Spring 2020 Finalists
Unfortunately, the March 2020 Laker Effect Challenge was cancelled due to precautions taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The finalists below would have presented at this event.
Project Hope
Research has shown that your zip code can determine your life expectancy as much as your genetic code. In Grand Rapids, residents of East Grand Rapids can expect to live to 90.8 years. In an adjacent neighborhood, Eastown, life expectancy is only 73.2 years. That is a 17.6 year difference just by crossing one street! The West Grand neighborhood, where Oasis of Hope Center is located, has a life expectancy of 76.8 years - not the worst, but still not great. The causes of this discrepancy are many and complex, but part of it is access to fresh food, safe housing, employment, access to healthcare, green spaces, water and air quality, education, and access to transportation. At Oasis of Hope, we seek to treat the whole patient, not just their immediate health concerns, so we added a Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) questionnaire to the patient intake paperwork in May 2019. When we identify a social need, we provide information on other organizations in Grand Rapids that help with that specific need. Over the past nine months, we have found that 33% of our patients were unemployed, 21% struggle to afford food, and 15% lack reliable, safe housing. The next step in this project is pooling resources in collaboration between Oasis of Hope Center and Baxter Community Center to support the salary of a Community Health Worker. The role of the Community Health Worker, in this project, is to act as a liaison and navigator to support our patients in getting the resources they need, beyond a handout. We hope to increase patient access to resources that will improve their overall health by interacting with the Community Health Worker and following up via phone calls, appointments in clinic, and networking with other organizations offering SDoH opportunities.
Healthy Vending
There is a lack of nutritious options for students at GVSU. The vending machines are filled with sugary treats that are not nutritious for students who need a snack throughout the day. GVSU has a healthy food check but the vending machines do not contain any healthy options for students to purchase. Our campus currently has a healthy eating program that explains where healthy options can be purchased around campus but I believe one large aspect of dining is missing. This would be the vending machines that are located all around campus. There is a list of snack, entrée, and beverage options that meet NANA, AHA, and GSA/HHS vending standards but our vending machines currently are lacking in the healthy choices students have. Vending machines are a highly visible source of food and beverages on our campus. Improving the nutritional quality of vending machine selections is an important step toward creating a culture of health at GVSU. A few options for healthier options in the vending machines would be dried fruit, nuts, whole-grain crackers, light popcorn and canned fruit. Students spend so much time on campus and often grab food on the go. Unfortunately, traditional vending machines frequently lack healthy choices. Vending machines are common sources of junk food and sugary drinks, offering items that are low in vitamins, minerals and fiber. GVSU needs to foster food and beverage environments that promote health not conspire against it. By creating guidelines to healthy vending we can make a change in the way students make healthier options while dining on campus. This project will partner with Mercy Health and work on their community challenge. Mercy Health has a toolkit for healthier vending that includes resources to improve access to healthy food and beverage options in the community. Research suggests that greater availability of healthier options combined with cost incentives enhances more healthful purchase choices by consumers. GVSU can be a university that commits to the health of their students by funding this project collaboration with Mercy Health.
Brand support For MI Veteran Entrepreneur Lab Participants
Michigan Veteran Entrepreneur Lab (MVE-Lab) is an outreach program of the Seidman College of Business that provides education, networking, and technical assistance to military-connected entrepreneurs in the community who wish to start a business or develop a product. But some participants come to MVE-Lab without a well-thought out company name, very little marketing savvy and often no social media presence. Our 3-hour per night, 10-week workshop format in a cohort model does not offer the capacity to help participants with these fundamental branding tasks. MVE-Lab seeks to engage the skills of a professional branding expert to work with cohort members on a 1-on-1 basis during the program and provide small grants to participants to help with branding expenses. The program culminates with a Pitch Showcase, and we want participants to have a professional logo and online presence by this time. To accomplish this, MVE-Lab requests funding to partner with [HAS HEART], a Grand Rapids nonprofit whose mission is to work with veterans to tell their stories artistically. [HAS HEART] was co-founded by two GVSU Lakers, Michael Hyacinthe, a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and Tyler Way, Creative Director. The partnership between [HAS HEART] and MVE-Lab is to help burgeoning entrepreneurs brand their endeavor and develop the first items of branding collateral to represent their startup. This might include a logo, domain name registration, custom photography, and/or a cover photo or masthead for social media.
Delivering Promise
This ground-breaking program assists refugee children with acclimating to their new life in America and to experiencing success in school. These children, raised in refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, come to Grand Rapids as non-English speakers and lacking formal education. Through this program, they acquire the cultural, academic and English language skills critical for them to catch up with their American peers and to eventually become independent U.S. citizens. Without support, many of these children, ranging in age from 5-17, get into trouble or drop through the cracks, failing to finish high school and bound by limited options as adults. The tutoring program is a collaboration between Grand Valley State University College of Education's Tutoring for the Future program and the Oakdale Neighbors Learning Café. Tutoring for the Future recruits GVSU undergraduates to provide volunteer tutoring to K-12 refugee students. The children learn math, science, and English Language Arts, as well as leadership skills and American cultural norms. High school learners are given additional support to guide them through the process of college or trade school applications. GVSU students gain the kind of skills and experiences that come from collaborating with people from cultures unlike their own. The volunteer tutors and students meet after school at Oakdale Neighbors twice a week, but unfortunately many refugee families cannot provide transportation services for their kids due to second shift work, lack of a vehicle or money for gas. Experience tells us that transportation is the biggest roadblock to being able to provide tutoring to more refugee children in the neighborhood who really need the help. We entered this competition in hopes of winning money to cover mileage costs for two volunteer drivers. This will assure transportation to and from tutoring, as well as for cultural field trips. It not only assures consistent, safe transportation for existing students but also enables us to open more positions for students waiting to be accepted into the program.
Block Party in a Box: Engaging GVSU Students and Grand Rapids Residents to Build a Cohesive Community
The City of Grand Rapids estimates that college students account for almost one in five residents of the John Ball Area Neighborhood (JBAN), the Westside neighborhood adjacent to the GVSU Pew campus. The melding of academic and residential communities can result in multiple benefits for both parties; but lack of meaningful engagement in the community deprives students of rich, formative experiences and can result in strained Town and Gown relationships. JBAN residents have expressed a desire for improved relationships with GVSU students but need a way forward to achieve that goal. In the past, large annual GVSU/JBAN community events have brought students and residents together to meet and greet, but typically have not resulted in ongoing relationships or meaningful student involvement in the neighborhood. With the support of The Other Way Ministries (TOW) and the Kirkhof College of Nursing (KCON), the “Block Party in a Box Project” will enable students and residents to work together to put on smaller neighborhood events, with the goal of building community block by block. KCON faculty and students will identify potential student leaders residing in the JBAN. Funding will be used to provide a joint “Block Party” training session for community and student leaders, with a focus on equity and relationship building. The “Box” will include a How-To handbook, hamburger and hot dog money, lawn games and other supplies needed to throw a rousingly successful Block Party. This project will pilot four JBAN events, with TOW planning to continue the program utilizing the piloted process and the “Block Party in a Box” reusable supplies.
GrandPR Stays Up for 24 Hours Straight
GrandPR is GVSU student-run public relations firm and we passionately want to provide 6 local nonprofits communications support - pro-bono and overnight. We have successfully held a 24-hour CreateAthon event for the past two years through our affiliation with the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA National) and have created full campaigns for 10 local nonprofits. We remain dedicated to giving back to nonprofits in Grand Rapids, Michigan and we would like to independently host a CreateAthon event. But we need support to do so! Today, our staff has grown to 33 members, made up of Executive Board members, Account Executives, and Account Associates. Our staff is passionately dedicated to serving the needs of our wide variety of clients, including campus organizations, local businesses, and more. We commit to providing strategic public relations counsel with innovative communication tactics from a fresh perspective. With a genuine enthusiasm for what we do, GrandPR produces results that enable clients to reach their objectives by establishing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships. Our goal is to grow and build the Grand Rapids community by partnering with nonprofits and helping them achieve their goals - all through creating a complete campaign in 24 hours, and presenting it to the client at the end of the event. Our staff implements and executes quality campaigns while adhering to the highest of ethical standards.