School of Business Administration
Tragedy Inspires Service
It’s not hard to spot Amy Dunaway around campus – just look for her personally monogrammed red backpack. A marketing student and member of both the ENT Club and Epsilon Nu Tau, Amy was also a past soccer standout until a fractured back sidelined her in 2014. “I had planned to be pretty busy with sports, but my accident gave me unexpected down time to explore different options for what I could do.” Amy’s naturally creative spirit, plus encouragement from a family friend, led her to invest in a monogramming machine. After lots of trial and error, she honed her skills enough to launch an Etsy site selling monogrammed items to customers all over the country.
Last year, due to changes in the Etsy platform, Amy moved to a dedicated website for her business, Amy Grace Monograms (amygracemonograms.com). “The University of Dayton instills a deep value for service and community, which led me to begin donating a portion of profits to a different organization each month.” Amy loves seeing the impacts of her donations, and is proud to know she’s making a difference. “You can use your business for more than just banking money,” she recently shared from her bedroom workshop.
Living only 30 minutes away from downtown Dayton, Amy feels a deep connection to the local community. The recent shootings in the Oregon District devastated her. “The tragedy really hit home for me and I felt I needed to do something. Even though I can’t take the pain away, I knew that any impact I could make was worth the effort.”
When she advertised Dayton Strong decals on her website, Amy hoped orders would top 40 or 50 units. After selling over 400 decals, she had to take them off the market because of difficulty keeping up with demand. The entire profit from these sales, about $2000, went to the Oregon District Tragedy Fund. She even covered the cost of shipping.
Amy continues to set aside a portion of profits Amy Grace Monograms’ sales to support various causes and missions, knowing she is blessed to have the heart and the means to impact her community.