by ·Comments Off on [IN] Expands Business Training and Events to Larger Community

By Nic Custer

5 Steps to Start Up Kickoff Event

As part of efforts to expand the reach of the Innovation Incubator, staff has taken the business training out into the community. Two business bootcamps have been recently offered to community members and students. 5 Steps to Start Up, a Procurement Technical Assistance Center-funded series, was held on UM-Flint’s campus and helped more than sixty business owners better understand customer acquisition, marketing, business finances and government contracting.

[IN] on the Road Teen Session at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint

[IN] on the Road, another workshop series, offers multiple free business bootcamps on the north and east sides of Flint. This program’s goal is to build up entrepreneurship knowledge in neighborhood residents. The Innovation Incubator-led project is funded by Ruth Mott Foundation. Each 5-session bootcamp is geared towards both teens and adults.

The curriculum brings financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills to the general community, which may have barriers to access traditional business planning services downtown. The program was held at Joy Tabernacle in Civic Park, Holmes STEM Academy and will be at Asbury United Methodist Church this June. An additional bootcamp exclusively for teens was held at Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint during spring break, funded by Michigan Small Business Development Center. Business counselors make themselves available to community members an hour before and after each session for 1-on-1 counseling. The program will culminate June 24 with a graduation celebration at Berston Field House. Participants will receive certificates of completion and young people will compete in an elevator pitch competition with up to 10 of them winning $500 towards starting the business. The Innovation Incubator hopes to work with clients beyond the life of the camp and is offering bus passes to clients without access to reliable transportation to help them attain services downtown after June.

Larry Nichols of the School of Management and Sara McDonnell of the Innovation Incubator present “Grants, Crowdfunding, and Financing: How to Fund your work and business”

Additionally, Outreach held an Arts and Social Entrepreneurship Symposium at the Flint Institute of Music and Flint Institute of Arts in March. This event brought together local arts entrepreneurs for a day of workshops and panel discussions. Keynote speakers included local printmaker Bill Stolpin and Aaron Dworkin, Sphinx Organization founder and dean of the U-M School of Music, Theatre, and Dance.

Matt Kelterborn of the U-M Center for Social Impact and University Outreach Director Paula Nas with Martha Fedorowitz, Emily Futcher, Dean-Mark Clemente, the 2017 Social Impact Challenge grand prize winners.

The Social Impact Challenge finals were held at the symposium and mixed teams from Flint and Ann Arbor presented their ideas of how to better connect IN on the Road’s neighborhood entrepreneurs with a new Ferris Wheel innovation hub downtown. The $2,500 grand prize was awarded to student team, Innovation to Impact.

 

 

 

 

 

by ·Comments Off on Making a Michigan Difference through Alternative Spring Break

By Gary Ashley

This year, 67 students and staff participated in Alternative Spring Break (ASB) from February 26-March 4, 2017. 

Through IMPACT Days and STAY-cation programs at the University of Michigan-Flint, participants engaged in local community service in the city of Flint. ASB worked with 9 community partners to provide service sties for participants addressing the social issues of homelessness/hunger, women’s advocacy, community wellness, urban renewal, poverty/public service, and education. This year, ASB also partnered with local community organizations including Weiss Advocacy, Salvation Army and more to provide on-site education sessions for participants. Based on the feedback received, taking students to sites instead of bringing speakers to campus proved to be a positive, powerful and eye opening experience. In addition to educational activities and service, STAY-cation participants spent the week immersing themselves in downtown Flint. While staying at the First Presbyterian Church of Flint, students ate at local restaurants and participated in group activities which allowed them to further enrich their ASB experience. 

In addition to the traditional local ASB in Flint, 10 University of Michigan students and staff from the Dearborn and Flint campuses spent their week serving in Muskegon, MI as part of a multi-campus initiative made possible by a Bicentennial Grant.  During the week, this group worked with Community Compass and the Muskegon/Oceana Community Action Partnership where they painted, organized, talked with the clients, and more! This unique opportunity allowed students from across the campuses to engage in meaningful community service, learn about another city, network with a diverse group of students, and create lifelong memories. Raquel E. from the Dearborn campus said “It is very powerful to meet people from the same university and that share the willingness to make something to help to improve this world”.

by ·Comments Off on Three U-M Campuses Team Up for Alternative Spring Break

By Gary Ashley

asb-2016

As a public institution, the University of Michigan has a responsibility to the state of Michigan, its history, and its people. Each of the three University of Michigan campuses find ways to honor this responsibility through teaching, learning, and service. As coordinators who oversee the respective Alternative Spring Break programs on the Flint, Dearborn, and Ann Arbor campuses, we saw the University’s Bicentennial Celebration as a unique opportunity to engage students from the three campuses together in a high impact learning experience centered on service within community in a way that has not been executed before.

Typically, Alternative Breaks engage small groups of students from the same campus with similar interests in service and volunteerism in an experience that yields intrapersonal awareness, interpersonal skills, and deeper understanding of the world (Jones, et. al., 2012). This project will bring together a diverse group of 30 students from all three campuses to learn from and with each other. Facilitated by a group of three student leaders (one from each campus), they will work to learn about their role in addressing community issues within the state of Michigan while directly meeting community-identified needs. We will be working on the west side of Michigan. Once the community partners have been confirmed, we will determine the social issue that these experiences will explore.

by ·Comments Off on Social Work Class Helps Create Neighborhood-Scale Businesses

By Nic Custer

UM-Flint Social Work professor Todd Womack has been creating important multi-semester partnerships through his SWK 304- The Urban Context course at Joy Tabernacle Church in Flint’s Civic Park neighborhood. The goal of the course is to provide social work students with a real world, understanding of historical, economic, political and demographic issues that affect urban populations in the U.S., with a focus on Flint in particular.

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Professor Todd Womack leading his students in a discussion about how to best address community needs

This semester the class has partnered with Civic Park residents who are trying to create neighborhood-scale food and beautification businesses. University Outreach’s Innovation Incubator has been working with the social work students, not only to explain some of the necessary components of a successful business but also to teach them how to help residents build their own business model and create a start-up cost analysis that will help community members prepare to launch their ventures.

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Innovation Incubator staff member Nic Custer explaining a start-up cost analysis to Social Work students

The class culminated in a presentation for community members at the end of the semester, where students were able to dialogue with stakeholders and present their final projects. Community partners will continue to develop their neighborhood businesses in the Winter semester through an ongoing teaching partnership with the Innovation Incubator.

by ·Comments Off on Human Resources Staff Come Together for Day of Service

civic-park-rectangleHas your office or department ever considered a day of service? On August 4, 2016 nearly 40 Human Resources staff from the University of Michigan-Flint and the University of Michigan Ann Arbor came together to serve alongside each other in the Flint community. University Outreach played a key role in identifying strategic partnerships, leading reflection and overall planning coordination of the day.

The first group served at Our Savior Lutheran Church, on N. Saginaw St. Volunteers handed out bottled water and water filters to residents, helped out with the food pantry, did weeding, cleaned up trash, and helped fix a swing.

civic-park-400The second group worked in the Civic Park area. Volunteers put mulch down, painted curbs, planted grass seeds, watered plants, painted a fire hydrant and did a general trash pickup.

The third group was at the Early Childhood Development Center at the University of Michigan-Flint. This group worked with the children on several projects and walked with them to the Flint Farmers’ Market as the youngsters learned about nutrition.

This is a great example of the Flint and Ann Arbor campuses working together on a civic engagement project that aligns with the Flint Master Plan.

by ·Comments Off on UM-Flint’s Innovation Incubator to Take Entrepreneurship Boot Camps into the Community

After hearing from community members that there is a need for more targeted entrepreneurial training in Flint’s neighborhoods, University Outreach’s Innovation Incubator sought funding to develop a business boot camp that can be used with populations across the community. The Innovation Incubator was awarded a $49,050 grant from the Ruth Mott Foundation to implement the North Flint Economic Prosperity program, which will begin this September.

The incubator plans to offer at least three boot camps in various north Flint neighborhoods. The locations include the first and third wards, the Civic Park neighborhood and the neighborhood surrounding the Hispanic Technology Center. The five session boot camp will include both faculty instruction and speaking engagements by local successful entrepreneurs that can serve as role models for participants. Teenagers and adults will be taught together to give both groups a broader perspective and to encourage more diverse business teams to form. At the end of the boot camp, teenagers are eligible to participate in a culminating business pitch competition for prizes to support their venture.

All of the boot camps are being offered for free and will run for five sessions each between February and June 2017. In the fall semester, students will also help collect data from pre-existing business owners in these neighborhoods regarding business climate, availability of business support services and obstacles to growth. Visit go.umflint.edu/in to register or for more information.

by ·Comments Off on UM-Flint’s Alternative Breaks Program

The University of Michigan-Flint’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) enables students to learn about issues such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, violence, environmental issues, and other complex social and cultural issues. Students listen to and understand community needs and continue a commitment to community service and social change. This programming has been expanded and complemented with Service Saturdays and Alternative Summer Break. Alternative Breaks is now the umbrella name for Alternative Spring Break, Service Saturdays and Alternative Summer Break. With this change we have approximately 39 student leadership roles. We have 5 executive board members, 14 general board members and 20 site leaders.

The University of Michigan-Flint’s Service Saturdays program is a University Outreach sponsored program that offers a community service learning experience on the local level during select Saturdays throughout the year. Students spend time learning about our urban community and many of the social issues that residents face in Flint. On designated Saturdays, participants will meet at the selected service site to engage in meaningful action towards a greater understanding of root causes of relevant issues. Following the project, students participate in critical reflection and analysis of the social justice issues they experienced first-hand.

Alternative Summer Break (ASuB) is a University Outreach sponsored program designed to provide an opportunity for students to partake in meaningful community service learning experiences throughout the United States. During the summer semester, students spend a week serving, addressing a particular social, cultural, or environmental issue. All trips are issue-based, meaning students choose a trip based on a specific topic, not a destination. The organizations and locations are not revealed until a few weeks prior to the trip. Through active engagement, critical reflection, and analysis, students will learn about the issue and the community in which they are serving. Following the trip, students will return as active citizens and be able to translate their experiences into addressing the needs of their communities.

We are looking forward to a great year of Alternative Breaks programming! Visit our AB webpage if you would like additional information on AB programming.

by ·Comments Off on College Readiness and College Fair

by Maria Salinas

PhotoGrid_1439915349773The University of Michigan-Flint Neff Center and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint have a partnership that began with the Parks in Focus programming. This summer, the Neff Center and the Mentoring to Access Corps, AmeriCorps Member partnered again with the Boys and Girls Club to bring College Readiness Opportunities to their students. The College Readiness presentations began with a conversation and the end product consisted of a Vision Board for students in each category, cadets (ages 7 to 9), juniors (10-12) and teens (13-17).

The College Readiness Presentations were a lead in to what became the 2015 College Fair held Friday, August 14 in the Boys and Girls Club on Averill Ave. The colleges and universities that were in attendance include Davenport University, Ferris State University, Kettering University, Mott Community College, Oakland University, University of Michigan, University of Michigan-Flint and the Committed to Excellence and Opportunity (CEO) program from UM-Flint. A total of 72 students ages 7 – 17 participated in this worthwhile event.

by ·Comments Off on Beecher Students and Staff Celebrate Global Youth Service Day

By Maria Salinas

global-youth01Given the opportunity to give back to their community, 109 of Beecher Middle High School students participated in Global Youth Service Day. The students enjoyed a day outside of their classrooms and getting their hands dirty. These students also worked alongside their peers, teachers, community members, College Positive Volunteers, college students, and UM-Flint staff. Students completed several projects such as planting sunflower seeds, fruit trees, berry bushes, spreading mulch and gravel, and picking up trash around the school.

The Outdoor Learning Classroom is a learning space that the students imagined a few years ago. They wanted a space where they could take their learning outside the classroom and try different things they learn, such as soil testing. Not only is it a place for them to have hands on experiences, but it is also an opportunity for them to participate in civic engagement by helping to maintain the garden that is also a part of the Outdoor Classroom.

by ·Comments Off on Flint students lead National Arbor Day tree planting

The cold and rain did not stop students from Southwestern Classical Academy and Potter Elementary Schools who worked tirelessly in their effort towards building community pride and contributing to local park improvements at Flint’s Longway Park.arbor-day-201506

On April 30, 2015, students diligently worked with community partners and volunteers to plant 650 white pine seedlings, 100 shrubs/hardwoods and spread an acre of mulch in the park as part of a National Arbor Day celebration.  Their dedication and commitment in support of the City of Flint’s Tree City USA designation through the Arbor Day Foundation was key to a successful event.

The project also implements goals from the City of Flint’s Imagine Flint Master Plan for parks, open space and green infrastructure.  “Given the specific components and short timeline of the initiative, enlisting partners committed to working together was tremendously important to the project’s success” said Angela Warren, Administrator of Genesee Conservation District.

Longway Park is a 36.6-acre park with several ball fields, playground equipment, and approximately 4 acres of wooded area that will be expanded by this project.

This project was made possible through the generous contributions of Great Lakes Tree Experts of Burton, Bell Site Development, Inc. of Waterford who donated mulch for the project.  The Genesee Conservation District was instrumental in initiating the project by convening partners and providing education and hands-on expertise for the seedling planting and working with the students. This effort is part of the statewide On Track to a Greener Michigan initiative sponsored by Consumers Energy and Michigan International Speedway.

Jef Johnson, Senior Conservation Coordinator for Genesee Conservation District expressed his satisfaction and appreciation for the efforts of the students who participated.  “I’m proud of the students involved, they all worked hard and were determined to get the job done correctly.”  He also expressed appreciation for all the collaborative partners who made the event possible and is looking forward to future projects which will utilize green space within the community.

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This event supports the Master Plan as a demonstration of a naturalization project.  Collaboration efforts included individuals from the City of Flint, teachers from Flint Community School District, SWA students, Potter Elementary students, Keep Genesee County Beautiful, Potter Longway Neighborhood Association, Eastwood United Methodist Church, the University of Michigan-Flint, Consumer’s Energy, Michigan International Speedway, Michigan Association of Conservation District and Genesee Conservation District.

“The collaborative nature of this project is a prime example of working together and pooling resources to accomplish objectives in our community,” said Angela Warren, Administrator of Genesee Conservation District.

Kim Hatfield, who teams with fellow teachers Linda Heck and Lynn Louchart-Kiefer to coordinate these efforts, said, “The kids get excited about these place-based projects.  Applying what they are learning in the classroom to real world projects makes learning more relevant for them.”

The school is supported in these efforts by UM-Flint’s Discovering Place place-based education program with funding provided by the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, Great Lakes Fisheries Trust, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.