In Homewood, we worked alongside Dr. John Wallace (Pitt's School of Social Work) and Dr. Stephanie Boddie (Baylor University, University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University), to determine the best plan to build a greenhouse on the land adjacent to a triplex home and converting the structure to AC/DC power. Through the Business of Humanity® course (The Business of Humanity®: Strategic Management in the Era of Globalization, Innovation and Shared Value), the students’ work has been focused on projects in both Homewood and Gujarat, India.
One of the students who took part in Dr. Camillus’s course, Dean Rosenwald, formed a company with fellow Pitt students and Alumni. SolarCell LLC is a startup company founded by four University of Pittsburgh graduates: Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel Taylor, who has a PhD in electrical engineering; Chief Operating Officer Nick Scangas, who has an MBA and MS in Engineering; Chief Communications Officer Dean Rosenwald, who has an MBA, a Master in International Business, and bachelor’s degrees in business administration and psychology; and Marketing Director Jai Kumar, who has a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience. We were proud to support them as they launched their company by focusing on the electrical design of the greenhouse and triplex in Homewood.
The Homewood projects support the efforts of The Oasis Project in Homewood. Led by the Bible Center Church, the Oasis Farm & Fishery Project, a key initiative of The Oasis Project, strives to address the shortage of healthy food in Homewood as a means of empowering its residents and spurring positive change in the community. The church, which is led by Dr. John Wallace (who is also their Senior pastor), made available the land on which the greenhouse was built and the adjacent row houses that will be retrofitted with DC power. He will also manage the social enterprise projects linked with the food grown in the greenhouses. SolarCell LLC researched and provided designs for the proprietary greenhouse system, complete with the electrical components.
The DC HEaRT initiative will help The Oasis Farm & Fishery Project carry out a range of food-related social enterprises: a community kitchen, a mobile food truck, and community food market, and culinary training, catering services, and food delivery services. The efforts will create jobs and professional development opportunities for Homewood residents. And on a broader level, they will improve the health of Homewood’s children, seniors, and the larger community, and will reduce the socioeconomic stigma associated with Homewood.
Please remember to visit this site again as we track the progress of the initiatives in Homewood!