I'm sharing the words of Lauren Slive, our fantastic Board President... This weekend, 16 teams comprised of students, researchers, professors, and community members will compete in the UNC Carolina Challenge in Chapel Hill, NC. Winning teams will receive seed money to jump start their ventures. In 2009, MedPLUS Connect won the Social Track of the Carolina Challenge & the People’s Choice Award, and collected $16,000 to expand our non-profit. The Social Track includes ventures that are concerned the “social return on investment and improving the local or world community” (carolinachallenge.org).
MedPLUS Co-Founders with Check for Winning 2009 Carolina Challenge
The tenants of social entrepreneurship have always been, and continue to be, core functions to the MedPLUS Connect mission and model. Moving beyond traditional paradigms of philanthropy and giving, MedPLUS Connect aims to empower local communities, repurpose “waste” into valuable supplies, and work in financial partnership with recipient countries.
MedPLUS Connect partners with hospitals and health centers in Ghana to create a direct link between recovered supplies from the United States and under-resourced health care systems in Ghana to ensure that our shipments of medical supplies are compatible with the needs, resources and technologies of our partner hospitals in Ghana. Our recipient hospitals and governments pay the full cost of supply transporation, warehouse space for recovered supplies, an administrative surcharge, and a value added denomination to enhance existing shipments with necessary electronic components and supplementary supplies, such as solar powered lanterns. MedPLUS also works with local partners to engage in side projects to enhance local provision of health care services.
We encourage you to learn more about social entrepreneurship! To find out more about the Carolina Challenge, please visit: www.carolinachallenge.org