According to University Chaplain Chaz Howard, 1.5 billion people around the world live on less than $1 a day. In Philadelphia alone, a quarter of city residents live under the poverty line.
These were the statistics that 22 students from the College, Wharton and the School of Social Policy and Practice grappled with at the Social Innovation Salon Monday night.
The event was organized by the Social Impact Task Force, a coalition of five Penn student groups dedicated to business and social impact: Penn Social Entrepreneurship Mentorship, Givology, the Microfinance Club, Social Impact Consulting and Penn International Business Volunteers.
Howard led the discussion by sharing his experience with Project H.O.M.E — Housing, Opportunities for Employment, Medical Care, Education — a homeless advocacy agency.
“Poverty is such a big issue that we rarely talk about,” Howard said. “We need to incorporate these discussions into our conversations about science and education.”
According to Wharton senior and Penn SEM liaison James Liu, Howard was an appropriate choice because he has been active in the West Philadelphia community for many years. As a former Penn undergraduate, he “understands the challenge of being disconnected from the West Philly community.”
Participants were organized into teams to develop ways to alleviate poverty in West Philadelphia. The ideas students came up with included a union to provide a mentorship community for young mothers and as educational initiatives to improve the financial literacy of the population.
“The purpose of the meeting is to solidify innovative ideas about social change,” said College and Wharton junior and Givology representative Danielle Matsumoto. “It would be great if we could transform one of the ideas into reality.”
College sophomore and Chairman of United Service Consulting, Haywood Perry III said he appreciated that the event gave participants the opportunity to collaborate and connect with other students in order to solve social problems, demonstrating “Penn ingenuity at its best.”
Wharton sophmore Max Cohen, a student participant, said he felt the event gave each individual the chance to approach social impact with his or her own unique perspective.
“When you throw these ingredients together you create a world-changing smoothie,” he added.
