study Competition, which began in 1973 as a way to teach students how to run a public relations campaign for a real client. UF has been an active participant in the Bateman Case Study Competition for many years, taking first place in the 2001 VISA U.S.A. challenge. Last year, the Bateman Team participated in the competition sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau and joined forces with the UF Administration and UF Student Government to create the “You+Me=CensUS” campaign, which raised awareness about the census and increased funding for the University of Florida. This year’s client is Ally Financial, Inc. The UF Bateman Team intends to spend the year educating UF students and the Gainesville community about financial planning and money management. “Not only do we want to educate students and community members about budgets, credit scores and banking, but we want to make people aware of the resources that exist to simplify the financial process,” said team member Ruth Michel, who is one of the five fourth-year public relations majors that make up the team. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Florida is partnering with the UF Bateman Team to help increase financial literacy in Gainesville. CEO John Bonacci, who is a Certified Financial Planner, spoke at one of the team’s seminars on February 20th about budgeting, banking, and credit. Because financial literacy is an important goal for Gainesville families, including the families of at-risk youth, Big Brothers Big Sisters will continue to aid the UF Bateman Team in its goals.