2007 Winners
3rd Annual Social Venture Showcase April 14, 2007
Eco-friendly school, online group trip planner, and heirloom seeds are just three of the concepts presented at the 3rd Annual Appalachian IDEAS Network Social Venture Showcase, which took place April 14th at the Radisson Plaza hotel in downtown Lexington, KY. Seven teams of students from five colleges across the Appalachian region presented their social venture concept in front of a panel of judges and competed for grants to implement their concept.
Below is a list of participating teams. For a longer description of a team's concept, please click on the team name.
First Place ($2500)
Team Name: HomeGrown HideAways
Team Concept: An ecological design/build school to educate and empower those who are interested in minimizing their ecological impacts through experiential workshops that promote energy efficiency using appropriate technologies.
College: Berea College (Berea, KY)
Team Members: Jessa Turner (hometown: Lexington, KY); Megan Naseman (hometown: Anna Ohio)
Faculty Advisor: Debbi Brock
Second Place ($1500)
Team Name: Reverse Traverse
Team Concept: An online tool that would aid individuals and groups plan trips both large and small on a budget and with a particular interest focus
College: East Tennessee State University (Johnson City, TN)
Team Members: Danielle Oprean (hometown:Hendersonville, NC); James Spencer (hometown: Middletown, OH); Patrick McQueeney(hometown: Kingsport, TN)
Faculty Advisor: Andy Clark
Third Place ($1000)
Team Name: SAGAS
Team Concept: Collect and document the history of heirloom seeds; archive and create informative seed packets
College: North Georgia College and State University (Dahlonega, GA)
Team Members: Malina Maldonado (hometown: Sugar Hill, GA); Misty Green (hometown: Commerce, GA); Brianna Brown (hometown: Royston, GA)
Faculty Advisor: Kelly West
Other Participating Teams
Team Name: Carson-Newman College of Social Entrepreneurship Team
Team Concept: Reduce nature deficit disorder through an ecotourism approach
College: Carson-Newman College (Jefferson City, TN)
Team Members: Brandi Bolyard (hometown: Jefferson City, TN); Jamie Collins (hometown: Jefferson City, TN); Lyndsay Dawson (hometown: Kingsport, TN)
Faculty Advisor: Guy Larry Osborne
Team Name: NGCSU Psi Chi Food Bank Project
Team Concept: Using eBay to fund a nonprofit food bank service
College: North Georgia College and State University (Dahlonega, GA)
Team Members: Vicki Herrin (hometown: Dahlonega, GA); Billy Breedlove (hometown: Blairsville, GA)
Faculty Advisor: Chuck Robertson
Team Name: Eco Gym
Team Concept: Design a better exercise machine that can be used to generate power and get fit and gyms across Kentucky
College: Berea College (Berea, KY)
Team Members: Elizabeth Nolan (hometown: Seabrook, NH); Maya Benami (hometown: Knoxville, TN); Nathan Hall (hometown: Allen, KY); Micah Johnson (hometown: Dunmore, WV)
Faculty Advisor: Debbi Brock
Team Name: KySat
Team Concept: Kentucky Satellite
College: University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY)
Team Members: Samuel Hishmeh (hometown: Horse Cave, KY); Dale McClure (hometown: Possum Trot, KY); Tyler Doering (hometown: Walton, KY); Thomas Dodson (hometown: Lexington, KY); Garrett Chandler (hometown: Quitman, TX)
Faculty Advisor: James E. Lumpp
Team Name: HomeGrown HideAways
http://homegrownhideaways.org/
HomeGrown HideAways is a non-profit, ecological design/build school. The mission of the school is to educate and empower those who are interested in minimizing their ecological impacts through experiential workshops that promote energy efficiency using appropriate technologies.
These workshops would include topics such as building with energy efficient materials, creating and using natural paints and plasters, integration of renewable energy sources, as well as daily living courses such as creating non-toxic cleaners, xeriscaping, creating and using biofuels, and building and using solar ovens.
A key component of the educational programs will be the building workshops which will include designing and constructing several cabins on the facility grounds. These will give workshop participants the opportunity for experiential learning as well as provide housing for students and visitors.
With a growing awareness of climate change, energy consumption, and the effects of environmental degradation, HomeGrown HideAways will offer an important contribution to the future of both the Appalachian region and the world at large. Locally, Kentucky is one of the top states for coal extraction used to produce electricity. By offering effective solutions for minimizing electricity consumption, this organization will serve to reduce: demand for energy, excessive carbon emissions, and personal utility bills.
2nd PlaceTeam Name: Reverse Traverse
Imagine a tool that would aid in helping individuals and groups plan trips both large and small on a budget and with a particular interest focus. Now imagine how small businesses could use this tool to further appeal to individuals and groups who use the tool. Growing communities could further use the tool to help keep temporary residents such as college students around by promoting activities and events that appeal to those specific demographics.
Reverse Traverse is a Web 2.0 community focused on connecting users with users and local points of interest. The initial idea of Reverse Traverse was to help college students, who live on a limited budget, learn to enjoy the areas they are currently living in by finding new and exciting local establishments and then sharing their experiences with their peers. Small business and entrepreneurs could take advantage of the advertising opportunities of Reverse Traverse to market towards specific demographics with similar interests. The success of entrepreneurs and small businesses could then affect local communities by providing new job offerings.
Unlike most Web 2.0 communities though, Reverse Traverse will focus on smaller regional areas and interests throughout the common exponential expansion found in the Web 2.0 market.
3rd PlaceTeam Name: SAGAS
Students are collecting, studying and documenting heirloom seeds from community members. These students are also interviewing community members to collect the seed histories, which are being archived and used to create informative seed packets. The seed packets with accompanying oral histories will be marketed through the Appalachian Studies Center at North Georgia College and State University.
Team Name: Carson-Newman College of Social Entrepreneurship Team
On the surface Jefferson City, TN, and its surrounds may seem devoid of meaningful leisure or enrichment opportunities despite its college town status. Students commonly complain there is nothing more exciting to do here than visiting Wal-Mart. This malaise exemplifies the abundance of Nature Deficit Disorder in our area; residents are oblivious to the cultural and environmental treasures in our bioregion.
To diminish the presence of NDD and re-connect local residents, school and college students in our area with our rich cultural and natural environment, we propose to apply an Ecotourism approach to generate community activity in, and knowledge of, our bioregion. We plan to provide opportunities to actively engage with some of the distinctive natural and historical locations within our bioregion by initiating self-guided and guided tours (walking, biking, kayaking).
Carson-Newman will implement this project with help from college clubs, our Bonner Scholars service program, and professors with interests and expertise in community-based teaching. Additional support will be provided by the Chamber of Commerce, city/county government officials, non-profit and for-profit enterprises, and local residents knowledgeable of our area. Secondary benefits include attracting eco-tourists to spend time and money in our area, thereby nurturing homegrown businesses, craft shops, and agricultural ventures; contributing to more sustainable and environmentally responsible avenues for community and economic development; and strengthening the relationship between Carson-Newman and the surrounding community.
Team Name: NGCSU Psi Chi Food Bank Project
Rather than collect a few cans of food for the local food bank, run by the Community Helping Place (CHP), Psi Chi members addressed the problem of hunger in a more permanent way. The CHP gets the majority of it’s operating budget from its thrift store sales. Many of the items donated to the thrift store are more valuable than what the thrift store volunteers can sell them for. Psi Chi students set up and run an eBay account for the CHP. The profits go into an account that purchases food in bulk, resulting in more food than can be collected in food drives. Psi Chi students will explain the process of setting this up for a nonprofit organization and share our exploration into the online business world.
Team Name: Eco Gym
Everyday at gyms across the United States energy is lost that could be used to supplement the buildings’ operating costs. Bikes are often used to demonstrate the relative efficiency of different light bulb models. These demonstration units are retrofitted bikes. We plan to design a better machine that can be used to generate power and get fit in gyms across Kentucky.
The Social Return on Investment can be measured in environmental, human health, and educational benefits. The power generated by the machine will replace dirtier forms of electricity generation which contribute to Carbon Dioxide emissions and mercury contamination. Regular physical activity is the best way to combat common afflictions in Kentucky such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. If the novelty of an “Eco gym” is able to attract individuals that have not previously been active, we will have a measurable affect on public health. Anyone who uses the machine will have a better understanding of what energy units mean. We will compare the energy generated to how many lbs of coal would be needed to generate a similar amount of energy.
Team Name: KySat
The KySat project is developing a 1 kilogram “picoclass” satellite. The KySat effort is the first by a state to develop a satellite. The consortium assembled to fund and develop KySat includes public, private and educational partners throughout Kentucky. While the primary mission of KySat1 is educational outreach, the goals of the KySat program include 1) Educational experience for secondary and post secondary students 2) Cultivate an aerospace and satellite technology base in Kentucky 3) Develop a reliable reusable satellite bus that will form the basis for future education and commercial KySat missions. 4) Outreach activities to motivate and engage and interest K-12 students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). It is hoped that in the same way that the early space program instilled national pride and inspired generations of children to become scientists, the KySat Project will inspire and bring space down to earth and into K-12 classrooms throughout Kentucky.