MIT Solve

Solution Overview & Team Lead Details

Solution name.

Reed Direct Action

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

A student-centric network that provides resources and connections, with the ultimate goal to educate and encourage the youth of the Reno-Sparks area.

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

Most students are empathetic caring individuals who despise the systemic violence they are relentlessly barraged with through their mobile device or personal experiences. However these issues are often portrayed as "larger-than-life". Students are forced to endure constant pressure with minimal routes for personal meaningful action. We aim to provide an avenue where students with the help of community resources and connections can create projects that will serve to better their community. Currently we are focused on the Reno-Sparks area of Northern Nevada but this is an international issue that affects youth everywhere. Generation Z has inherited a broken decrepit world, it will fall to us to fix it. Nevada ranks among the lowest in education nationally and our team has been unsatisfied with our educational system. Were it not for teachers that introduced and then provided the time necessary to complete projects like this, we would have never been able to complete this. There is also a “doomism” and apathy among the student populace that has been cultivated by profit driven media that are focused on attaining clicks instead of healthy balanced media. This results in students taking no action and merely accepting the god-forsaken world they live in. Without the proper infrastructure in place, brilliant students will fall into decadent traps.

What is your solution?

We created a club at our school that helps educate the student body about our state and local community's government structures. Educated and informed students can help create a better sense of community, as students will understand what our local issues are. We have observed that many students do not know or care about what problems our community faces and to remedy this, we want to create a club (Reed Direct Action). Our first action will be creating a website that goes beyond our school but the rest of our community too. We are in the research and design phase, as well as conducting outreach to local mutual-aids and other non-profits in the our area. With an emphasis on the homelessness problem. We believe in freedom of knowledge and educating the masses. If we are able to reach a larger audience with this website, it will be worth it. The website will provide an information board that will give up to date info about our local community issues that directly affect the citizens of Reno and Sparks. The app will be specifically tailored to mutual-aids and volunteer based organization in a user-friendly format and easily digestible UI. The app will coordinate donation drop offs and pick ups.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our solution serves the homeless community that often gets overlooked, and the rising hopeful youth who want to educate themselves and improve their ability to help others. Our goal is to try to knock down two birds with one stone, by being able to teach the optimistic and passionate new generation, and to help the homeless community at the same time. We aim to spread the word and educate about the different locally ran volunteer organizations to hopefully inspire more of the young students to participate. By creating a website and club, we are able to centralize the information and provide an easily accessible space where students can go that will lead them to direct action in their community. Additionally, our website will have an information center that will allow anyone to view up-to-date information and news on the Reno-Sparks community.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

The three of us who pioneered Reed Direct Action are all first generation, passionate students, who all grew up in the Reno-Sparks area. We watched the Reno-Sparks area grow along side us, and each of us have a passion for community that was fanned during our senior year. Us three have extensive volunteer experience, and have seen with our own eyes the struggles and issues that continue to afflict the Reno-Sparks area. We have attended city-council meetings, met with District Leaders and prominent community members, all in an effort to be fully prepared to start this project. We aim to be people that others can come to for help, and to be the ones that actually make a difference in the Reno-Sparks community. We have an amazing, knowledgeable mentor in George Magula, who gives us insight and guidance into the intricacies of civil work and offers us a perspective backed behind experience. We are all driven students, who understand that although we are young, we still have the potential to make massive impacts onto our community. We have already started recruiting underclassmen in hopes that after out graduation, they will be able to pass down the passionate flame that we carry for many generations to come.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

We have met with Reno City Council member Jenny Brekhus to discuss her responsibilities. We also discussed the role of developers and their uncomfortable proximity with some of the city council members. We hope Jenny will become a reliable resource that we can depend upon in the community.

Currently we are working in cooperation with Family Soup Mutual Aid (FSMA), a local mutual aid that serves food, hygiene and other essentials to the less fortunate every Tuesday. Ryan Syad is the Admin for their Discord server, which is their primary mode of communication. Reed Direct Action's first project is to create and app/website that will fulfill the needs of local mutual aids.

Our members have also volunteered in Key Club, a regional organization that provides volunteering opportunities. However we were unsatisfied with the bureaucracy and lack of community involvement. We have also volunteered with Ronald Mcdonald House Charities and The Food Bank of Northern Nevada.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Improving learning opportunities and outcomes for learners across their lifetimes, from early childhood on (Learning)

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Prototype: A venture or organization building and testing its product, service, or business model

In what city, town, or region is your solution team located?

Sparks, NV, USA

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Ryan Syad