A small group of students from Northwest University in Kirkland recently learned that hard work and a little heart can make a world of difference. The group of 27 students hosted Restoring Rwanda, a charity banquet and silent auction benefiting the Itafari Foundation.

The Restoring Rwanda benefit banquet was held at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue and raised approximately $21,000.

The university students, juniors and seniors in a Marketing Theory course, were handed the task of producing a benefit event in the Eastside area.

The students produced a charity dinner and auction benefiting the Itafari Foundation, a not-for-profit organization founded by Victoria Trabosh. The foundation works to help the people of Rwanda rebuild their country by supporting widows and orphans of the genocide through education, entrepreneurial financing and training, child sponsorship, goat-rearing programs, and school construction.

The students were inspired to host the benefit event after listening to motivational speaker and life coach Trabosh share her experiences of her time spent in Rwanda.

Every school year, Northwest University Professor John Bacon presents his marketing class with the opportunity to experience a real life production of an event of their choice. Each year, he is more impressed than the last.

“When they came into class and said they reserved the Grand Ballroom at the Hyatt (Regency Bellevue) I was a bit shocked.”

Over the course of 10 weeks the students raised $10,000 for Itafari, prior to hosting the actual benefit banquet. Students like Brandon Screen and Garrick Bennett spent numerous hours outside of class planning and coordinating the evening.

“When we heard her (Trabosh) speak, we all became so driven to host this event and create an evening that would be as worthy as the cause,” Screen said.

More than a decade after the Rwandan genocide claimed nearly one million men, women and children, the country continues to struggle against crushing poverty, starvation, disease, and an overall lack of justice, Trabosh explained.

Itafari Foundation utilizes various programs to help raise funds for the organization including Buy a Goat, Buy a Brick, Child Sponsorships, Provide a MicroLoan and the sale of hand-woven baskets by Rwandan women.

“Nobody says I want to be a poor child and grow into an adult that has less,” Trabosh said.

Addressing the 27 students who sat throughout the banquet room, Trabosh said, “this event lets you know what you can ignite and what is possible within you. You have only just begun”.

“It’s not whether or not you lead that will make a difference. It’s how you lead that will leave a lasting impact,” she said.

For more information on the Itafari Foundation visit www.itafari.org.

Lindsay Larin can be reached at llarin@bellevuereporter.com or at 425-453-4602.