Do you love your community and have a great idea for making it better? Well these groups certainly did and have been announced as the four finalists for the United Way of Tarrant County’s second-annual “KERNEL LIVE!” event on Thursday, Nov. 2.
According to the UWTC website, KERNEL was established in 2016 to help investors find new and creative solutions education, income and health issues in Tarrant County.
“KERNEL exists to encourage new approaches and strategies to find solutions to these social challenges in our community,” the website reads.
In a Shark-Tank inspired event, the four finalists that have been announced will pitch their solutions to local social problems to community investors and a live audience in the Four Day Weekend improvisational group theater.
Following the presentations, judges will listen and decide who will get a $10,000 seed fund from UWTC’s KERNEL program.
For more information, or to buy tickets to the program, visit www.unitedwaytarrant.org/KERNEL.
A news release from UWTC included short profiles on this year’s finalists and ideas:
Center for Transforming Lives
Fired UP! – Addresses poverty by eliminating barriers and teaching employment skills to homeless women, especially those with limited skills, spotty work histories or criminal backgrounds. The goal of this social enterprise is empowering homeless women with experience and skills to gain employment.
The Palace of Autism
Summer Program – A 10-week summer academic enrichment program in Arlington/Mansfield for youth ages 10-16 with developmental disabilities, with a focus on serving autistic spectrum youth. By providing a safe space for children with special needs to go and thrive, the program hopes that parents will feel supported and empowered.
TKO Boxing
Club Spring Program – Provides at-risk young ladies boxing training and technique, boxing discipline, academic tutoring, and leadership skills. This non-contact program is the first “all-girls” boxing club in Tarrant County seeks to inspire health, wellness, self-esteem and character.
Alliance for Children
The Makeover Project – Provides room makeovers for children who experience abuse in their home living environment. The program is designed to re-invent the physical space that children may have been abused in to reduce long-term trauma and promote healing in a new safe space.