Tulane's NewDay Social Venture Challenge Finalists Announced

The winners of Tulane University"s NewDay Social Venture Challenge will be announced at 7 p.m., April 19, in room 213 of the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life. The NewDay Social Venture Challenge will award $10,000 to a graduate student and $10,000 to an undergraduate student who has developed the most innovative student-led startup designed to have a social impact on New Orleans.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature an address from photographer and social entrepreneur, Robert X. Fogarty, creator of the “Dear New Orleans…” photography campaign.
“We were really impressed with the quality of the applicants and the level of social impact their ventures hope to create,” said Stephanie Barksdale, manager of Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives at Tulane. “Students have been working with our Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives throughout the year to develop these plans and their hard work has really shown through. We hope that this funding will allow them to now turn their ideas into reality.”

The undergraduate finalists are Aquaponic Modular Production Systems (AMPS) by Doug Jacobs and Youth Rebuild New Orleans by William Stoudt. AMPS aims to provide a reliable source of fresh produce to communities where soil degradation, water shortages, pollution and other factors prevent the cultivation of healthy food. Youth Rebuild New Orleans will enlist volunteers to rehabilitate blighted properties to sell to teachers.

The graduate student finalists are: Surround Sound Accompaniment by Christopher “Skip” Wilson and Refresh Environmental by Lawrence E. Spegele and Brandon Iglesias. Surround Sound Accompaniment will provide musicians with an online platform to download music, orchestral accompaniment and performance notes with peers. Refresh Environmental focuses on recycling cooking oil to create a sustainable waste fuel ecosystem in Louisiana.

More information about Tulane Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives is available online at http://tulane.edu/socialentrepreneurship/ .