The Shop on the Square at Carroll Lutheran Village in Westminster provides affordable, quality merchandise to residents and employees of the Village. It is also open to the public. Tucked away in the hospitality center, the shop offers a convenient assortment of gifts and collectible items.

Nearly 700 residents call the Village home, through independent living, assisted living, and round-the- clock nursing care. Although residents were familiar with the Shop on the Square, the Village was interested in raising the visibility of the store and increasing the numbers of shoppers. The Village contacted the college's Miller Entrepreneurial Institute (MEI) for marketing assistance. MEI began research and development of a business plan.

This triggered the idea to include Carroll students through a voluntary, comprehensive project in the Principles of Marketing class.

In fall 2009, students and assistant professor Nancy Kimble launched a service-learning project with the Village. The goal was to support the Village retirement community in the marketing and promotion of their on-campus boutique. Students made personal visits, interviewed Village administrators and residents, and developed a questionnaire to be completed by residents in the spring. The project continued through the spring 2010 semester with a new class of students. In April, 2010, the questionnaire was finalized and approved, and students participated in two questionnaire administration nights at the Village.

"The students met one-on-one with residents and spent significant amounts of time talking with residents about their experiences living at the Village. The student-resident interaction was a wonderful experience for the students and residents," said Kimble. "A total of 30 students participated in the spring, logging over 110 service hours. The plan is to continue the relationship for the 2010-2011 academic year and to incorporate more resident interaction."

Based on the findings of the questionnaire, the students made recommendations to the Village. To ?promote the store, students suggested that a regularly-scheduled event be held to allow residents, staff, families, volunteers, and others to see the shop. Activities include wine tastings, art and craft shows, performances, and more. From an organizational standpoint, the students recommended that a team work to expand the availability of volunteers to staff the store. These were just a few of the recommendations made by the marketing students.

"These recommendations offer a way to publicize shopping at Carroll Lutheran Village, which is not a shopping destination for most people," said Executive Director Laura Sinnott. "Beyond that, this joint venture is proving to be a springboard to other ways for two generations to interact, that could include internships, volunteering, marketing events for the shop, and more. Residents and students are excited about this intergenerational endeavor. The college and Village administrators are eager to explore innovative ways to work together on educational projects that go way beyond textbooks and lectures!"

"I am proud of the caliber of volunteer hours given so willingly by our marketing students in support of the Shop on the Square," said College President Dr. Faye Pappalardo. "I am also grateful to the Village for their partnership and excellent working relationship with our students."

Eleven-year-old Alexa Wright displays her artwork from the Summer Kids@Carroll class, Mosaic Designs. Summer Kids had record-breaking enrollment in 2010, with 1,450 registrations.

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