Scooters for Change

Provide ride sharing and technology rental opportunities that will fund educational initiatives and increase youth career pathways across the Great Lakes region.

Our team will purchase 5 scooters and they will be strategically placed in Michigan by one of our youth advisors - each advisor will get a scooter and they will be required to clean, charge and maintain the scooter. Each month our youth advisors will receive 40% of the revenue made from the scooter they managed and the remaining 60% will go directly into our organizations educational fund, which supports our mentorship & tutoring programming. Also, we will be able to create a separate fund that will allow us to create fellowships, internships and we will be able to purchase more scooters. Our executive team will monitor the scooters and revenue and be transparent with our youth advisors and community with how the funds are spent through quarterly reports, which we will share on our website and social media. This project will allow us to create income for youth across the Great Lakes Region, while broadening our educational programming.

Detroit Public Schools Community District lost approximately $6.5 million, so art classes, musical theater and stem programs were underfunded and diminished in the attempt to save the schools. This unconscious stripping of creative and innovative output is deterring kids from inquisitive thinking, and their ability to socialize in a effective manner. Our organization has worked towards restoring the innovative and creative output in the community. Our team realized that underfunding is impacting schools across the midwest, which disproportionately effects students of color.

Also, our team realized during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. which created many challenges personally and professionally, students who were able to graduate during the pandemic would not have the tools and resources needed to earn a job based on their interest due to: internship/ fellowship cancellations, reallocated scholarship funding, inadequate virtual settings and a lack of organizational funding across the board. 

Our project will solve both of these problems.

The youth who are impacted by school underfunding and the decrease of career pathways is youth of color(79%), low income students(54%) and LGBTQQI+(32%). Also, we support as many youth as possible despite their background.

Our youth advisory board is reflective of the communities we serve and they hold us accountable. Also, Jeremiah Steen, Director of the Steen Foundation is only 20 and keeps a pulse on the needs of his community through his various roles and community ties. 

Our organization relies heavily on our youth advisory board and community partners. Our programming directly engages our youth and we consistently survey our program participants and we are always open to community consult/advisory. Our programming is planned and executed by our served community. We had our first in-person, week long internship in the middle of COVID-19 - following all CDC guidelines on Belle Isle, which is a major park in Detroit, Michigan; without any support from the city of Detroit or the Department of Natural Resources. This internship engaged 12 youth - ages ranging from 15 - 18 in environmental stewardship, fund development, civic engagement, diversity & inclusion training and mock policy work. The Steen Foundation, then provided a fellowship which attracted over 650 applicants; we narrowed them down to 2 and provided various grants and merit - based scholarships for 150 deserving youth.

We have determined: where we will place the scooters, what advisors will be the first to manage the scooters and what app we will use to monitor the scooters. We have met with several community partners who will encourage their network to support our programming in their area.

Also, we have already purchased one scooter and we have a local college student creating a graphic design to put on all of our scooters, so people know when they ride one of our scooters they will be apart of bringing change to our community.

Our organization will use Bird scooters and use Moqo software(monitor the scooters and revenue). Also, we will use zoom to meet with our youth advisors on a bi-weekly basis to remain updated on their concerns and support them any way we can.

We are only in the prototype stage, so we are currently serving no one. In a year our youth advisory team and executive team determined that we will need 75 people using each scooter(5) every two months. Our goal is to engage 2,250 people next year. If we purchase more scooters - if more funding is provided the number will increase.

Our goal for next year is to engage 50 youth advisors and purchase 50 scooters in total. Also, we plan on creating 2 fellowships, 2 internships and continue funding our tutoring programming from the revenue made from each scooters.

Also, we hope to figure out any and all tweaks this year so we can expand the "Scooters for Change" program and our educational initiatives and youth career pathways program.

Survey: After all of programs  we offer a survey to all of our participants and their families to ensure we are meeting the goals and objectives our governing and advisory boards have set and that our programs continue to improve, while becoming more impactful. Surveys will be emailed to all clients after their rides.

Individual Impact: 100% of the youth who came through our programming during COVID-19 are employed. 85% of them confirmed that the training and opportunities they received help them start careers based on their interest. 75% of our grant and scholarship receipts are still in school pursuing a degree. The opportunities "Scooters for Change" will provide will increase our impact.

Community Impact: We faced various difficulties getting our programming started in the middle of a pandemic - venue closure, a decrease in school and teacher capacity, staff shortages, zoom fatigue and mental heath concerns due to prolonged isolation - which is still impacting us. These difficulties did not stop our team of community partners and the Steen Foundation governing board. Our programming was such a success that our Executive Director, Jeremiah Steen was invited to speak at the Outdoor Learning with Detroit's Emerging Educators panel to discuss the Steen Foundation's educational engagement model and share information about our programs - including our outreach to homeschool networks and youth collectives. The "Scooters for Change" program will allow us to broaden our community impact and support more youth.

The only barrier we have is the unstable nature of COVID-19 and the comfortability people will have using the scooters or if the country shuts down again. This barrier is out of our control, but we will ensure that all scooters are cleaned and well maintained to ensure the safety of our community. During our bi-weekly advisor calls we will reiterate our cleaning and safety plan.

Jeremiah Steen: Jeremiah is the National Audubon Society’s Development Associate, Institutional Giving working out of Detroit, Michigan. Additionally, he is a student at University of Detroit Mercy, currently the youngest Jane Goodall Fund II Roots and Shoot National Fellow. He is the Director of the Steen Foundation with the goal of positively impacting the socialization of youth, promoting strong inquisitive thinking and allowing teens to advance their view of community through a creative perspective. Jeremiah also serves as the District Executive, Renaissance District at the Boy Scouts of America and a Grant Adviser at the Pollination Project. He hopes to continue his work in Detroit to restore the creative output in underserved communities and provide more opportunities for people of color.

Youth Advisory Board: The Youth advisory board is made up of active high school students who are committed to social justice and ethical community practices. They are our eyes and ears for our organization and we would not be able to engage our served community without them.

Governing Board: Our governing board is made up of retired teachers, principals, current community stakeholders and small business owners. They ensure our youth remain protected and our programs run smoothly. Also, they serve as mentors for our youth and their community ties have created various opportunities for our youth that will ensure their long term success. 

Chapel Vision Community Development Corporation: non-profit organization which was organized to develop outreach services which meet human need, address social crisis and improve the quality of life for area residents. They help with securing permits and providing space for our programming.

Skillman Foundation: a private philanthropy that works to ensure Detroit youth achieve their highest aspirations. They provide us access to the mayor's office and their community connections support our connections.

VisionReady: a woman-owned global company with a mission to advance the development and growth of small businesses owned by Women, People of Color, LGBTQ, and Veterans by tearing down barriers to entry with intelligent technology. Jeremiah serves on the board for this organization and he leverages their resources to create jobs for youth in Michigan and beyond.

We do not qualify for this funding, but we would be interested in partnering and expanding on our gender specific programming.

Detroit Public Schools Community District lost approximately $6.5 million, so art classes, musical theater and stem programs were underfunded and diminished in the attempt to save the schools. This unconscious stripping of creative and innovative output is deterring kids from inquisitive thinking, and their ability to socialize in a effective manner. Our organization has worked towards restoring the innovative and creative output in the community. Our team realized that underfunding is impacting schools across the midwest, which disproportionately effect students of color.

Also, our team realized during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, which created many challenges personally and professionally students who were able to graduate during the pandemic would not have the tools and resources needed to earn a job based on their interest due to: internship/ fellowship cancellations, reallocated scholarship funding, inadequate virtual settings and a lack of organizational funding across the board. 

Our team will purchase 5 scooters and they will be strategically placed in Michigan by one of our youth advisors - each advisor will get a scooter and will be required to clean, charge and maintain the scooter. Each month our youth advisors will receive 40% of the revenue made from the scooter they managed and the remaining 60% will go directly into our organizations educational fund, which supports our mentorship & tutoring programming. Also, we will be able to create a separate fund that will allow us to create fellowships, internships and we will be able to purchase more scooters. Our executive team will monitor the scooters and revenue and be transparent with our youth advisors and community with how the funds are spent through quarterly reports, which we will share on our website and social media. This project will allow us to create income for youth across the Great Lakes Region, while broadening our educational programming. The Pozen Innovation Prize would expedite our impact, purchase more scooters and ensure our served youth receive an equal playing field, because they deserve it!