2015 PCSE Seed Grant Finalists Announced (public pitches 2/27 at noon)

The Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2015 PCSE Seed Grant Competition.

These $5,000 awards are intended to fund the launch or early stage growth of a Wesleyan-connected social enterprise, project, program, or venture. The 2013 and 2014 grantees used this seed funding to launch a free CSA in Middletown, work with incarcerated youth in Chicago, advocate for farmers’ working conditions in Bali, scale up two NGO’s founded at Wesleyan, build an online employment platform in Africa, reduce bottled-water consumption on college campuses, and bridge the digital divide in the Philippines. All have reported on their progress here.

This year’s finalists will pitch their projects at a public event on Friday, February 27, 12-1 p.m., in PAC002. Pizza will be served. All members of the Wesleyan community are invited to attend, and the event will be webcast here for those who are unable to make it in person.

The 2015 PCSE Seed Grant finalists are:

assk logoAssk
Rachel Verner ’15
Assk is a unisex underwear/clothing line that encourages and normalizes active sexual consent. The brand serves as a broad reminder on a t-shirt, as a sign of solidarity for survivors, and as an immediate, intimate reminder in the bedroom.

Feminist UniversityFeminist University
Raechel Rosen ’15 and Chloe Murtagh ’15
Through carefully selected schools and strategies, Feminist University will work to foster empowerment and solidarity in American undergraduate institutions, planting seeds of change at individual schools and the national culture through performance, education, community organizing and network building.

potlux logoPotlux
Brent Packer ’15, Aaron Rosen ’15, Jared Geilich ’15, Gerard Liu ’15, Keren Reichler ’16, Cassia Patel ’16, Ellen Paik ’16, and Gabe Frankel ’15
Potlux is on track to be the first online community where collegiate sustainability initiatives are effectively aggregated and shared. The potential for this platform is huge: facilitating best practice movements across the college network, inspiring new ideas, building intercollegiate collaboration, and catalyzing project funding.

techbucks logoTechBucks
Julian Compagni Portis ’15 and Kehan Zhou ’15
TechBucks creates a streamlined platform for college students to easily sell their old electronics. In an era where e-waste is becoming an endemic problem, TechBucks encourages multi-generational use and reduced demand for new electronics.

The Wesleyan Doula Project logoThe Wesleyan Doula Project
Alexandra Stovicek ’17, Hannah Sokoloff-Rubin ’16, and Julia Vermeulen ’15
The Wesleyan Doula Project is the only university-based doula project in the country.  As doulas, we provide emotional, physical, and informational support to women choosing to terminate their pregnancies at Connecticut Planned Parenthood clinics.  A student-run, volunteer collective, we are part of a greater movement to address growing inequalities in reproductive health care by advocating for reproductive choice at Wesleyan and within the broader community.

westudee logoWeStudee
Alexander Garcia ’17, Darcie Binder ’15, Ye Ji Park ’18, Paticha Areepipatkul ’18, and team
WeStudee’s mission is to improve student educational outcomes and well-being through collaborative learning.  The WeStudee application is an online service that enables students to find study partners based on availability and their desired criteria, such as major, coursework, and study-location.

 

The PCSE is grateful to the panel of alumni, faculty, and student judges and to the various members of the Wesleyan community who are giving their time and expertise to mentor and support Wesleyan student entrepreneurs. After reading a stack of Seed Grant applications, one judge wrote “Many of the ideas were inspirational and made me a very proud alum to see Wesleyan students trying to solve some of the most pressing social problems. I personally learned significantly as I reviewed the application and learned more about the ideas. Looking forward to meeting some of these candidates in person for the second round.”

For questions about the Seed Grant Competition or other Patricelli Center programs, contact PCSE Director Makaela Kingsley ’98.