The Do Good Institute is thrilled to announce that six driven and skilled students have been selected as Do Good Accelerator Fellows for this spring! The Spring Accelerator program provides students with resources and opportunities to explore, test, or scale up their idea, project, or venture while working with peers who are also tackling important social issues. This semester — through entirely virtual programming — students will meet with their peers, participate in 1:1 coaching sessions with field experts, engage in robust workshops, and immerse themselves in various group activities with industry leaders.
Fellows were selected after a competitive application process and will receive a stipend of $1,000 to support their work over the course of the program. From community investment in Baltimore to boosting childhood reading, read more about the spring cohort below:
Carly Holmes, DC2UNI
DC2UNI aims to assist high school students in Washington, D.C. as they navigate the process of transitioning from high school to college. Currently, only 39 percent of D.C. students graduate high school and go to college; and only 14 percent graduate college. By helping students get to and through college, DC2UNI hopes to see an increase in the amount of D.C. high schoolers attending and thriving in higher education. The skills that students gain through higher education will enable them to return to their communities in the city as leaders who can effectively deal with issues such as gentrification, poverty, and violence. We are excited to welcome Carly as she develops and implements DC2UNI as an Accelerator Fellow.
Cornelius Conway, Pen to Paper Foundation
Pen to Paper is a nonprofit organization in the District of Columbia that seeks to fill the skills gap of underserved LGBTQ community members by providing them with interview prep resources, resume writing workshops, writing tutorials, professional headshots, and other training and resources. Pen to Paper is a 'for-us-by-us' organization, founded and run by two members of the LGBTQ community who are dedicated to providing much-needed support to underserved queer people, empowering them to unlock their full potential. By putting pen to paper, LGBTQ people can begin to reclaim and write their own stories. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Pen to Paper during their first semester with the Do Good Accelerator.
Ian Rosario, Tiny Theatre, LLC
Tiny Theatre LLC creates fun reader’s theater activities that build foundational reading skills and foster a love for reading for elementary-aged students. Tiny Theatre’s short, printable reader’s theater scripts include silly characters, funny plotlines, and vocabulary words that engage kids (and parents, too!). The organization is on a mission to teach elementary school-aged kids who are struggling to read, not only how to read, but how to make reading fun. The activities are designed to be conducted in the home setting, but they are adaptable for classrooms and larger usage, as well. We are excited that Tiny Theatre is joining the Fellows program this semester.
Lizzie Mafrici, The Semanhyiya Project
The Semanhyiya Project is a social initiative that combats period poverty in rural Ghana. Through the creation of a high school sewing course, The Semanhyiya Project enables women of Senase to make reusable pads for themselves. It also provides them with the resources and skills they require to donate reusable pads to other women in need in the village, alleviating menstrual inequalities. Lizzie is joining us for her second cohort of the Fellows program, and we are excited to grow The Semanhyiya Project with her.
Musangu Bukasa, The Greenwood Project
The Greenwood Project provides sustainable community investment and direction to disenfranchised community members in Baltimore City and the greater metropolitan area. The Greenwood Project curates virtual events throughout the community, including vocational workshops, financial literacy nights, business consulting, and more. The Greenwood project was founded to support Black ownership in the realms of education, finance, and politics throughout each community in which they are rooted. We’re thrilled to have Musangu join this cohort of Accelerator Fellows and look forward to supporting his initiative.
Rishi Parikh, Innovation Stations
Innovation Stations is an outreach initiative focused on developing free-to-use makerspaces for local community centers. They are currently partnering with the City of Gaithersburg to bring the first free-to-use makerspace to the Robertson Park Youth Center, an after-school hub for Gaithersburg middle schoolers to socialize and participate in structured extracurricular activities. This will be Innovation Station’s second cohort as an Accelerator Fellow, and we look forward to working with Rishi to grow the project.
