Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship

Alvin Chitena '19 has been named a 2018 Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a Boston-based nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. The Newman Civic Fellowship, named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional, and civic growth. Through the fellowship, Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference of Newman Civic Fellows in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The fellowship also provides fellows with access to apply for exclusive scholarship and postgraduate opportunities. (more…)

On March 2, Wesleyan students pitched their project ideas to a panel of judges at the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship (PCSE) Seed Grant finals. Of the six finalists who presented, three teams were awarded $5,000 seed grants to fund the launch of their social enterprise, program, organization or venture. The winning projects address a compelling social problem, have a clear objective and data strategy, and have potential to produce a lasting and replicable impact. In addition to the project itself, judges based their decisions on the applicants' passion, commitment, tenacity, leadership and personal integrity. The 2018 Seed Grant recipients are: Eat at…

On Feb. 24, Wesleyan hosted a "hackathon" for social good in collaboration with Random Hacks of Kindness Jr. The free event introduced more than 50 local children in grades 4 through 8 to technology and showed them how it could be used to create solutions that benefit nonprofit organizations. About half the children came from Middletown, while others came from as far away as Greenwich, Griswold and West Hartford to participate. Seven Wesleyan students and two staff members served as volunteer mentors, working with the children to devise computer applications that addressed a range of problems facing local organizations. Five nonprofit social…

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Wesleyan, in collaboration with Random Hacks of Kindness Jr., is hosting a “hackathon” for social good for students in grades 4 through 8, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24. This free event, to be held in Beckham Hall, will show local youth how technology can be used to create solutions that benefit nonprofit organizations. The hackathon is open to the public and requires no prior coding experience. “Participants will be working with Wesleyan student mentors to create technology for social good,” explained Patrice Gans, president and executive director of Random Hacks of Kindness Jr. “By the…

On Nov. 28, Wesleyan's Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship received a $10,000 grant from the Newman's Own Foundation to support student internships. "The gift from the Newman Foundation will be used to offer stipends to students doing social impact and entrepreneurship work during the summer," explained Makaela Kingsley '98, director of the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship. "We are grateful for the support of Newman’s Own and our other donors who make this work possible." Trustee Emeritus Bob Patricelli '61 P'88 P'90 is a board member for Newman's Own and has generously encouraged the foundation to support Patricelli Center programs over…

Wesleyan's Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship was honored in May as U.S. Senator Chris Murphy's “Innovator of the Month.” It is the first educational institution to receive this recognition. Founded in May 2011, the PCSE provides workshops, training, mentoring, and networking opportunities to Wesleyan students and alumni who are tackling social problems using entrepreneurial solutions. PCSE also hosts a year-long fellowship course for undergraduates and an annual $5,000 seed grant competition. With support from foundations and individual donors, PCSE is now an endowed program and a permanent part of Wesleyan University. “Wesleyan’s PCSE is a one-of-a-kind program,” Murphy said. “PCSE…

In Fall 2016, the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship launched a for-credit, cohort-style, project-based fellowship program (CSPL 264 and 265) for 36 students. And on May 9, the fellows celebrated the success of the pilot program during a group lunch and discussion. Among the fellows are Alexandra Bacchus ’17, who is working to create a platform for day laborers to connect with potential employers in a safe and trustworthy way to combat job insecurity and low pay. Nebiyu Daniel ’18 is expanding health education in his hometown of Garamuleta, Ethiopia through his organization, Rural Access. Iraqi refugee Ahmed Badr ’20 is…

"Walking Elephants Home," a Mahouts Elephant Foundation (MEF) project launched and run by Becca Winkler ’16, has been nominated for the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) grant—and voting is open until March 23. "From many conversations with elephant owners struggling to make ends meet and who were unhappy with the conditions their elephants live in at elephant camps, I could see that we needed a new model,” Winkler said. "The forests of Thailand have been home to the Asian elephant for thousands of years; it is their birthright. 'Walking Elephants Home' is on a mission to to prove that tourists should…

On Feb. 27, three student-led social impact projects received a Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship 2017 seed grant. The Patricelli Center will award these ventures with $5,000 each in unrestricted funds as well as training, advising, mentoring, incubator workspace and other resources from the Patricelli Center. Recipients were selected from a pool of finalists who submitted written business plans and pitched to a panel of expert judges comprised of alumni, parents, students, faculty and community partners. Applicants were assessed on their project design, leadership qualities and potential for social impact. The 2017 Seed Grant recipients are: Dream Chasers led by AJ Wilson ’18,…

The Hartford Courant has featured the work of T.R.A.P House, a nonprofit business incubator that targets high-crime, high-poverty areas and has recently started working in the north end of Hartford. T.R.A.P. House is the creation of a team from Wesleyan: Irvine Peck’s-Agaya ’18, Gabe Weinreb ’18, Sara Eismont ’18, and Bashaun Brown, a former student in Wesleyan's Center for Prison Education, where he earned 16 credits while serving six years at the Cheshire Correctional Institution for bank robbery. Brown will be a member of Wesleyan's Class of 2018, starting in the fall. T.R.A.P. stands for "transforming, reinventing and prospering," and is a play…

Three social ventures started by Wesleyan students were recently awarded $5,000 seed grants in the Patricelli Center for Social Entrepreneurship's annual Seed Grant Challenge. They are Kindergarten Kickstart, TRAP House and Walking Elephants Home. The last weekend in February, all six finalists for the seed grants presented pitches for their ventures before the Board of Trustees, Patricelli Center Advisory Board and Seed Grant judges, as well as representatives of CT Innovations and the ‎State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, fellow students, and others. The event was also livestreamed. One of the other finalists, <Zim/Code>, chose to withdraw from the…

Chitena ’19 Named 2018 Newman Civic Fellow

3 Student-Led Ventures Awarded PCSE Seed Grants

Local Youth Learn How to Use Technology for Social Good at “Hackathon”

Alumni Panelists Discuss Wesleyan Black Male Achievement

Wesleyan Will Host Youth “Hackathon” for Social Good, Feb. 24

Newman’s Own Foundation Awards Grant to Support Internships

Patricelli Center Named ‘Murphy’s Innovator of the Month’

Patricelli Center Fellows Celebrate Year-Long Pilot Program

‘Walking Elephants Home’ Project by Winkler ’16 Nominated for Conservation Grant

Patricelli Center Awards Seed Grants to 3 Student-Led Ventures

Wesleyan’s T.R.A.P. House Business Incubator Working in Hartford’s North End

2016 Patricelli Center Seed Grant Winners Announced