GreenHouse innovators receive Social Impact Fund grants

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Six GreenHouse social ventures received a total of $13,000 at the latest Social Impact Showcase, which highlights the work of each term’s innovators.

Social Impact Fund recipients hold up a banner
The innovators who received funding from the Social Impact Fund (SIF) for the Spring 2017 term included a venture that will import sleeping ‘pod’ technology for shelters and airports, a venture that will help girls develop leadership skills through gaming activities, and one that will help racialized women access fitness programs.

Half the SIF recipients were GreenHouse Fellows – winners of the Big Ideas Challenge, an annual event in which students pitch their ideas for social good; the winners get summer-long GreenHouse Fellowships.

All GreenHouse students have access to the SIF grants at the end of each term, and pitch their ideas in front of a panel before the Showcase.

Here are all the Spring 2017 winners and their ventures:

Fellows:

Arawelo: Indi Madar

(Master’s in Sustainability Management)
$2,500 to help create a cross-cultural women’s health platform

MapleKey: Julia Hiscock

(Psychology)
$2,500 to bring innovative technology into shelters to create safe, secure, and private accommodations for the transient community

Bamboo Labs: Dhruv Guliani and Shahid Mawji

(Mechatronics Engineering)
$2,000 to develop a technology consulting venture, specializing in helping companies become more socially responsible

Innovators:

SheLeads: Cassie Myers

(Peace and Conflict Studies)
$2,500 to empower girls to realize their leadership potential through skill-based games

Just Bee: Bailee Walls-Guertin

(Health Studies)
$2,500 to create education materials which teach emotional intelligence to children

Finer Minds: Elizabeth Stankiewicz

(Psychology)
$1,000 to develop a skill-building program for homeless youth with a mental health focus


Read more about some of the SIF winners on the Waterloo Stories site.