The Shift, a United Way of Greater Cincinnati initiative in partnership with Design Impact, is a three-month idea incubator and social innovation challenge to shift efforts to support creativity, collaboration and change in our community using a fast-paced, design-driven startup model.
Twelve weeks ago, three teams of volunteers were each assigned a concept, with a goal to create a tangible project that can be implemented in the community. Each team was paired with a social innovation specialist from Design Impact, and during the past three months the teams developed and tested their ideas to find out what worked, and what did not work.
This year the projects focused on using food to build connections between immigrants and the communities they live in, creating transportation solutions for low wage workers outside the reach of public transportation and utilizing light to create a safer community.
Here to discuss the projects included in the Shift are Primary Research Operations Manager with 84.51, Emily Hager; First Student, Inc. Operations Analyst Jenn Dye; Marketing and PR Consultant Sarah Ditlinger; and United Way of Greater Cincinnati Director of Community Impact and Design Impact Board Member and Partner, Michael Baker.
The Shift Demo Day, where teams pitch their projects, takes place Tuesday, November 14, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Rhinegeist. For tickets and information, click here.