The Do Good Institute’s inaugural Impact Bootcamp brought together a cohort of passionate students ready to transform their ideas into action. Over six weeks, these dedicated students refined their social impact projects, collaborated with peers and received valuable mentorship. Their stories highlight the creativity, commitment and impact-driven focus that the program was designed to foster.
I was so impressed by the passion and desire for action that these students brought to Bootcamp. It was great to see their ideas progress throughout the sessions and be able to help them create fully formed project plans.Catherine Curtis Program Coordinator
Championing Health & Wellness
Abeey Yonas, LumiHealth
Abeey Yonas started a health literacy project called LumiHealth. LumiHealth aims to increase health cognizance by engaging with low-income communities and hosting events to develop health literacy in at-risk populations. He will be holding events to increase exposure to accurate health information and help people feel more comfortable discussing their physical and mental health with their providers. The goal is to build generational "health wealth" where communities help future generations improve their health outcomes by addressing their own health needs.
Christina Penafiel, The Bright Smiles Initiative
Christina Penafiel started the The Bright Smiles Initiative to provide elementary schools in Prince George's County with an engaging, interactive oral health education program designed to promote healthy dental habits. She wants to recruit pre-dental and pre-health students from UMD as volunteers, who support program activities and receive valuable hands-on experience in community health education. The initiative aims to impact both elementary school students and UMD volunteers by fostering meaningful connections and a rewarding experience.
Kirstin Nichols
Kirstin Nichols launched Students for Wellness to provide an after-school opportunity for students at College Park Academy to create their own health campaigns, mentored by UMD pre-health students and student-athletes. The intent is that by creating their own creative health campaigns on topics of their choice, students will improve their own health literacy and share the message with other students. The goal is also for mentoring pre-health student-athletes to improve their understanding of how to best communicate health topics with younger generations.
Fostering Community and Connection
Annie Song, Connor Burke, and Ethan Choi, Third Space
Annie Song, Connor Burke, and Ethan Choi launched Third Space, which aims to build community on campus and fight loneliness. Third Space will allow students and clubs to connect to each other via online chat rooms that can be joined by other users at any time. Users can create tags about their identities and any struggles they’ve experienced trying to connect to others. They will also be connecting with clubs and businesses to turn online connections into real world interactions.
Anthony Vvan Rheneen & Mahir Hingorani
Anthony Van Rheneen and Mahir Hingorani want to create a platform for UMD students to know what food is available in the dining halls each day in real time. Particularly for students with dietary restrictions, they want everyone to be able to plan ahead and know what their available options are. The goal is for students to have better ease of access to the foods that work best for their diet and this project wants to make sure that is a priority on the University of Maryland campus.
Tackling Systemic Challenges
Zack Buster Johnson, Environmental Justice Maryland
Zack Buster Johnson continued his work in the Rawlings Undergraduate Leadership Fellows Program by starting Environmental Justice Maryland. He wants to help underserved communities in South Baltimore that are disproportionately impacted by air pollution, water pollution and general infrastructure issues. Through advocacy, awareness and direct service, the organization aims to heal the past, address the present and prevent future environmental injustice in Maryland.
Gavin Neubauer, Prince George's Vote
Gavin Neubauer doesn't want any constituents to be left behind. Prince George's Vote aims to remedy this cycle by using the same proven methods as politicians but to reach out to people who are usually sidelined in the political process. This means searching for voters that have never voted before and voters who have never received a call or piece of mail from their representatives. The long-term goal is to get new people on the voter rolls, particularly for those that are being ignored by the current system.
Paul Abonjuah, Path Reality
Paul Abonjuah wants to create Path Realty, a real estate development company which seeks to remodel shipping containers into sustainable affordable homes in gated communities in Ghana. This year, the project investment proposal is being drafted and would be pitched to potential investors early next year.The goal is to help address the housing deficit in Ghana for the middle and low-income communities. The program wants to create as many as 2,000 homes in the next ten years.
Assata Makonnen, Literary Magazine
Assata Makonnen wants to create a literary magazine featuring climate fiction and creative nonfiction discourse centered around people of color’s experiences with climate change & climate justice. With a special focus on Southern Baltimore, the project wants to harness the power of creative writing to raise climate awareness and increasing the climate optimism of marginalized groups.