BIG THANKS to everyone who was part of our 2022 Ideas to Serve Program! Read about the Poster Showcase and Partner Celebration here and check out this short video with the awardees.
Ideas to Serve (I2S) focuses on community collaborations and promotes an in-depth understanding of social and environmental issues locally and globally.
We take a comprehensive approach to social innovation encouraging students to be compassionate listeners; identify and build on the assets; research the solution landscape to learn from both what works and what failed; take a systems approach to identify the root cause versus the symptoms of the issue.
Students who aspire to work closely with and learn from a community partner/civic entrepreneur, those who want to affect change in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), and those who are wondering how they can make a real, lasting, and appropriate difference in other people’s lives are ideal candidates for I2S.
In the 2022 season, student teams will learn from and work with our Atlanta area community partners and civic entrepreneurs. A series of hands-on workshops and discussions, complemented by conversations with experts from the frontlines, will equip participants with broadly relevant problem discovery tools and skills that they can apply in any field and career. The workshops are offered as part of the MGT4803 Social Impact course and they are open to any student interested.
The deliverable for I2S is a Stakeholder Map of the social issue student teams explore with their community partner's guidance. The I2S Showcase will take place on April 18 where teams will present the outcome of their work to an audience of practitioners, community leaders, faculty, and students.
Participating I2S Teams can apply to the Map the System Global Challenge as a part of our collaboration with the Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School at Oxford. The top team(s) from I2S will represent Georgia Tech at Oxford and compete with teams focused on social impact from top universities around the world.
| 2022 Timeline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Key Competition Dates:
*Please note that in 2022 we are only offering the Problem Discovery Track |
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| 2022 Workshop Schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Key Workshop Dates:
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| 2022 Community Partners | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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We are honored to learn from and work with this amazing group of black female civic entrepreneurs. We thank them for their time, for sharing their expertise and knowledge, and for guiding our outstanding students in their problem discovery journey. Join us on April 18 to meet them and celebrate their work.
Civil Bikes Founder: Nedra Deadwyler Website: https://civilbikes.com/ Summary: Civil Bikes walking tours and bicycle tours of Atlanta brings attention to unseen and unheard stories about Atlanta in a unique and accessible way that creatively builds a just community and inspires action. Tours cover a range of topics from neighborhood history, major movements like Civil Rights, and communities of people who continue to impact Atlanta, Georgia, and her future.
Best Fit, Inc. Founder: Asha Owens Website: BestFit (best-fit.app) Summary: On a mission to remove non-academic barriers for students at risk of dropping out because they cannot afford to meet their basic needs like, tech, housing, and food. Provides technology to colleges & nonprofits looking to address basic needs insecurity on campus and in their communities.
Step Ahead Scholars (SAS) Founder: Debra Nealy Website: https://www.stepaheadscholars.org Summary: College access equity by empowring under-resourced students to and through college. Through assemblies, informational sessions, one-on-one mentorship, and outreach events, we positively impact core college going indicators (FAFSA, SAT, ACT and Best Fit college research know how), thereby increasing the numbers of underserved students that successfully navigate the college admissions and transition process.
TruDiary, Inc. Founder: Veronica Berry Website: https://trudiary.com Summary: TruDiary provides culturally relevant value-based care to Black and Brown maternal patients in underserved communities. TruDiary’s digital health platform eliminates barriers to quality prenatal care by connecting patients to the right doctor, offering inclusive educational content and providing social determinants of health (SDOH) services such as food security, mental health, lactation services, vaccine education and transportation.
Helping Empower Youth (HEY!) Founder: Kacey Venning Website: https://www.helpingempoweryouth.org/who-we-are Summary: Provides an opportunity to inspire, motivate and mobilize young people to take action that changes their world. HEY! focuses on three initiatives to address those needs: Sport For Good S.T.E.A.M., the EMPOWERED! Leadership Academy, and the HEY! Let's Read! Book Festival for Children of Color.
Umi Feeds Founder: Erica Clahr Website: https://umifeeds.org Summary: Umi Feeds is a food rescue organization that is dedicated to serving the hungry and homeless healthy and nutritious meals in Atlanta, Miami, New York, and Mississippi. Over the years they have shared healthy meals, barber services, free yoga, clothing, personal hygiene products, books, and so much more. The organization's mission is to spread love through food!
Nourish Botanica Founder: Quianah Upton Website: https://www.nourishbotanica.cafe/ Summary: Quianah is building a black woman-owned greenhouse and eatery in Atlanta to provide healing through art, flowers and plants grown in the greenhouse, food as medicine and herbal blends. Nourish Botanica also provides a physical space for civic engagement and education around food equity and economic justice. |
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| Application | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Applications for 2022 are now closed. Please note that this year all teams are part of the Problem Discovery Track and we have partnered with community partners who work on a wide range of social issues ranging from food recovery to helping young adults get to and through college, to equitable maternal healthcare for women of color. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Resources | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mapping Tools:
5 Whys & Iceberg Models Workshop: What is Systems – Thinking: What to Consider when Conducting Stakeholder Interviews: Map the system submission guidelines: |
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| Awards and Supporters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 AwardsWe believe in equitable funding principles and are providing investments to all of our participating community partners. Their time, guidance, and lived experience are crucial for our students' learning journey. Student Team Awards People's Choice Award Best Video Award Scheller MBA Award Map the System Global Finalist Award - Participation and travel to Oxford, England Supporters
Participation in the Ideas to Serve Competition fulfills the Final Deliverable requirement for the SLS Innovating for Social Impact Program. |
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