Students raise money for charity starting with a marble

By Jeremiah Jensen

Jim Hart Hear his interview with KRLD

Two SMU students have raised $5,400 for charity with nothing but a marble and some determination. 

Sophomore Samuel Lankford and his teammate Tala Duwaji received the check on March 4 to give to the Dallas Allstars non-profit. The impetus for this act of charity comes from Director of Arts and Entrepreneurship Jim Hart and the “marble game” he has his students play in his “Attracting Capital” class.

Hart gave each team of students a glass marble and told them to trade the marble for things of greater value, with the goal of selling these items to profit the charity. Lankford and Duwaji first traded the marble for a pencil, the pencil for a pen, the pen for $1,000, and through a few more creative trades, ended up with $5,400. Lankford said that the experience was enlightening.

“The key to my success was not the object I had, but the good and the impact it was going to have in the end,” said Lankford.

The Dallas Allstars provide underprivileged children in the Dallas area with cultural education, leadership training, and after school activities. They seek to connect children with the educational, cultural, and corporate resources available in Dallas.