Watch White House Live on Thursday, March 15 at 1:50 p.m. CDT to see the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell (SEG) and four other White House Campus Champions of Change recognized for the work they do to better their communities. Grace Philipp ’12, Katherine Andersen ’13, Caitlin Deutsch ’12, Rebecca Mandt ’13, Noah Most ’13, and Kyle Walters ’12 will be attending.
After the webcast, visit Champions of Change for blog posts and the White House YouTube channel for video of the event.
SEG earned their spot as finalists with five years of dedicated hard work building a program that supports individuals both locally and internationally. But the final boost to the winners circle came from the support and appreciation of others. SEG represented the smallest college in the 15 finalists of the White House challenge, but with your support pulled in the third-largest number of votes — more than the number at universities tens of times bigger than us. SEG would like to thank all of you who supported and continue to support their efforts.
“The work of the Social Entrepreneurs is an excellent example of creative collaboration and compassion in a global context,” said Grinnell College President Raynard S. Kington, M.D., Ph.D. “Current Grinnell students, recent alumni and community partners have reached out locally and globally to improve the lives of others.”
In its five years of operation, SEG has expanded from providing international loans for small projects in remote communities to also assisting individuals in the local community. The microfinance organization has loaned more than $37,000 in 44 countries, with $13,000 going to 25 individuals in the Grinnell area. A volunteer board of Grinnell students, alumni and local residents oversees the lending and fundraising.
