Continue reading Habitat for Humanity: Developing a New and Sustainable Weight Estimation Method for Habitat for Humanity (MetroWest/Greater Worcester) and Beyond

Habitat for Humanity: Developing a New and Sustainable Weight Estimation Method for Habitat for Humanity (MetroWest/Greater Worcester) and Beyond

Project Overview (Abstract) Habitat for Humanity Metro-West/Greater Worcester needed a new method to estimate landfill diversion from their ReStore sales. Finding diversion numbers is important as this aids the organization in applying for grants to support the nonprofit financially. We developed a methodology for finding the average weight of inventory being purchased by customers. We…

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Continue reading Worcester Community Fridges: Weatherizing and protecting fridge enclosures

Worcester Community Fridges: Weatherizing and protecting fridge enclosures

Project Description Since the pandemic, Worcester Community Fridges has strived to fill in the gaps of food insecurity in Worcester by providing a public communal fridge where anyone can donate and take food at one’s leisure Due to the unique challenge of maintaining a fridge outdoors, our project was meant to explore ways to better…

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Continue reading HECCMA: Connecting College Campuses to the Worcester Community

HECCMA: Connecting College Campuses to the Worcester Community

Project Sponsor The Higher Education Consortium of Central Massachusetts (HECCMA) is an association of public and private accredited colleges and universities in central Massachusetts. HECCMA is committed to working collaboratively to further the missions of member institutions. Current member institutions are as follows: Anna Maria CollegeAssumption UniversityClark UniversityCollege of the Holy CrossCummings School of Veterinary…

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Continue reading El Buen Samaritano: Implementing Data Collection Software at El Buen Samaritano

El Buen Samaritano: Implementing Data Collection Software at El Buen Samaritano

Project Description For over 30 years, the El Buen Samaritano Food Program (EBS) has served the Worcester community by providing food and clothing to those in need. Since its founding, the organization has used a pen and paper system to track the resources they provide and collect demographic information on their clients which is needed…

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Continue reading Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester: Creating a Homeowner Information Database

Habitat for Humanity MetroWest/Greater Worcester: Creating a Homeowner Information Database

Project Overview Our project created a database for Habitat for Humanity MW/GW to organize information on their homeowners. We collected input on the database structure through interviews with the staff and feedback from testing the database. We delivered a Microsoft Access database to track data on homeowners, properties, and mortgages. We found that: Habitat Affiliates…

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Continue reading Trail Blazing the Worcester Intercollegiate Outdoor Initiative

Trail Blazing the Worcester Intercollegiate Outdoor Initiative

Project Description Worcester college students do not spend enough time outside due to their workload and limited access to nature. This project improved the well-being of Worcester college students by creating a sustainable plan to revamp the Worcester Intercollegiate Outdoors Initiative (WIOI). We gathered data on college students through surveys and interviews, ran an outdoor…

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Continue reading Legendary Legacies: Tracking the Reentry Phase for Post-Incarcerated Individuals

Legendary Legacies: Tracking the Reentry Phase for Post-Incarcerated Individuals

Project Description Reentry in the U.S. is a complicated and multifaceted issue with many challenges facing justice-involved individuals. In collaboration with Legendary Legacies, our team developed a new approach to evaluating data in the reentry space. While historically, data collected regarding program participants have been primarily quantitative, the secret to fostering positive change may lay…

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Continue reading Worcester Regional Food Hub: Helping the WRFH with Retail Expansion

Worcester Regional Food Hub: Helping the WRFH with Retail Expansion

Project Description Our project is to help the Worcester Regional Food Hub (WRFH) by recommending them a POS system as well as presenting research on online retail outlets such as Grubhub and Instacart. The WRFH is moving to Union Station in 2023, and will have a new retail store, thus prompting the need for a…

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Continue reading Welcome NST: Integrating Technology

Welcome NST: Integrating Technology

Project Description WelcomeNST is a refugee resettlement organization using a private co-sponsorship model. Our project used technology to improve communication and information storage at WelcomeNST. We conducted interviews with Slack experts and NST members and observed WelcomeNST’s Slack workspace. We found communication disconnects, decentralized knowledge and resources, and technology limitations. We investigated potential Slack add…

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Continue reading DoughBoyz: Cooking up a Sustainable Plan for Community Events

DoughBoyz: Cooking up a Sustainable Plan for Community Events

Project Description The project team researched and assessed the current operations of DoughBoyz. From this, they identified bottlenecks and areas of improvement where DoughBoyz can optimize their profits for use towards charitable events. The team developed several deliverables that will help DoughBoyz hold consistent Community Breakfast events. These deliverables consisted of a cost analysis spreadsheet,…

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