---
title: A Decade of Do Good Times
date: 2022-04-14T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/a-decade-of-do-good-times"
section: Articles
---
# A Decade of Do Good Times

*April 14, 2022* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih), [Lauren Brown](/author/lauren-brown)


> Student Competition Changed the Lives of Its Veterans—and Transformed Their Ventures

*Do good 1920x1080 — For 10 years, UMD students have launched inspiring social ventures through the Do Good Challenge, getting funding, mentorship, interns and connections that have enabled them to address critical challenges on campus and around the world.*

The runaway success of the university’s Do Good Challenge for the past 10 years has zero degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.

It goes back to when Karen ’76 and husband Bruce Levenson called Robert Grimm, then director of the School of Public Policy‘s philanthropic and nonprofit program, to say their nephew was working with the actor—and he’d be happy to host a campus event. Grimm just needed to create one.

He, students and other faculty members, inspired by Bacon’s SixDegrees nonprofit connecting people and good causes, developed a competition encouraging Terp teams to create, volunteer for, advocate or raise money over eight weeks for a social need.

Bacon soon donned a Fear the Turtle T-shirt to make a one-minute promotional video and agreed to help judge the six finalists for the inaugural Do Good Challenge in April 2012.

“We were worried no one would show up,” Grimm recalled. “We thought it would be the only one we put on.”

Instead, 100 teams participated in this social impact-focused mashup of “American Idol” and “Shark Tank.” Nearly 700 cheering students turned out to watch the finals, $5,000 was awarded to expand the fledgling Food Recovery Network’s efforts, and 10 years later, the event is the center of a suite of efforts encouraging students to make a difference.

Mini grants, courses, “accelerator” fellowships, a graduate certificate program in nonprofit management, paid internships and coaching have built a pipeline—now based in UMD’s Do Good Institute—to support students’ projects and ventures. “These aren’t future leaders,” Grimm said. “They are leaders now, changing the world today.”

Students have taken on causes including cancer awareness, poverty, veterans with disabilities and sexual assault. Like the university’s Do Good initiatives, the nonprofits they launched have also evolved. Maryland Today spoke to seven past participants about where they—and their Challenge efforts—are now.


*Juan Bellocq headshot*


*Fernando Sartiel headshot*



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*Sagar Doshi headshot*


*Anderson Sloan headshot*



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*Linda Powers headshot*



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*Vanessa Barker headshot with black Lab*


*Cate Law headshot with poodle*



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*Matthew Hollister headshot*



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*Anthony Sartori headshot*



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*Audrey Awasom headshot*




**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)



**Units:** [School of Public Policy](https://today.umd.edu/topic/school-public-policy)