On February 13, the Do Good Institute held a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting, which celebrated our students, supporters and University of Maryland's growing Do Good Campus. The Do Good Accelerator is a collaborative space on campus that supports and helps to scale up students' innovative solutions to our world's most pressing challenges. With the new space, the Institute is offering a number of training, development and networking opportunities to enable promising student and alumni-led nonprofits, projects and socially-minded businesses the chance to grow their reach and impact.
During the ribbon cutting, guests heard from President Wallace Loh, School of Public Policy Dean Robert Orr, Do Good Institute Director Robert Grimm, District Stormwater CEO Kahlil Kettering (’15), and Natalia Ochman (’19), founder of FLAME.
“At University of Maryland we’re pioneering a new model of higher education, the Do Good Campus, which is about engaging every student in experiences from orientation to graduation, inside and outside the classroom that help them take their ideas and transform the world,” said Robert Grimm, director, Do Good Institute. “We’re providing the resources, opportunities, experiences, and connections to enable all students to make a difference for the issues they care about. Then, we will accelerate a team through the stages of impact and innovation; walking, running, and flying toward their goal of transforming the world for good.”
Before the program, guests had the opportunity to hear from five Do Good teams, including Camp Kesem, Hydraze, Help Center, ROOTS Africa and Scholars in Action. Students shared the impact they’ve been able to create through their work and support of the Institute. With the Accelerator space officially open, the creative community space will provides students with more opportunities to increase their impact, including leadership coaching, mentoring opportunities with local businesses, foundations, nonprofits and NGOs, financial support, and training to further their ideas.
Natalia Ochman '19, founder of FLAME, said, "Do Good has become my home. The other students with Do Good organization have become my family. And the professionals that run the program are my mentors. This is a program of innovators who create value, go-getters who endeavor to provide the highest quality of work, and leaders who hold both pragmatic and abstract solutions to real-world problems."
With the doors officially open, the Institute can't wait to see all positive change that current and alumni Terps make in our communities – now and in the future.
