KU Goes to CGIU 2016
Be The Change, Let's Go Community Mobility Program, and Organic Multicultural Vegetable Garden:
We are three initiatives composed of students from three different programs in Kean University. A month ago we had no idea the others existed, though it is all too possible that we have passed each other by many times. Beyond the halls of our university, we have long shared an irrepressible drive to create positive opportunities in our world. An invitation to attend Clinton Global Initiative University 2016 has brought us together in our mission. This meeting has united us and more than 1,000 innovative student leaders who have made Commitments to Action, choosing to turn ideas into activity and ultimately affect positive change in our world. The event will take place April 1 - 3, at the University of California, Berkeley. Once there, we will have the opportunity to gain support, resources, and collaboration to scale our projects up to a global level.
However, our journey does not have to wait. We ask you to help us now. Help fund our trip and each initiative. Every donation is greatly appreciated. You are making a difference. Thank you!!!
About the Be The Change Initiative (Check out this amazing video about the initiative! ):
Newark is the largest city in New Jersey, with a population of 277,140. The crime rate in Newark is considerably higher than the national average across with a rate of 46 crimes per one thousand residents. Newark has 3.65 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents; National standards call for 325-500 acres for a population of this magnitude. Other high -density cities (New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Baltimore and Los Angeles) averaged at 7.17 acres per 1,000 residents. “Be the Change” Kean University is actively engaged in peace efforts by “adopting” vacant lots in dangerous Newark NJ neighborhoods and turning them into “peace gardens”. These efforts have been highly successful in “bringing unity to the community” as one resident said and creating a dialog regarding peace and non -violence as well as demonstrable drops in violent crimes. These gardens promote visual improvements to city neighborhoods, empower residents to take back their streets and to understand the role that they can have in local issues that affect their quality of life and promote food justice. The pilot study showed a significant decrease in violent crime in the Garden Impact Area (a radius of 5 blocks in all directions).
About the Let's Go Community Mobility Program:
Let’s Go is an occupational therapy (OT) community mobility program designed to support older adults’ ability to age in place - an important issue for a burgeoning population, as the United States’ Department of Health and Human Services estimates that there will be approximately 80 million Americans over the age of 65 by 2040. A pre- and post-intervention design, where data was collected both at the end of the program and 6 months after completion, was used to explore if this multimodal educational program had a positive impact on the health, well-being, and community mobility of older adults. Outcomes included increased frequency of community trips, greater awareness of transportation alternatives, altered perceptions of community mobility from fearful to confident, and increased motivation and energy from feeling recognized. Quantitatively, results of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy Questionnaire outcome measure indicate that participants significantly improved their social lives and relationships, increased the frequency of their outdoor trips, and felt more autonomous when out in their communities.
About the Organic Multicultural Vegetable Garden:
A team of three students from Kean University committed to establish an organic multicultural vegetable garden in the Liberty Hall Farm located in Union County, New Jersey. In this garden, team members will work with students from immigrant and refugee families to plant vegetables in various cultures, including Muslim, Latin America and Asia, with compost produced from food wastes on Kean University’s’ campus. Vegetable harvest will be used in students’ dining halls and cafeteria or/and donated to local immigrant and refugee families. The goal of the project is to establish a welcoming academic community for targeted students and make them merge into the community smoothly. The activities proposed are expected to increase mutual understanding and communication, reduce the culture conflicts, culture interests in sustainable design, organic farming and waste reduction, help immigrants and refugees merge into local communities and even schools around Union County, as well as enhance sustainability at Kean University.
About Clinton Global Initiative University:
Building on the successful model of the Clinton Global Initiative, which brings together world leaders to take action on global challenges, President Clinton launched the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) in 2007 to engage the next generation of leaders on college campuses around the world.
Each year, CGI U hosts a meeting where students, university representatives, topic experts, and celebrities come together to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton will host CGI U 2016 at the University of California, Berkeley in the San Francisco Bay Area from April 1-3, 2016. The meeting will bring together more than 1,000 students to make a difference in CGI U's five focus areas: Education, Environment and Climate Change, Peace and Human Rights, Poverty Alleviation, and Public Health.
But CGI U is more than just an event. It is a growing community of young leaders who don't just discuss global challenges--they take real, concrete steps toward solving them. Throughout the year, and as a prerequisite of attending the CGI U meeting, students develop their own Commitments to Action: new, specific, and measurable initiatives that address pressing challenges on campus, in local communities, or around the world. Commitments range from manufacturing wheelchairs for developing countries to establishing campus bike share programs, from creating free vision clinics to developing e-learning applications for mobile phones.
Throughout the year, students are also invited to apply to become CGI U Campus Representatives. Colleges and universities can engage with CGI U by joining the CGI University Network to support and mentor innovative student commitment-makers from their respective campuses by providing seed funding for new projects and initiatives. CGI U is proof that young people have the power to make a significant impact by confronting some of the world's most urgent challenges. Since 2008, students have made more than 5,500 Commitments to Action, and nearly $2 million in funding has been awarded to these commitment-makers through CGI U.
