CREATING NEW PATHS TO ADDRESS DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
We are excited to announce the 2020 Global Impact Challenge! Educators that serve middle and high school students are encouraged to register*! This program is a diversity and inclusion competition designed to spark the best ideas from students for building a world free of barriers, stereotypes and discrimination. Our goal is to equip educators with the necessary tools to help students dream big and break down barriers through the Global Impact Challenge.
*Note: Educators who participate from outside of the contiguous United States, if you’re selected as winners, participation will be based on available funding to support travel within the U.S.
2020 Global Impact Challenge Timeline
– May 2020: Registration opens
– June 26 and 27, 2020: LIVE cohort training at the No Barriers Virtual Summit
– Start of school year 2020: Educators form student teams
– September – December 2020: Teams complete program workshops
– February 2021: Complete proposals and media projects and submit
– March 2021: Winners announced!
– April – June 2021: Projects are implemented, and stories are created and shared
Register for the 2020 Global Impact Challenge Now
ANNOUNCING the 2019 Global Impact Challenge winning teams
2019 results
Two first-place teams were awarded $5,000 to implement their projects and invited to present at the 2020 No Barriers Summit on Sept. 18 in San Francisco:
● Compass Community Collaborative, Fort Collins, Colo., included 15 students led by teacher Bonnie Cowen. The team focused on creating a curriculum, by teens for teens that addresses mental health education in schools.
● North Windy Ridge Intermediate, Weaverville, N.C., included eight students led by teacher Jeremy Aten. The team focused on destigmatizing ADHD in their school and developing programs to help those students succeed.
Two runner-up teams were awarded $1,500 to implement their projects:
● Disability Network of Northern Michigan, Grayling, Mich., included five students led by teachers Kristen Conrad and Caitlin Chlosta. The team focused on developing a program for youth in lock-up to make community connections and discover passions to help positively fill free time once they transition back into the community.
● Conrad Ball Middle School, Loveland, Colo., included 18 students led by teacher Andrew Hinerfeld. The team focused on creating a space within their school where students who deal with sensory overload can go to reset and recalibrate in order to succeed.
Wells Fargo Leadership in Disability and Inclusion Wells Fargo Head of Disability and Accessibility Strategy Kathy Martinez was featured in FORBES, including this great picture of her presenting to 2017 Global Impact Challenge educators!
This Latina Is Using Her Own Lived Experience With Blindness To Bring About Change In The Workforce.
2018 Global Impact Challenge
Two first-place teams were awarded $5,000 to implement their projects and invited to present at the 2019 No Barriers Summit on June 13-15 in Lake Tahoe, Calif.:
- Scarsdale High School, Scarsdale, N.Y. included seven students led by teacher Brian McDonald. The team focused on dressing down the dressing process for children with disabilities by creating adaptive clothing items that are easily accessible, functional and comfortable.
- State of Connecticut, Windsor, Conn. included five students led by teacher Dennis Gallant. The team focused on making popular destinations, such as zoos and museums, more accessible for people who are blind or who have low vision.
Two runner-up teams were awarded $1,000 to implement their projects:
- Carrboro High School, Carrboro, N.C. included nine students led by teacher Melissa Barry. The team focused on sharing their authentic, diversity and inclusion experiences in a series of videos, presented in a documentary film festival, to bring the community together.
- Greensboro Day School, Greensboro, N.C. included 16 students led by teacher Angela Ballou. The team focused on creating a buddy system that pairs middle school students of differing abilities in order to better understand one another and foster a more inclusive community.
You can view the video of the awesome work from our 2019 winners here.
2017 Global Impact Challenge
Two first-place teams received $5,000 to help them implement their projects:
• Grady High School, Atlanta, included six students led by teacher Nadia Goodvin. The team developed a working organization to address the lack of local sensory-friendly theaters, films and other recreational events in Atlanta for people with sensory processing disorders and related conditions.
• Hill Country Middle School, Austin, Texas, included six students led by teacher Sylvia Troxell. The team proposed a project to create a fun, interactive educational campaign about hidden disabilities to help ensure that all students welcomed, understood and encouraged to participate to the best of their abilities.
The two first-place teams also received invitations — including airfare, accommodations and meals — to the 2018 No Barriers Summit Oct. 5–6 in New York City. The No Barriers Summit is a premiere immersive event that brings together people of all backgrounds and abilities who are transcending barriers to unleash their fullest potential and live a life of purpose.
One runner-up team received $2,000 to help it implement its project:
• Century High School, Rochester, Minn., included five students led by teacher Michael Eckerman. The team proposed a social storytelling platform for students to share personal stories of hardships and barriers, with the goal of creating a sense of unity by highlighting the differences of others and the difficulties they face.
About No Barriers Youth
No Barriers Youth helps middle and high school youth develop through experiential learning, collaborative problem-solving, service learning, and field-based experiences. Educator-focused programs include professional development, curriculum resources, and coaching.
About No Barriers USA
What barriers do you face? This question lies at the heart of our organization. Whether in our personal lives, at work, or in our communities, we all face challenges that can prevent us from reaching our full potential. At No Barriers, we believe that what’s within you is stronger than what’s in your way. No Barriers empowers people of all walks of life to overcome obstacles, live a life of purpose, and give back to the world, all through our ground-breaking curriculum, the No Barriers Life. Learn more about No Barriers at NoBarriersUSA.org.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,300 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 263,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
For more information and interviews, contact:
Stevie DiNardo
Marketing Director – No Barriers USA
(970) 484-3633 x316
Stevie.DiNardo@nobarriersusa.org
@NoBarriersUSA
Lisa Westermann
Wells Fargo
(415) 845-7759 (cell)
Lisa.B.Westermann@wellsfargo.com
@LWestermannWF