2024 Competition Winners and Finalists
Associated Project(s):
Visit the included link to see the 2024 Reimagine our future winners and finalists.
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Project Updates for collection: Living Lab Facilities / Programs
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iCAP Engagement Team November Meeting
Associated Project(s):On Friday, November 22nd, the iCAP Engagement Team held its monthly meeting. The team discussed ways to engage the campus community more, specifically students, and shared updates on OneIllinois, Greener Campus, and Earth Month. We discussed the possibility of using social media to increase engagement or physical fliers and posters. We also welcomed a guest speaker from the Zero Waste Team who discussed Sustain Illinois, a magazine that outlines what is currently happening around campus as well as how the average person can become involved in sustainability in the community. We also discussed having in-person meetings and events next semester for the team and small ways we can all be more sustainable. One call to action was for staff and faculty to consider making their office spaces green-certified and brainstorming ways to reach the Greek life population. Our next meeting will be December 20th.
Transportation Team Student Research
Associated Project(s):This past week, Sarthak and I met with the students on the Transportation Team to discuss their various research projects for the rest of this semester and the upcoming semester. We met with Pun Siripun on Nov. 11th, at 12pm; Charles Okoli on Nov. 14th, 12pn; Sebastian Vega on Nov. 15th, at 11am; and Mitchell Bryant on Nov. 15th at 1pm.
The goal is to have each student conduct research on 30 or so universities in regards to various elements of transportation infrastructure, then present a final report on findings and recommendations for Illinois. The hope is that the schools are widespread, spanning from similar Midwest contexts as us to east and west coast.
Pun will be examining EV Charging available at other schools and whether extending that in Urbana Champaign would be economically feasible and environmentally beneficial.
Charles is reviewing Micro mobility. The goal is to promote micro mobility as alternative modes of transit, but to avoid enforcement costs and the safety of all (pedestrians and users). How have other schools done that well?
Sebastian is studying the commuter program at Illinois and how other universities have implemented it successfully. How did they incentivize it? How did they fund it?
Mitchell is researching the storage of micro mobility devices and how they can be expanded on campus.
Looking forward to hearing about their research and their suggestions for Illinois!
Weekly Digest
Associated Project(s):Spent time tracking down a few new sources for kids’ bikes, as this year we aren’t receiving a large number of donations yet. At this point, we're looking at a little more than 20 kids bikes.
Visitors: 53
Sales: $724.25
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $225
Memberships: 8 for $240
Tires/tubes: 7 for $50Weekly digest
Associated Project(s):The Bike Center received a few more donations and started processing the abandoned bike pile which they'll continue to tackle throughout the week. There was a mention in E-Week for their Kids Bike Giveaway and already have donations lined up.
Visitors: 66
Sales: $575.10
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $140
Memberships: 8 for $240
Tires/tubes: 9 for $69SSLC newsletter promotes SSC Working Groups
Associated Project(s):Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) ♻️
The Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) is a student-led organization charged with distributing two student fees: the Sustainable Campus Environment Fee and the Cleaner Energy Technologies Fee. With the ultimate goal of making the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign a leader in campus sustainability, the SSC reviews, recommends, and funds projects that increase environmental stewardship, inspire change, and impact students. Feel free to attend our weekly or biweekly meetings to learn more about SSC, workshop your projects and ideas, meet more people, and overall get more involved in sustainability on campus!
Working Groups and Meetings- SSC Calendar
- Food and Waste: Biweekly on Mondays 2:30-3:30pm (Oct. 28th, Nov. 11th, Nov. 25th)
- Education and Justice: Biweekly on Tuesdays 4:00-5:00pm (Oct. 29th, Nov. 12th, Nov. 26th)
- Energy + Transportation and Infrastructure: Biweekly on Tuesdays 5:00-6:00pm (Oct. 29th, Nov. 12th, Nov. 26th)
- Land, Air, and Water: Biweekly on Wednesdays 4:30-5:30pm (Oct. 30th, Nov. 13th, Nov. 27th)
- Communications: Weekly on Tuesdays 6:00-7:00pm
- Social Initiatives: Weekly on Thursdays 5:00-6:00pm
Weekly digest
Associated Project(s):They finalized the date and times for our Kids Bike Giveaway event: 12/14/24 from 2 – 4p at Urbana IMC building, so they submit work orders for signage/posters/social media posts. Thus far, we’ve gotten zero donations of kids’ bikes, but between both shops we have ~15 to start working through.
They'll also have their first instructional class on how to fix a flat tomorrow.
Visitors: 69
Sales: $1,153.50
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $395
Memberships: 20 for $600
Tires/tubes: 22 for $163
Weekly update
Associated Project(s):The Bike Center hired 2 new staff members and got a new inventory of kids' bikes that are already in the works of getting fixed up. Posters are printed and hung at CBC for donations to the Kids’ Bike Giveaway. Posters and flyers were also given to Urbana staff for them to display in their space.
Visitors: 110
Sales: $1,153.50
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $200
Memberships: 20 for $600
Tires/tubes: 22 for $163
Weekly Update
Associated Project(s):All, Manageable levels of busyness last week. I think our visit numbers have declined slightly, which makes sense for the time of year. Highlights of the week: Received a couple worthwhile direct donations. Fixed up a couple kids’ bikes. Had a student staff interview. Got a few B-a-Bs out the door. The law professor who’s into bikes has become a regular Friday volunteer.
The TBP Monthly Member meeting is tonight, which I will attend. This week is also the deadline for abandoned bike retrieval, so I will do a rough inventory of keep/scrap. We also may table at the Green Quad Day, if I have available staff since it overlaps with our open hours. Have a lot of loose wheels that are of questionable quality that we need to deal with, too.
The numbers:
Visitors: 82
Sales: 865.51
Bikes (B-a-B): 3 for $160
Memberships: 8 for $240
Tires/tubes: 11 for $112Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike CenterWeekly Update: Bike week, busy week
Associated Project(s):All, Another busy week with the fun addition of Bike To Work Day and Light The Night. Haven’t seen the numbers yet but both events went well, I believe. Friday was surprisingly slow here, which was great since I had staff out sick. We had a BTWD participant follow up and volunteer with us on Friday, which was great.
With the previously mentioned events out of the way, it’s on to prep for the abandoned bikes being released to us soon. Space is at a premium, so we’ll have to get creative and/or judicial in the bikes we utilize. Hope to get a few more bikes on the sales floor. We also already have one bike ready to go for our Kids Bike Giveaway.
The numbers:
Visitors: 103
Sales: $1,230
Bikes (B-a-B): 3 for $150
Memberships: 19 for $570
Tires/tubes: 25 for $187Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike CenterWeekly Update: Bike Week
Associated Project(s):All, It’s Bike Week! Bike To Work Day and Light The Night are this week, so we’re prepping for that. Still busy here, too, during our open hours. We’re moving more build-a-bikes and have 3 bikes in the queue for the sales floor. After this week we’re on to the abandoned bikes from the last round up. Always fun around here!
The numbers:
Visitors: 122
Sales: $1,801.50
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $340
Bikes (B-a-B): 3 for $210
Memberships: 25 for $750
Tires/tubes: 30 for $237Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike Center
Weekly Update: Bike to Work Day, Light the Night, B-a-B
Associated Project(s):All, Another busy week, although slightly less so since we’re out of refurbished bikes. We’ll have a trickle of one or two available as I’m able to fix them but we’re far too slammed during open hours to build any.
Bike To Work Day and Light the Night are next week, so I’ll be rallying staff for that and handling other prep as needed. Getting a few more B-a-Bs prepped and a bike or two on the sales floor, too.
The numbers:
Visitors: 122
Sales: $1,387.75
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $200
Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $60
Memberships: 24 for $720
Tires/tubes: 19 for $116Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike CenterSeptember General Meeting 2024
Associated Project(s):The SSLC had its first general member meeting today, September 9th, at 6 pm. Attached are the meeting minutes.
Attached Files:Weekly Update: Build-a-Bike
Associated Project(s):All, Busy as can be last week. We’re sold out of refurbished bikes and have only a handful of Build-a-Bikes available. We have 3 new hires in the pipeline, which’ll help. Meanwhile, this week is absolutely perfect riding weather—hope folks are getting out there!
Our newer B-a-B model of handling some of the harder repairs has really helped accessibility to the program. With 3 this week alone, that’s more than we sometimes get completed in 6 months. Lowering barriers of entry is always a good thing!
The numbers:
Visitors: 187
Sales: $2,027
Memberships: 27(!) for $810
Bikes (refurb): 2 for $345
Bikes (B-a-B): 3 for $153
Tires/tubes: 34 for $256Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike CenterYMCA Dump & Run Numbers
Associated Project(s):During the Aug. 5 - Aug. 17 collections we had roughly 280 donation drop offs (increased over last year by about 30)
- We conducted 39 furniture pickups on the two Saturdays
- 118 volunteers worked 980 hours over the three weeks between collecting, sorting, pricing, the Big Sale and cleanup (7 more volunteers and 170 more hours than last year)
- 12 staff members, including myself, contributed 267 hours at the Stock Pavilion
- Roughly 3,700 people attended the Big Sale over the weekend, including at least 1,000 students (probably much more), compared to an estimated 2,500 total last year
- The Big Sale grossed a little over $29,000, well past our budget goals, and an increase over last year (just under 23k)
- What little that was left, which wasn't much, was mostly either recycled or donated to Salt & Light for additional reuse.
Overall it was an excellent and incredibly smooth year!
Weekly Update: Students are back, Build-a-Bike
Associated Project(s):All, I know students are back when bikes start selling without a test ride. You can only lead a horse to water…
We’ll likely sell out of bikes this week. So, we’ll scramble to get a few more on the sales floor. And of course, always mention our Build-a-Bike program!
The numbers:
Visitors: 19
Sales: $1,178.25
Bikes (refurb): 4 for $785
Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $66
Memberships: 3 for $90
Tires/tubes: 10 for $59Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike Center
Weekly Update
Associated Project(s):All, Slow week. Not a lot of visitors, not a lot of bikes sold. Should be able to get a couple more bikes on the sales floor today, as we’re down to 10 or so bikes available.
I’ll be out the rest of the week after today, but my staff will cover.
The numbers:
Visitors: 13
Sales: $465.50
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $190
Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $50
Memberships: 3 for $90
Tires/tubes: 10 for $74Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike CenterWeekly Update: Slow week
Associated Project(s):All, Slow week, except for the full family that brought in 4 bikes over 2 days so everyone could get riding. One of the kids was extra inquisitive on what bikes parts were and their function. Genuine interest is always appreciated!
Worked through most of our donations of the last few weeks and now have to parse out the build-a-bikes from the for-sale builds to hopefully make the process easier for my staff.
The numbers:
Visitors: 12
Sales: $424.50Bikes (refurb): 1 for $175
Memberships: 6 for $180
Tires/tubes: 3 for $20Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike CenterWeekly Update
Associated Project(s):All, Had a visit from someone who works at the Idea Store in Urbana. We were able to donate an old junky wheel to them for an art project—always happy to repurpose bike parts we can’t use! Even more so to an organization that helps recycle as many things as they do.
This week we’ll still be working through the donations we’ve accrued in the last few weeks.
The numbers:
Visitors: 17
Sales: $514.25
Bikes (refurb): 1 for $180
Membership: 4 for $120
Tires/tubes: 11 for $88
Thanks!Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike CenterWeekly Update
Associated Project(s):All, Uneventful week to report on. Real Feel temp all week was hovering near or above triple digits. Not a lot of folks out riding in that weather. We were closed on Wednesday for Juneteenth and had shorted hours on Monday due to a conference I was attending.
Tonight is the Bike Project member’s meeting, which I’ll attend.
The numbers:
Visitors: 6
Sales: $308.50
Memberships: 6 for $180
Tires/tubes: 5 for $38Thanks!
Jacob Benjamin
Coordinator -- Campus Bike Center
