FORD FUND SUPPORTS SUSTAINABILITY, STUDENT INNOVATION WITH $280,000 IN COLLEGE COMMUNITY CHALLENGE GRANTS

October 7, 2014 by Ford

◾Ford Motor Company Fund is awarding $280,000 in Ford College Community Challenge grants for student-led projects focused on 'Building Sustainable Communities'

◾The U.S. program is in its seventh year with winning projects receiving a grant to support sustainable, student-led work addressing an urgent community need

◾For the first time, Ford is expanding the College Community Challenge internationally, partnering with Enactus to include communities in Brazil and China

This fall, students at the University of Georgia will take a novel approach to clearing invasive vegetation in a distressed part of the Athens campus: goats.

Using grazing goats to clear weeds is one of 16 winning student sustainability projects at 15 colleges and universities in the 2014 Ford College Community Challenge (Ford C3). Each of the winning projects will receive a grant from Ford Motor Company Fund to support their work. As part of Ford Fund's increasing international reach, the program for the first time includes schools outside of the United States.

Ford C3 recognizes colleges and universities for utilizing school resources and student participation to address an urgent community need under the theme: Building Sustainable Communities. Ford C3 winners are required to present proposals for sustainable projects with significant student input, involvement and leadership. Water conservation, renewable energy, urban gardening, recycling and transportation are among the proposals submitted by these creative teams of students.

'Educating the next generation of leaders is at the center of Ford Fund's commitment to a better world,' said Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund and Community Services. 'Education, innovation and sustainable solutions is a powerful formula for success in our communities, and will help future engineers, managers and entrepreneurs build a solid foundation for the careers of tomorrow.'

The $280,000 in grants are part of $1 million in new scholarships, grants and career outreach programs that Ford's philanthropic arm is launching this month to further its commitment to education.

The 2014 Ford C3 winners are:

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◾Fairmont State University, Fairmont, WV – This project will install community gardens over neglected tennis courts, and provide fresh food for the student food pantry and feeding program. Contact: Ann Booth, AnnBooth@fairmontstate.edu

◾Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI – Project to create a solar and water collection infrastructure, part of an energy farm and outdoor classroom with an instructional garden for the neighborhood and Detroit Public Schools' Sampson-Webber Academy. Contact: Eric Pope, epope@ltu.edu

◾Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI – Deconstruct a dilapidated Detroit building, implement a standard assessment of the salvaged material, conduct tests for viable re-use and make a design proposal for a new building.

◾Kettering University, Flint, MI – Create a sustainable aquaponics farming system combining conventional aquaculture, such as raising fish, with hydroponics, or cultivating plants in water. Contact: Patrick Hayes, phayes@kettering.edu

◾Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN – This team is working with an African group to design a hybrid renewable energy system capable of providing power to 50 homes in Cameroon. Contact: Judith Barra Austin, jbaustin@purdue.edu

◾University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI – Make park improvements in the local community to increase safety, accessibility and sustainability. The upgrades will incorporate ecological materials, recycling stations and water conservation systems. Contact: Gary Lichtman, lichtmgd@udmercy.edu

◾University of Georgia, Athens, GA – Continue the restoration of neglected and imperiled 'marginal' landscapes, building upon a two-year effort to remove invasive vegetation from a campus stream corridor using 'prescribed grazing' by goats. Contacts: Eric MacDonald, eamacdon@uga.edu

◾University of Washington, Seattle, WA – This project would improve accessibility to public transit with an app for mobile devices that provides detailed bus stop information, including arrival, shelter and bench availability, to visually impaired people. Contact: Michelle Ma, mcma@uw.edu

◾Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA – Expands the Tricycle Gardens' Healthy Corner Store Initiative of the 2013 Ford C3 team by expanding a sustainable transportation solution to increase community access to fresh produce in neighborhood corner stores. Contact: klolvier@vcu.com

◾Wentworth Institute of Technology, Boston, MA –The project, in partnership with Brookview House, will address the needs of Boston youth through improvements to the facilities, creating a supportive and safe environment for homeless women and children from our local communities. Contact: Amy Intille, intillea@wit.edu

For the first time, Ford is expanding the College Community Challenge internationally, partnering with Enactus to include communities in Brazil and China. Enactus is an international organization that connects students, educators and business leaders to transform opportunities into real, sustainable progress for their communities.

This year's global Ford C3 winners are:

BRAZIL

◾Education and Research Institute, Insper Enactus team – Create employment opportunities for disadvantaged individuals by training them to produce and sell affordable eye glasses for low-income families. Volunteer doctors will provide prescriptions.

◾Federal Center for Technological Education, Celso Suckow da Fonseca Enactus team – Train organic farmers to turn discarded, but still edible, produce into sellable products. One group has already been trained to produce vinegar and dried fruit from damaged produce.

Contact: Kleber De Paulo, kmpaulo@enactus.org

CHINA

◾Harbin Engineering University Enactus team – Train disabled women to create and sell fish skin paintings, a traditional Chinese art. The women also receive ongoing business training while leveraging a variety of sales channels to improve and promote traditional Chinese culture.

◾Jilin University Enactus team – Created an innovative solution for rural waste by converting garbage into enzymes to produce eco-friendly multi-purpose cleaners for dishes, floors and clothing.

◾Nanjing Agricultural University Enactus team – Convert discarded straw into an eco-friendly fertilizer by using a new technology that heats straw without oxygen to make carbon fertilizer.

◾Sun Yat-sen University Enactus team – Project to train farmers from a poor, isolated island village to utilize banana leaves to cultivate and sell mushrooms.