Collaborative Center for Social Innovation

🌟 Celebrating Connections for Change! 🌟 A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us to support the Collaborative Center for Social Innovation and make our first happy hour friend-raiser at Free Street Tavern a fantastic success! The evening was filled with inspiring conversations, valuable connections, and a shared commitment to making a positive impact in our communities. Together, we can continue to build a future where every young person feels a sense of purpose and belonging. We look forward to the journey ahead and invite you to stay connected as we create meaningful change! #CollaborativeCenter #YouthEmpowerment #CommunityImpact #SocialInnovation #Networking #Friendraising

✨ Join us for our first Friend-raiser Happy Hour! ✨ Learn more about the Collaborative Center for Social Innovation, meet the team, and discover how we’re empowering teens to become changemakers in their communities. No entrance fee, just good vibes, great conversations, and building connections! 📅 Wed. Oct 16 | 📍 Free Street Tavern We can’t wait to see you there! #SocialInnovation #YouthDevelopment #Friendraiser #ExperientialLearning

When we ask our youth to tackle complex problems in health equity - like how they would leverage nutrition to decrease chronic disease - it takes more than academic knowledge for them to develop human-centric solutions. By combining social emotional skills - communication, empathy, conflict resolution, etc - they are able to fully define the issue and lean into collaboration. Further, complex problems require the expertise and insights of many. Through interweaving these professional collaborations, our students - who have varied strengths, passions, and visions of career paths - are able to see themselves as part of the solution. Because when young people feel a deep sense of purpose and belonging, they can transform our world. #healthequity #CASEL #SEL #complexproblems #socialinnovation Special thanks to our programmatic collaborators and contributors: Villa Maria College, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, The Jacobs Institute, Seneca-Babcock Community Association, Inc., Jessica Kruger University at Buffalo's School of Public Health and Health Professions, Buffalo Museum of Science, Francesca Mesiah Kaleida Health, Buffalo General Medical Center, Jalen Law, Aitina Fareed-Cooke, Apostrophe Solution, Buffalo Center for Health Equity, Mental Health Advocates of WNY, Seneca One Generously supported by: Brady Corporation, Cullen Foundation, The Western New York Foundation, Aitina Fareed-Cooke @getfokusdproductions

At the Collaborative Center for Social Innovation, we believe that when young people feel a deep sense of purpose and belonging, they can transform our world. Through our holistic approach, our eco-restoration student innovators not only built academic knowledge and skills, but also formed professional networks and enhanced their social-emotional well-being as they developed ways to make our community more climate resilient. Defining complex problems requires the expertise and insights of many. Special thanks to our programmatic collaborators and contributors: Villa Maria College, Aitina Fareed-Cooke Get Fokus'd Productions, Jalen Law, Earth Spirit Educational Services, Apostrophe Solution, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Jon Schull, EcoRestoration Alliance, UB Experiential Learning Network, Buffalo Center for Health Equity, The GLOBE Program, Mental Health Advocates of WNY Generously supported by: Get Fokus'd Productions, Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation, Pinto Foundation Fund at Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Ruth Huppuch Bequest Fund Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, and Arts Services Inc. (ASI) (Funding is made possible through Arts Services Inc.’s Creative Impact Fund thanks to a New York State Senate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature and the Office of the Governor, and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.) visual by @getfokusdproductions and @fokusdkreatives #ecorestoration #climateresilient #youthempowerment #agentsofchange

The week has arrived! Monday (8/19) and Tuesday (8/20) - Join our Student Pitch Days to hear what our students have learned and how they envision bettering our community! Connecting with Nature: Science, Art, & Sustainability August 19, 2024 Buffalo AKG Art Museum Auditorium Presentations at 11am, Reception to follow *Free Admission to event. Please consider a donation of dish soap for Seneca-Babcock Community Association, Inc. Health Equity: Nutrition & Chronic Disease August 20, 2024 Seneca One Auditorium Presentations at 11am, Reception to follow *Free Admission to event. Please consider a donation of dish soap for Seneca-Babcock Community Association, Inc. Defining complex problems requires the expertise and insights of many. Special thanks to our programmatic collaborators and contributors: Villa Maria College, Aitina Fareed-Cooke Get Fokus'd Productions, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, The Jacobs Institute, Seneca-Babcock Community Association, Inc., Jessica Kruger University at Buffalo's School of Public Health and Health Professions, Buffalo Museum of Science, Kaleida Health, Buffalo General Medical Center, Jalen Law, Earth Spirit Educational Services, Apostrophe Solution, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Jon Schull, EcoRestoration Alliance, UB Experiential Learning Network, Buffalo Center for Health Equity, The GLOBE Program, Mental Health Advocates of WNY Generously supported by: Get Fokus'd Productions, Brady Corporation, Cullen Foundation, The Western New York Foundation, Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation, Pinto Foundation Fund at Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Ruth Huppuch Bequest Fund Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, and Arts Services Inc. (ASI) (Funding is made possible through Arts Services Inc.’s Creative Impact Fund thanks to a New York State Senate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature and the Office of the Governor, and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.) photography by @getfokusdproductions and @fokusdkreatives

📣 You're Invited! Student Pitch Days are just around the corner! The Challenges: How can we leverage nutrition to decrease chronic disease? How can social impact art amplify ways to create more climate resilient communities? Join our Student Pitch Days to hear what our students have learned and how they envision bettering our community! Connecting with Nature: Science, Art, & Sustainability August 19, 2024 Buffalo AKG Art Museum Auditorium Presentations at 11am, Reception to follow *Free Admission to event. Please consider a donation of dish soap for Seneca-Babcock Community Association, Inc. Health Equity: Nutrition & Chronic Disease August 20, 2024 Seneca One Auditorium Presentations at 11am, Reception to follow *Free Admission to event. Please consider a donation of dish soap for Seneca-Babcock Community Association, Inc. Defining complex problems requires the expertise and insights of many. Special thanks to our programmatic collaborators and contributors: Villa Maria College, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo, The Jacobs Institute, Seneca-Babcock Community Association, Inc., Jessica Kruger University at Buffalo's School of Public Health and Health Professions, Buffalo Museum of Science, Kaleida Health, Buffalo General Medical Center, Jalen Law, Earth Spirit Educational Services, Apostrophe Solution, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Jon Schull, EcoRestoration Alliance, UB Experiential Learning Network, Buffalo Center for Health Equity, The GLOBE Program, Mental Health Advocates of WNY Generously supported by: Brady Corporation, Cullen Foundation, The Western New York Foundation, Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation, Pinto Foundation Fund at Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, Ruth Huppuch Bequest Fund Orchard Park Presbyterian Church, and Arts Services Inc. (ASI) (Funding is made possible through Arts Services Inc.’s Creative Impact Fund thanks to a New York State Senate Initiative supported by the NYS Legislature and the Office of the Governor, and administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.)

We are excited to share that we are seeking new members with expertise in governance, fundraising, HR/employment law, and marketing/public relations for the Board of Directors beginning July 2024. The Collaborative Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that sparks curiosity and innovation by offering high school students experiential learning opportunities to develop community-driven solutions to local challenges. Through participation in CCSI programs, students holistically build academic knowledge, professional networks, and social emotional wellbeing. Established in 2022, we are at the cusp of an exciting period of organizational growth. As such, we welcome passionate, visionary, and dedicated members to join our working board and be part of establishing a foundation that will support the organization for years to come. Interested individuals can message us here or connect directly with Apryle Schneeberger, Executive Director and Founder. #nonprofitleadership #boardleadership #servantleader #nonprofitboard #boardmember

Join us on the incredible journey to make a difference for youth in Western New York! Your sponsorship helps to provide our teens with the knowledge, social emotional skills, and professional networks necessary to enact change in our community. And it's all done with a foundation in equity. This means we consider everything from transportation and healthy meals to academic supplies and college credit to mental health supports. The best part...You can make it happen! Become a sponsor today. 🔗 in video. #bethechange #youthempowerment #sponsorship #makeadifference

Let's talk about "Kids these days!"....Actually let's talk about 32,000 kids in particular. That's how many high school students in Erie and Cattaraugus Counties of WNY are hoping to better their communities right now, right this very minute. 32,000 social innovators 32,000 ideas 32,000 opportunities How will we meet that call? How will we empower them with the knowledge, skills, and networks to drive impact? #youthempowerment #socialinnovators #teenvoice #communityimpact

The results are in and we have much work to do. Fortunately, if we have the courage to listen and act, our teens are telling us exactly what they need. ❗ 3 out of 5 teens reported feeling persistent sadness and hopelessness. This is even greater than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Data Summary & Trends Report: 2011-2021. Let's put that into perspective. If you have a classroom of 20 students, more than half of them are struggling with mental health! ✳ 4 out of 5 would like more opportunities to discuss mental health and well-being DURING the school day. They are asking for it not to be an "add on", but rather, they want a space to be seen as a whole person, not just a grade on a report card. Let's consider that same classroom of 20 students - that means 16 students are hoping to talk to someone about their struggle! #teenmentalhealth #reimagineeducation #wholechild #communityinformed *Data based on responses from 135 teens from Erie and Cattaraugus Counties, NY.