Social Enterprise Blooms at Changing Spirits

American Indian Changing Spirts (AICS) has a long history of collaboration with CVC and Cal State Long Beach. As a service provider here at CVC and working with the American Indian Student Council at CSULB, it seemed a natural fit for AICS to join with the CSULB Saturday MBA program to work on a Social Enterprise project that could benefit AICS and the MBA students. The MBA Sustainability class also has a long history with CVC, having done many projects on campus, including business plans for the Village Canteen, feasibility studies for the solar carport, community gardens and other projects. Raul Garcia, Director of the AICS program commented, “I really had no idea what to expect, and certainly had no idea the project would spawn such an impactful outcome.” To kick off the project, Raul and others from AICS had several meetings with students. Through those meetings, the students were immersed in American Indian culture and learned much more than how to produce a business plan. The students gained a cultural appreciation of Native American traditions, native arts and crafts, as well as the spiritual aspects of the sweat lodge ceremony, an integral aspect of the drug and alcohol treatment program run by AICS. Read the full story in the Village Anchor.