Students Make Pitch for Social Entrepreneurship Grants
At the first-ever grant awards competition for Middlebury’s new Center for Social Entrepreneurship, the room was full of nervous energy. Five student teams gave short pitches to a panel of judges, trying to convince them that their summer project was worthy of a $2,000 grant. Each team had already received a $3,000 grant from the center, but they all made strong cases for how the bonus funds would help. The projects were as diverse as the students themselves: composting operations for high schools, farming insects for food, using geographic information systems to alleviate hunger, training young social entrepreneurs in Mexico, and creating a safe home for street children in Ethiopia. Professor Jon Isham, faculty director for the center, tells MiddMag that the students captured the spirit of social entrepreneurship beautifully.
Stories like these make me so proud to be a Midd grad, and very assured that my donations are being put toward excellent use. Thank you for sharing these with the alumni/ae!