During the months of September and October, 2016, Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative staff conducted the “Give Us What You Got” community pitch competition in Flint. We asked residents to present a new business idea, or a community improvement suggestion, or simply a gripe. The main objectives of this activity were to 1) gain an understanding of the issues on the minds of Flint residents, and 2) to encourage and recognize people who are taking a constructive approach to addressing community issues. We recorded pitches from more than 50 people in several different Flint venues, and we learned several things in the process. Chief among these is the realization that the people we spoke with were not interested in presenting gripes. They all presented constructive suggestions.
On the first night of #UES2016, we presented awards to the top three “Give Us What You Got” community pitches. The awards were presented as follows:
First Place: Shawn Hairston (below, 2nd from right)
Second Place (tie): Mark Baldwin (below, middle)
Second Place (tie): DaMesha Jackson (below, 2nd from left)
Please see the photo and videos below for a full recap of the awards presentation.
#UES2016 “Give Us What You Got” Video Montage
The following video montage gives a feel for the people and places associated with the “Give Us What You Got” community pitches competition
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc79E1MPlTo[/embedyt]
#UES2016 “Give Us What You Got” Video Montage
Awards Presentation
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm_KBKgIxAA[/embedyt]
“Give Us What You Got” Awards Presentation
First Place Pitch: Shawn Hairston
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5j7tYQljCM[/embedyt]
Second Place (tie) Pitch: Mark Baldwin
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdifR69oi1s[/embedyt]
Second Place (tie) Pitch: DaMesha Jackson
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EusK2H29LqQ[/embedyt]