FAU KENAN SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM ANNOUNCES SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
by Lynda F. Rysavy | Thursday, Feb 28, 2019
The Kenan Social Engagement Program at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College at Ƶ Atlantic Universityispleased to announce the selection of twonewKenan Social Engagement Programscholarship winners.
These scholarship recipientssubmitted their business plans for social ventures to a panel of experts who selected two for seed grants.
AmandaBarstowis the 2019 winner of a $10,000 seed grant to launch her social enterprise,Daisy,which is designed to providefeminine hygiene products toat-risk clients, particularlyhomeless women.
“I have always been interested in doing something that could address one of the many social problems facing women, a subset of the population that experiences a disproportionate amount of mistreatment and poverty,” said Barstow. “Through the Kenan Social Engagement program, I was able to learn more about how social ventures can both do well and do good.”
Women in vulnerable positions such as homelessness often face an additional struggle on top of the daily challenges of finding shelter, food, and work. Staying healthy and safe during a woman’s period can be difficult due to the prohibitive cost of feminine hygiene products, lack of sanitary alternatives, and unreliable access to showers.Structured as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization,Daisywill facilitate the donation of feminine hygiene products from corporate sponsors to provide comprehensive “period kits” to organizations that typically serve these women-in-need such as homeless resource centers, food pantries, and domestic violence shelters; kits will be offeredat a discounted price so theorganizationscan focus on furthering their missions.
“People don’t typically think todonate tampons and related products, but with Daisy, these organizations will be fully stocked to support their clients,” added Barstow.
Wilkes Honors College student David Gorski also won $2,500 to start his social venture, Life-Metrics:a mobile app platform that establishes quantitative connections between health/usage data and psychological/physical well-being. By bringing together a wealth of data already available with cutting-edge machine learning, Life-Metrics aims to create a world in whichwe all know precisely how our habits affect our lives.
Bornto Polish immigrants and raised in South Ƶ, David spent his adolescence involved with science institutes in the area and volunteering in his community. He is beginning a theoretical physics Ph.D. program this fall and hopes to carry on the entrepreneurial spirit of his family.
Each year, the Kenan Social Engagement Program enters an agreement with a local area nonprofit agency or community partner. Students volunteer at thecommunity partner; staff at the community partner, in turn, mentor the student volunteers. Additionally, the students write business plans tailored not only to serve the mission of the community partner but also to create revenue streams for that nonprofit agency, making it less dependent on charitable donations and more economically self-sufficient.
Community partners that have participated in the Kenan Social Engagement Program include; El Sol Neighborhood ResourceCenter, TheLord's Place, a nonprofit, Palm Beach County Food Bank, Town of Jupiter;EastersealsƵ, Mind & Melody and Path to College.
Now in its seventh year, the Kenan Social Engagement program is funded by a grant and endowment by the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust.
For more information on the program see: /honors/alumni/kenan-social-engagement-program