- March 13, 2025
Three Flagler County High School students presented their community garden project at the Social Innovation Fund pitch competition and were awarded a total of $2,300 in grants and donations to make their project a reality.
Aasi Bharucha and Elisabeth Chheang of Flagler Palm Coast and Lucas Espinoza of Matanzas are working together on the project which is a Community Problem Solving project with the Future Problem Solvers organization.
The competition on Feb. 20 was hosted by Generation Impact, an affinity group of the Community Foundation and United Way of Volusia-Flagler Counties. The Generation Impact Social Innovation Fund provides local high school, college and vocational school students with mini-grants to help them implement innovative projects that address critical challenges in the two counties.
To be a part of the competition, students submitted their proposals in the fall. All projects must work to improve the lives of the ALICE population (Asset Limited Income Constraint and Employed), according to a press release. The students were then paired up with a mentor from Generation Impact to prepare for the competition.
Among the three other student projects, Daytona State College’s Community Outreach Mobile Salon won $3,000 in grants and donations.
Community Foundation United Way Volusia-Flagler Board Chair said the Mobile Salon project “captured a great idea to support ALICE households. By taking cosmetology services to children in Title I Schools, this allows those families to prioritize their budget to meet other household needs. It was neat to see their whole cheering squad of DSC students and faculty supporting this initiative.”
Miller said, “It was an impressive evening to see the high school and college student groups so well prepared for their pitches.”
