Kalamazoo Scholar Leads Social Entrepreneurship Initiative

As co-president of Enactus, a campus group that promotes social entrepreneurship, Kalamazoo College Scholar Edwin Salvatierra is working to make a lasting impact in the Kalamazoo, Michigan, community.

Under Edwin’s leadership, Enactus partners on a workforce readiness program with Ministry with Community (MwC), a local organization that serves people struggling with poverty and mental illness. MwC members create greeting cards to enhance their skills and generate revenue for the organization.

“We’re really looking forward to making a difference in these people’s lives,” says Edwin, a sophomore. “Learning skills like card making is not only a great first step towards financial independence for their current members, but will help to raise more money for the center.”

MwC already partners with the Kalamazoo College Bookstore by selling items from the Soap for Hope line, and hopes to do the same with the unique, hand-made greeting cards. Initial funding for the program was acquired from the Kalamazoo College Student Commission, and Edwin hopes that the MwC partnership will become self-sustaining.

“This project continues to challenge my peers and me to think of ways to use our education and innovation to try and solve real world problems,” says Edwin. “We all hope to make a lasting mark on our community.”