Community Changemaker Challenge

The Challenge Process:

1. Open to New England high school students
2. Submit your idea (a 2-page summary and 3-minute video); see the Judges' Rubric
3. Final Round: finalists present their idea to a panel of judges with Q&A and prizes are awarded

The Challenge is built on three pillars:

1. Facilitator Training: We will train teachers, Extended Learning Opportunity (ELO) coordinators, and other youth-serving community leaders to work with students to address challenges in their communities.
2. Curriculum: Facilitators will use our curriculum and materials that are based on design thinking to help identify and develop solutions to their community challenges. They will have access to a wealth of resources and activities that they can put their own personal spin on.
3. Culminating Event: Facilitators and students from around New England will come together to present their unique solutions and meet like-minded changemakers.

The Community Changemaker Challenge has the potential to enrich the education of many high school students and enhance the professional development of teachers. We would like to further the success of this program by making it available to more public schools, especially schools in districts lacking non-traditional learning opportunities for students, such as the project-based learning the competition provides.

The Derryfield School, Exeter High School, Oyster River High School, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Portsmouth High School have participated in previous years. We hope to increase the number of partner schools for 2022.

1. School Stipends: All participating schools would be eligible for a stipend ($500-$1,000 depending on available program funds) paid after the culminating event. This money would partially compensate the school for the  time and energy spent engaging with our curriculum, provide resources for school programming, and even could allow for the implementation of student ideas within their schools and communities. In this way, funding would directly and tangibly provide contributions to New England high schools.
2. Professional Development Day for Teachers at UNH: We envision the development and delivery of a professional development day for teachers and facilitators at UNH, supporting them with a “train the trainer” approach. This would be a CEU-granting training upon request, from which all educators can benefit.
3. Web Resources: In these uncertain times, making our curriculum available online (via Canvas) ensures that all participants have uninterrupted access to program materials such as readings, recorded presentations, and activities. 

The Sustainability Institute has partnered with the UNH Cooperative Extension and NH Small Business Development Center (NH SBDC) to make this program even more robust and far-reaching than the piloted SVIC High School Track.

Each member of this partnership has unique skills and connections that will work to create a sustainability-focused entrepreneurial ecosystem that is of great benefit to students, teachers, and community members.

• The Sustainability Institute brings diverse people and ideas together to make UNH a model sustainable learning community that reaches beyond campus to engage state, regional, national, and international partners to advance sustainable solutions
• The NH SBDC offers programming and consulting for budding small businesses and is a vital part of entrepreneurial development in the state.
• UNH Cooperative Extension Community and Economic Development team is focused on connecting and supporting entrepreneurs, developing sustainable innovation spaces, creating communities that support entrepreneurs, and increasing entrepreneurship among individuals throughout New Hampshire. 

Contact  Brent Powell, Director of School Partnerships, at Brentnall.Powell@unh.edu for more information and to take on the Challenge!