Impact Week to Offer Grant Opportunities

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 13, 2018) — The International Center at the University of Kentucky will host Impact Week: "Know Your World. Know Your Impact.," beginning Sept. 17. The goal is to help students start their journey as active citizens locally and globally.

Participants will learn how access to health care, food insecurity and natural resource management are impacting our community, the Commonwealth and the greater world. These areas for programming have been identified based on their broad-reaching nature and direct connection to student organizations and experiences.

"Impact Week encourages students to explore the themes from their classes and engage with these issues in their communities," Seth Hall, an international academic coordinator, said.

• Access to health care is important because it is a local and global issue. During Impact Week, students will talk about the limited access to affordable health care options, as well as the lack of knowledge and exposure to available health care resources. UK has a wide variety of outreach programs in order to provide increased access to residents statewide.
• About 36 percent of college students have experienced food insecurity. Therefore, it is important to be informed. Students will familiarize themselves with the different organizations that are addressing food insecurity. By doing so, they will also learn how how they can gain access to assistance.
• One of the major challenges facing the world is the sustainable management of renewable and non-renewable resources. A growing global population has led to many environmental concerns, as more people are consuming and using resources. There are several innovative organizations that are working to overcome these natural resource management challenges. Students will learn how they can get involved.

The International Center, along with Student and Academic Life, will also offer three $1,000 Impact Grants for student organizations. The grant will allow the recipients to design their own program centered around one of the three focus issues mentioned above. Students must apply online in order to be considered.

This year’s theme, "Know Your World. Know Your Impact." reflects the university’s mission to develop innovative leaders for the Commonwealth and the world.  To see the full schedule of events, go online.