Street Pulse Revitalization
Problem: Street Pulse is Madison's Homeless cooperative newspaper. It is produced and organized by volunteers and is sold by homeless vendors. It's a great way to add motivation, money, and a sense of accomplishment to the life of someone experiencing homelessness. However, Street Pulse was struggling on its rent, faced disorganized finances, and did not have established organizational procedures, creating conflict and confusion.
Solution: We organized meetings with Street Pulse management, transitioned all of their paper accounting statements and receipts into a more sophisticated online accounting system. We kept track of their income and expenses, suggested organizational changes, and set up formal procedures for sales, cash handling, and vendor training.
Project Redistribute
Problem: Most of Madison's local pantries, shelters, and community centers primarily collect food from a few major grocery chains. Thousands of pounds of leftover food is thrown away each year. Food insecure families and individuals are directly impacted by this waste - they can't use it if it's not there. There are many individuals in our community who spend the majority of their days struggling just to get food on the table, when instead they could be spending valuable time on an education, improving job skills, or raising a family.
Solution: We designed a web platform which allows any business in Dane County to submit leftover food quickly and easily through a member-based inventory system. Once the food order is submitted, our team travels to the local business, safely packages the food according to ServSafe standards, and transports it to one of our member collection centers, where it is immediately served to those who need it. We won a $1000 social entrepreneurship innovation prize and are continuing to grow throughout the community.
Students Eating Healthy
Problem: Many students on our campus eat unhealthy meals like ramen and frozen pizza. Most students do not realize that healthy options are available for the same price!
Solution: We partnered with Fresh Market, our on campus grocery store, to design and distribute inexpensive but healthy recipe flyers, primarily using on sale ingredients. Our team also conducted a cooking class at Fresh and brought in a nutritionist speaker from our Department of Life Sciences to discuss with students different ways to eat healthy.
Community Wellness Challenge
Problem: Students in low-income households often face food insecurity or restricted access to healthy foods. Health education in many schools is often inadequate to address the types of problems associated with food deserts.
Solution: We partnered with the Dane County Boys & Girls Club to put on wellness activities for underprivileged students. Our team has implemented over 6 wellness activities, ranging from presentations on the impact of sugars and unhealthy fats to student-led zoomba classes, with more than 70 students.
Badger Caring CLoset
Problem: The prevalence of financial instability among students on campus is a cause of urgent concern. It is clear that acquiring the most basic essentials can be a constant battle for these students. Many students struggle to pay for daily necessities such as clothing, hygiene products, and school supplies.
Solution: The Badger Caring Closet team focuses on the issues faced by the marginalized student population and works to ease the financial burden of daily necessities such as clothing, hygiene products, and school supplies by providing them at no cost to students in need.
PORCHLIGHT PRODUCTS
Problem: Many homeless individuals face both unemployment and a lack of motivation. It is often very difficult to land a meaningful job that not only provides income but also a sense of accomplishment and importance.
Solution: For A Cause is a not-for-profit that produces various foods, primarily croutons. Homeless individuals bake and package the goods which are then sold by volunteers at local farmers markets. Homeless individuals not only make a supplementary income, but they are consulted on business decisions and have control over the baking process.