Social Entrepreneur Fellowships
2009 Social Entrepreneur Fellows

Erin Shigekawa &
Aileen Sammon
Year: Juniors
Email:erin.shigekawa@unc.edu, sammon@email.unc.edu
Project: Saludamos
Community Partner: Carrboro Community Health Clinic

The mission of Saludamos is to improve overall wellness and awareness of health issues among Latina participants in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area through group exercise, health education and strengthened social support networks. Saludamos is a project under Sustain Foundation, a non-profit based in Carrboro. Women participating in Saludamos meet for group walks at El Centro Latino every Saturday morning at 9:00am. Saludamos has partnered with the Carrboro Farmers’ Market to create a gift certificate program available every Saturday morning to the women of Saludamos after the weekly walks. During this time, the women can purchase fresh produce and receive seasonal recipes. Other Community partners include 6 local clinics (SHAC, Piedmont Health Services, UNC Center for Latino Health, Planned Parenthood, El Futuro, and the Orange County Health Department). These clinics have been instrumental in promoting the program and four of these clinics have participated in a referral program that physicians use to provide more information to interested Latina women. In the coming months, Saludamos will focus on increasing the number of women in the program and expanding health education 'charlas'. The health education 'charlas' (workshops) will highlight the importance of nutrition and physical activity in preventing heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Saludamos hopes to empower its participants to make healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their families while fostering new friendships.

David Baron
Year: Sophomore
Email: dbaron@email.unc.edu
Project: HOPE Gardens
Community Partner: HOPE (Homeless Outreach Poverty Eradication);
Active Living by Design; Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation Department

HOPE Gardens is a hybrid urban farm and community garden: a transitional employment program for homeless that also engages and feeds the broader community. Aiming to reestablish homeless people as independent, employable citizens, HOPE Gardens will provide job skills, social support, income, and horticultural therapy. Produce and crafts will be marketed locally to sustain wages and educational programming, and community members may lease plots within the garden to learn, connect, and grow their own fresh food. HOPE Garden will also serve as a public venue and a launching pad for small businesses operated by and employing those we serve. By encouraging different groups to become invested and work together, HOPE Garden moves away from a “server and served” model and stands to raise awareness,advance relationships, and create an inclusive, more sustainable Chapel Hill community.

Rebeka Burns
Year: Junior
Email: rebeka@email.unc.edu
Project: artheels
Community Partner: UNC Children's Hosptial/DooR to DooR

artheels brings student volunteers to the UNC Children's hospital to share engaging arts experiences with patients, families and staff. Five days a week, students visit inpatient rooms and outpatient waiting areas to facilitate visual art projects or share music performances. We hope to grow the program to all of the branches of the UNC hospital system on campus and then share the model with other campus hospitals nationwide, with hopes of enriching the medical environment with a creative community that will foster healing, expression and stress relief. artheels also aims to increase campus awareness of the benefits of arts-in-healthcare, to promote service and open the door to new cross-disciplinary career opportunities for students of the arts and sciences.

Emily Zepeda
Year: Junior
Email: ezepeda@email.unc.edu
Project: Freckles
Community Partner: McDougle Elementary School

“Because a face without freckles is like the sky without the stars, why waste a second not loving who you are?!” – “Freckles” by Natasha Bedingfield

“Freckles” is an after school, mentoring program aimed at helping fourth and fifth grade girls form healthy and confident self images through guidance from women of the UNC community. Fourth and fifth grade are integral years in the formation of how a girl sees herself and the goals she sets. A lot of teasing and catty behavior categorizes these years, which can produce lasting, negative effects on self esteem. “Freckles” seeks to stop this negativity amid girls of these ages by exposing them to caring UNC women who want to teach them how nutrition, community and love for oneself and others produces a positive self image. Ultimately, “Freckles” endeavors to show girls that when you have confidence within yourself, you can achieve great things.

2008 Social Entrepreneur Fellows

To obtain contact information for the current SEF Chair, please refer to the APPLES' Organizers directory.