UpDayton Summit Launches Three New Ideas

UpDayton Summit Launches Three New Ideas

Over 300 of Dayton's most creative leaders and catalysts were in attendance to cheer on the presenters and vote on their favorite projects.

UpDayton Summit Launches Three New Ideas

On Thursday, April 26, the 10th Annual UpDayton Summit was held at the Dayton Art Institute to select three new community projects that will receive $3,000 in seed money and a year of support from UpDayton volunteers, leaders, and staff. The UpDayton Summit is a launchpad for volunteer-powered community projects that make the Miami Valley a better place to live, work, and play. Over 300 of Dayton’s most creative leaders and catalysts were in attendance to cheer on the presenters and vote on their favorite projects.

The Winning Projects

Jonathan Platt | Story Chain
Reading aloud to children builds their vocabularies, increases their chances of academic success later in life, and strengthens their relationships with their caretakers. But for many incarcerated parents, providing these benefits to their kids isn’t an option. Story Chain wants to fix that. With the help of libraries, community centers, and volunteers, Story Chain will provide parents in detention facilities with children’s books to read aloud, coaches to help them rehearse and record, and mp3 players to send home.

Jes McMillan | The Wall of Perseverance
The opioid epidemic has left a gaping wound across our community. Thousands of us have lost loved ones to the grip of addiction. The Wall of Perseverance project invites everyone impacted by this crisis to come together to construct a memorial wall and to place upon it mosaic tiles in honor of each of our loved ones. By uniting around this symbol of both loss and determination, maybe, together, we can begin to heal.

Amaha Sellassie & Tiffany L. Brown | West Dayton Strong STEAM Lab
West Dayton Strong is an initiative working to support youth in DeSoto Bass whose exposure to trauma while living in an area with low opportunity hinders their ability for educational success.  The STEAM Lab will use hands-on learning opportunities to spark young people’s interest in science, technology, engineering, arts, agriculture and math. Volunteers will work with the West Dayton Strong team to design the lab, connect with youth in a fun learning environment, and help build a sense of community.

Volunteers are needed to make each of these projects a success. Interested individuals can sign up at https://www.daytonlocal.com/redirect.asp?content=25616&GoHere=https://updayton.org/yes to join the Yes Team and get alerts of upcoming volunteer opportunities. 
 
Developing and Selecting the Project Ideas
Beginning in February, twenty-five different individuals and small teams submitted their project ideas to create a better Dayton, and worked closely with UpDayton to vet, develop and finalize their pitches. Twelve different project ideas were pitched at the UpDayton Summit. For a list of all twelve projects, visit: https://www.daytonlocal.com/redirect.asp?content=25616&GoHere=https://updayton.org/summit-x-preview/.

Past Projects and Impact
Attending the Summit is one of the most impactful ways for Daytonians to get involved in their city. 2017 UpDayton Summit project winners, Comfort Bags, The Reading Park Project, and Project Rebound, have garnered exceptional community support and made great strides in building a better Dayton.

For a list of ongoing and past projects, please visit: updayton.org/projects.

About UpDayton
UpDayton is a 501(c)(3) impact organization dedicated to attracting, engaging, and retaining young talent in the Dayton region. The organization’s efforts inspire and empower Daytonians to create the kind of community they and their peers around the world want to live, work and play in. Additionally, UpDayton’s Discover Dayton program offers services to help area colleges and businesses better connect their students and young professionals to the area through curated experiences of the city and region.
 
For more information, visit updayton.org or facebook.com/updayton.  

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