The small northeastern Iowa town of Protivin is getting a helping hand from some Hawkeyes during this year’s RAGBRAI ride.

This is the third time that the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (Iowa JPEC) students will help draw attention to businesses located in towns on the RAGBRAI route. Bob Walker, faculty adviser for the program and a lecturer in the entrepreneurial center, says his students’ goal is to maximize the economic impact of RAGBRAI and try to make that impact sustainable.

“It’s important to not only make an impact but also make it a lasting impression for RAGBRAI riders,” says Walker. “Our students are asking themselves questions like, ‘How do you get people to come back to this town?’”

The program started as an internship in 2015 when five Iowa JPEC students collaborated with the town of Solon, Iowa, to draw RAGBRAI riders into the community. Since then, it has expanded the number of students involved and the number of towns along the RAGBRAI route that it strives to help.

This year, the program is being offered as a three-credit-hour class, and 14 Iowa JPEC students are working in four towns along the RAGBRAI route: Algona, Cresco, Postville, and Protivin. Walker assigned three or four students to each town, where they attend meetings about RAGBRAI, assist with social media promotion, and share their entrepreneurship knowledge.

“It’s the students’ job to promote advertising and social media efforts toward the businesses in the RAGBRAI towns they collaborate with,” says Walker. “Besides the class time and integration with each community the day riders come through town, our students help with setup and teardown. They’re with the communities for three days, building management skills while maximizing the impact of RAGBRAI.”

For a program hoping to make a lasting impact, Protivin was an ideal town to lend a helping hand to. The community has a deep history of Czech culture, and for the past 39 years, a collaboration between the town and its Holy Trinity Church has hosted thousands of guests for Protivin Czech Days, a weekend celebration of the town’s heritage, complete with bratwurst, kolaches, and polka music.

This year’s RAGBRAI activities will resemble the town’s beloved Czech Days while focusing more on the businesses within Protivin, which in 2014 had a population of 280.

“Our goal for the three Iowa JPEC students working with us this summer is to create exposure for our businesses,” says Dennis Meirick, Protivin’s RAGBRAI chair. “But we also want these students to experience and see the benefits of a community-wide effort.”

Iowa JPEC students Natalie Arth, Karina McGowan, and Matt Cuvelier have been working with Meirick and his team. Each was assigned to one of three beneficiary businesses of the Protivin RAGBRAI activities.

Cuvelier, who grew up a few miles away from Protivin in Cresco, says he is excited to combine his passion for entrepreneurship with his admiration for the region.

“I have had the pleasure to work with some great people and tackle some interesting projects, but nothing quite as unique as this RAGBRAI seminar,” says Cuvelier. “As a northeast Iowa native, I am extremely excited to work with familiar faces while making a difference in the area.”