Skip to main content

Changemaker launches new partnership series


January 17, 2012

Changemaker Central has launched a new monthly series, Changemaker Partner of the Month, to highlight the work of community partners and connect the ASU community more closely to some of the area’s nonprofits. Meanwhile, the nonprofit organizations will have increased access to ASU’s diverse and innovative community over the course of each month.

There will be multiple opportunities for ASU students, staff, faculty, clubs and programs, and the nonprofit organizations to interact, including:

• meeting with the organization’s staff during office hours in Changemaker Central,

• volunteering with the organization, and

• an applied problem-solving partnership through challenge questions on 10,000 Solutions, which could include a chance to meet with executives of the organization to participate in an ideas exchange.

To highlight National Mentoring Month in January, the first Changemaker Partner of the Month is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona. This month’s activities and thought leadership will focus on the topic of mentoring and how it can be used as a tool to encourage students to go on to college.

Upcoming opportunities for the ASU community to participate in this new initiative include:

• posting a response to the 10,000 Solutions Challenge question,

• connecting with a Big Brothers Big Sisters representative during office hours in Changemaker Central in Tempe or on the Downtown Phoenix campus, and

• signing up for more information about being a mentor at mixer events that take place at the Tempe, Downtown Phoenix and Polytechnic campus. Visit http://changemakerasu.tumblr.com/ for more details.

In a 10,000 Solutions challenge question, Pete Griffin, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona, asks: “How can mentoring be used as a tool to encourage students to pursue higher education?” (Click to see the video.) 10,000 Solutions users are encouraged to build on Griffin’s solution and use the tag “BBBS” in their responses. Individuals with the top solutions will have the opportunity to meet Griffin and pitch their idea in-person.

A kickoff gathering took place last week at Changemaker Central in Tempe. Representatives from Big Brothers Big Sisters spoke with ASU faculty, staff and students, and offered giveaways to encourage them to become mentors.

“Big Brothers Big Sisters is very excited about the opportunity to work with Changemaker to help engage ASU students as mentors to kids in our community and expose these youth to the importance of higher education,” said Debbie Haen, community relations specialist for Big Brothers Big Sisters, after the event.

The “Changemaker Partner of the Month” series is an ongoing effort and will feature other partners, such as Girl Scouts – Arizona Cactus-Pine Council and Valley of the Sun United Way. The series is part of Changemaker Central’s larger mission to inspire, catalyze and sustain student-driven social change. Changemaker Central serves as a hub for students interested in entrepreneurship, civic engagement, service learning and community service.

Daniil Gunitskiy
Office of University Initiatives
in partnership with Valley of the Sun United Way
dgunit@asu.edu
810-394-1744