Social Action Leaders: The Friday Night Supper Program and BUS224
John Simmons’ revolutionary concept of a college providing women with an “independent livelihood” remains the foundation of the School of Management (SOM). SOM carries this legacy forward by leading in gender-equity business education and advancing programs that embody social justice, corporate responsibility, and community engagement—values that foster “life success for all community members.” All SOM students complete an internship as part of their studies at Simmons, which prepares them to enter the professional world upon graduation. These placements cannot all be considered “service-learning,” however, because there is not necessarily a community organizing component.
In 2006, the SOM began offering classes in “Socially Minded Leadership for Women.” This concept of “socially minded leadership” allowed for a revolutionary shift in the way higher education approaches business. This shift is exemplified through Simmons instructors’ use of A Social Change Model of Leadership, a model developed in 1996 through a grant from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Development Program U.S. Department of Education. The model centers around the “Seven C’s”: Consciousness of self, congruence, commitment, collaboration, common purpose, controversy, and citizenship. By connecting “management” to more than individual or corporate economic success, this field offers rich opportunities for empowerment and community organizing.
One example of this is Jen Eno’s BUS224 class, Social Action Leaders, which draws heavily on the Social Change Model of Leadership. One option for students’ final assignment is a service-learning project. Students are placed with a local business, often a non-profit, and identify the organization’s mission statement, stakeholders, leadership structure, and challenges or problems. The course instructor and organizational leadership work together to determine which areas of the business most require support and best match students’ skills.
The Friday Night Supper Program and BUS224 Social Action Leaders
In Spring 2026, BUS224 partnered with the Friday Night Supper Program (FNSP), a non-profit organization operating out of the Arlington Street Church. FNSP has been serving hot, nutritious meals to the local community every Friday night since 1984. The program, staffed almost exclusively by volunteers, offers free, sit-down table service to over 100 individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty each Friday night.
BUS224 students collaborated in groups to support the four different categories of management at FNSP: Marketing, Operations, Human Resources, and Fundraising. Throughout the semester, they worked to develop an actionable plan within their area of responsibility for the organization to implement.
Student Interview: Brin Williamson
Transcript:
LK: Okay. So first of all, I'm going to ask you to share your name, your pronouns, and your year at Simmons and also your major and minor.
BW: Awesome. I'm Brin Williamson. I use they, them pronouns. I'm a sophomore at Simmons and I'm studying PR and Marketing Communications as well as Design.
LK: Great. Thank you. So Brin, what was your service learning placement this year and what class was it for?
BW: So I'm taking a class this semester called Social Action Leaders. It's a business class. And for that class, we have been partnering with the Friday Night Supper program, which is a meal program that operates out of the Arlington Street Church. They really pride themselves on dignity. And so they serve free meals to anyone in the Boston community who wants it every Friday night in a more like restaurant style dining style.
LK: Cool. Yeah, that's a very cool endeavor. So as part of this placement, what kind of work did you find yourself doing?
BW: So our class is split up into four different groups to help them out with various business actions. So we have a marketing group, an operations group, a fundraising group, and a outreach group. So I'm part of the marketing group. So, the main things that we're working on right now is helping to redesign some of their communication channels like their email newsletter. Design some merch for them for the volunteers to have, help them out with social media and things like that. Also as part of the class, we were invited to go actually volunteer with the program. So, this past Friday, I was able to go down to their like basement little restaurant area that they have set up in the Church. I was doing bussing, so walking around, getting to talk to all the guests, and that was really cool to kind of see and meet the people that our work would be benefiting.
LK: Yeah. What was, yeah, what was your experience like engaging with those communities that you've been working with?
BW: It was really great, honestly. I got to meet the program director. She was super nice, very excited that we were working with her to help out with marketing and things like that. I ended up talking to a lot of the other volunteers and kind of gauging what they were interested in getting help with. That's how my group decided to design merch. We weren't thinking of that at first and then other volunteers told me, "Oh, we'd love to have merch." And so I brought that back to class and we've kind of added it to our plan. It was also really just a welcoming environment. I could totally see myself going back and volunteering there again. They have a lot of repeat volunteers that will come back every week. And so they've really just curated like a great community in there of both the guests and the volunteers. And it was a program that I didn't know existed in Boston proper. I feel like a lot of meal programs in greater Boston exist like out in Cambridge, Somerville. And so the fact that it was right there in Back Bay was super cool to find out and I'm glad I was informed about it. Yeah.
LK: Amazing. So what kind of impact do you think your service learning has had on your education here at Simmons?
BW: The main thing for me, I think, is that as a PR and Marketing major, I do a lot of hypothetical work in my classes. So, a lot of my classes, an assignment will be, oh, think of a brand and create a hypothetical campaign or a hypothetical like thing that you can publicize for this brand. And I've been creating a lot of marketing materials for campaigns that don't actually exist just as practice. And so to get to know this nonprofit and the people that run it and then create materials that they are actually going to use has been really awesome. It's a great way to kind of see what my professional life could look like. It's also just great to feel involved with the Boston community. I'm from the Boston area, so feeling like I'm actually benefiting my community through my schoolwork is making it something that's easier to dedicate myself to and feel excited about.
LK: Yeah, that sounds like a really, a very felt experience. And then yeah, moving beyond your education, how do you think service learning at Simmons has informed your professional development and how has it or did it change your perspective kind of moving forward?
BW: Yeah, I have always said that I'd love to work for a big established company and kind of keep the gears running in that company. And I think that's because I didn't have experience working with a nonprofit. And now I've kind of gained the perspective that marketing is a really valuable tool in nonprofits that a lot of them are seeking help for. And that could be a more valuable path for me to follow in terms of getting something started from the ground up for a nonprofit instead of keeping something running for a company.
LK: Yeah. Yeah. It's, I mean, more valuable and also it sounds like maybe for you more values-aligned. Like, certainly based on kind of the conversation that we were having before this. Okay, great. Thank you so much for your time and for sharing everything.
