MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading
youth empowerment health and wellness nonprofit GENYOUth and SAP
(NYSE: SAP) today announced the winning student team of the SAP
Social Innovation Series Teen Innovator award. Three students from
Cedar Riverside Community School in Minneapolis received the award for their
health and wellness project "Sports - Check It Out."
The winning student project was selected from 12 finalists out
of more than 160 total pitches by young entrepreneurs around the
country. In addition to winning $10,000 to be used for their project
implementation, the students will also receive an all-expense paid
trip to Super Bowl LI in Houston.
"The Social Innovation Series is about empowering the next
generation of leaders and problem-solvers," said Scott Jones, head of General Business for SAP
North America. "The reality is that entrepreneurial activity has
yet to climb back to its pre-recession level, so it's of the utmost
importance that we think creatively today about how we can inspire
tomorrow's startups and small businesses. This series is a way for
us to encourage and foster entrepreneurship among young people
while enabling them to leave a lasting impact in their local
community."
The "Sports - Check It Out" project is a library system within
the Cedar Riverside Community School for students to check out
sports equipment, sports safety gear and quality winter clothing.
The $10,000 will help to organize
equipment donations, fill gaps in additional equipment needs and
purchase technology to keep an inventory of items and manage the
check-out system.
The winning team of Charly, Hamsa and Sayed are eighth graders
on the school's student council and first- and second-generation
immigrants who cite an interest in helping their fellow students
become active outside and experience new sports. They recognize
that in many cases the families of students in their community are
unable to divert budget from essential needs to purchase sports
equipment and clothing, especially for the cold Minnesota winters.
"We had an idea to help give other students access to sports
equipment and clothing to be more active outside instead of in
their apartments playing video games, watching TV and eating junk
food," said Charly, one of three students who created the project.
"The Social Innovation Series event in Minneapolis really empowered our team to think
about how we could make our idea a reality and bring positive
change to our school and community."
Starting this past October, SAP teamed up with GENYOUth to
present the 2016 SAP Social Innovation Series, powered by AdVenture
Capital. The events were held across six different cities with over
300 student entrepreneurs from 69 different schools. Each event
included design workshops and culminated in a Shark Tank-like
"pitch tank" where students shared their ideas to promote school
health and wellness with a panel of judges. At each event, 10
winning teams were awarded $1,000
each to implement their projects. Finalists from each city were
then nominated for a national online voting contest with the
winning project being decided by more than 8,000 voters.
"Students have amazing ideas and a very powerful voice in
creating change, enabling them to have the greatest impact on their
schools and communities. The SAP Social Innovation Series is the
perfect way to nurture those ideas and connect students to business
leaders who can help them become even bigger agents of change,"
said Alexis Glick, CEO of GENYOUth.
"The student project from Charly, Hamsa and Sayed puts much needed
athletic equipment and warm sports clothes into the hands of those
who can benefit from them the most, which is vital to getting more
kids active and to lead a healthy lifestyle."
The SAP Social Innovation Series is run through AdVenture
Capital (AdCap), GENYOUth's social entrepreneurship program for
curious, brave and bold student entrepreneurs ages 13-17. For
more information about AdVenture Capital, the opportunities offered
to students, and the SAP Social Innovation Series visit
www.AdCapYOUth.org.
About SAP
As market leader in enterprise application
software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and
industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to
storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and
organizations to work together more efficiently and use business
insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP
applications and services enable more than 335,000 business and
public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously,
and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.
About GENYOUth
GENYOUth empowers students to create a
healthier future for themselves and their peers by convening a
network of private and public partners to raise funds for youth
wellness initiatives that bolster healthy, high-achieving students,
schools and communities nationwide. We believe that all students
are change-agents, who deserve the opportunity to identify and lead
innovative solutions that positively impact nutrition, physical
activity, and student success. For more information about GENYOUth,
visit www.genyouthnow.org.
About AdVenture Capital
AdVenture Capital ("AdCap") is
a social entrepreneurship program of GENYOUth, which provides
funding, mentoring and experiences to 13+ students with ideas for
improving health and wellness in their schools and communities. To
learn more, visit the digital platform at www.AdCapYOUth.org.
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SOURCE GENYOUth