2017 Social Enterprise Hackathon
Newcomer Kitchen is a nonprofit organization that invites newly-arrived Syrian refugee women to cook a weekly meal in its kitchen. The meals are sold online for pickup or delivery, and the proceeds shared among the cooks. Our goal is to create a model to welcome newcomers to a community that can be replicated with any group, in any restaurant kitchen, in any city in the world.
On Saturday October 28th 2017, we are inviting students and professionals to participate in our 2017 Social Enterprise Hackathon. Through bringing together individuals from business, life sciences, design, social sciences, engineering, the arts, and various other disciplines, we hope to co-develop a sustainable Newcomer Kitchen model that provides us a replicable means of welcoming newcomer groups into our communities now and in the future.
What will the day look like? Leveraging design thinking methodologies, your team of 4-6 individuals will be engaged in a full-day (8:30AM - 6:00PM) program of keynote speakers, panel discussions and workshops to build connections with key stakeholders from the Syrian refugee community (including several women working within Newcomer Kitchen!) to co-develop a sustainable social enterprise model for the Newcomer Kitchen. Food will be provided.
How do I apply? Interested student teams are asked to submit an application by October 10th at 11:59 PM. The application consists of an answer to the question "Provide an example of an organization with a sustainable social enterprise business model - what makes it so successful?" along with a list of team members (names, email addresses, academic program information). The application is available here. Note that competing teams will have between 4-6 individuals (at least 50% of your team must be current students in a post-secondary education program).
When can I register? Short-listed teams will be contacted via email and provided with a link to register for the 2017 Social Enterprise Hackathon by October 14th at 11:59 PM.
Who do I contact for additional information? For any questions pertaining to this event, please contact Sarrah (lals2@mcmaster.ca).