2023 Florida Blue Competition Concludes in Success

The 2023 Florida Blue Community Social Impact Competition concluded in emphatic fashion with the top spot awarded to the “Career on Wheels” project proposal presented by Grace Jenkins and Jessica Lambert. “Career on Wheels” offered an inventive solution for connecting career resources with marginalized members of the community, which included a mobile grooming station to help candidates get polished and ready to shine, as well as ride-share gift cards for transportation to and from job interviews. Jenkins and Lambert will receive $10,000 to help implement their group project in the community, in addition to each receiving a $1,000 scholarship.

Second place was awarded to the team behind “HELLO”, including Sharon Snow, Kerlyne Pierre, and Angie Abreu. “HELLO” proposed ways to counteract America’s loneliness epidemic by advocating for unity and providing tools for easy, stress-free connection. Snow, Pierre, and Abreu will receive $6,250 to help implement their group project, in addition to each team member receiving a $1,000 scholarship.

Rounding out third place was “Food for Thought”, presented by Djevline Louis, Adam Siegal, Medgine Present, and Makayla Williams. “Food for Thought” aims to connect Florida Atlantic students who are facing food insecurities with nutritious options, as well as educational training to empower food independence. The “Food for Thought” team will receive $5,000 to help implement their group project in the community, plus individual scholarships of $1,000 each.

Hats off to “The Village of Moms in Recovery” team, which included Michael Moulton, Bryan Harlan, Sara Livelsberger, and Summer Wadleigh, who presented a peer-support community living model for moms in recovery; and the “South Florida Farmworkers Heat Crisis Initiative” team, which included Andrea Wise, Rhonda Taasa, Kareisha Mash, Carina Bosselman, and Amreen Khan, who pushed for South Florida migrant workers to have better working conditions, including ready access to hydration stations.  

Special thanks to the fantastic panel of judges from Florida Blue, including Cindy Jackson Mason, market leader for Broward County; Fiorella Smyth, senior manager for corporate social responsibility integration in South Florida; and Juan Awad, market leader for Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.

Grateful applause to our Social Work faculty who shepherded their students throughout their coursework and competition: Atensia Earp Bowen, LCSW, instructor; Seth Densen, MSW, adjunct instructor; and Precious Skinner-Osei, PhD, MSW, assistant professor and BSW program coordinator. 

We celebrate the level of creativity, care, and compassion presented throughout the Florida Blue Social Impact Competition, which clearly demonstrates the high caliber of our Sandler School of Social Work students and faculty. We wish the winning teams abundant success as they prepare to implement their funded proposals and look forward to reporting on their progress here.  Stay tuned...

See the Action on our Instagram Reel!