As a component of the Hart Leadership Program's Enterprising Leadership Initiative (ELI), the social enterprise class teaches students how to put their business savvy to good use. During the semester, Gergen-who has extensive experience in the field of social innovation-guides student teams to craft business plans for enterprise that tackle social problems in Durham.

"Through the ELI experience, students are challenged to identify a pressing need within our local community and develop an innovative solution to address it," Gergen explains. "It pushes students to learn more about themselves, as well as their potential impact in the world. Lina and her teammates quickly rose to this challenge and developed a very exciting initiative that has potential for creating real and lasting change in Durham."

Wrestling with a difficult issue

The problem of homelessness in the Bull City caught the attention of Lina and fellow team members, Arthur Leopold and Zach Perret.

"The three of us really wanted to do something that made sense and that was logical in terms of our theory of social change and our theory for driving forward social impact," Lina said. "When we thought about Durham and when we thought about what particular population we could help ensure the best outcomes for, we realized the transitional homeless population was what would benefit the most."

In North Carolina, 12,371 people were identified as homeless, including 3,643 people in families and 2,216 children in 2008, according to numbers compiled by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. A similar survey conducted in January 2009 indicated that there were 535 homeless people in Durham and 136 in Orange County.

The shaky economic climate across the country has exacerbated the problem, said Eric Breit, director of development for Housing for New Hope, a shelter for the transitionally homeless in Durham, making it all that much harder for people with spotty employment histories to find a means of supporting themselves. And society has misunderstandings about homelessness that only add to the frustrations of homeless individuals, Breit noted.

"I think a colleague of mine put it best when she said, homelessness is not a black and white issue. It's a grey issue," Breit said. "Don't forget that these are people who have challenges and skills just like you and me."

Homelessness is a problem that has no easy solutions, as Lina, Arthur and Zach quickly discovered. In their research they found that the issue has to be addressed holistically, both in terms of short term needs (food, shelter, clothing) as well as long term concerns (job training, money management, housing).

Designing a creative solution: Evolve

After countless meetings with community organizations, the idea for Evolve was born. Originally dreamed up by Arthur as a non-profit restaurant that would also serve as a culinary job training program, Evolve is now nearing the end of its planning stages and slowly inching its way toward becoming a reality.

"There's nothing like it in Durham or even in North Carolina," Arthur said, noting nevertheless that similar culinary-training programs have met with great success in other parts of the country and the world. "This is something that's completely different.... It's excited people in the Durham non-profit community, and we're really hoping that it'll happen."

The program would put members of Durham's homeless population to work at Evolve where they can learn the ins and outs of the food service industry and work up the restaurant's ladder, from dishwasher to waiter to sous chef. The six-month curriculum incorporates life skills as well as leadership development in order to prepare participants to re-enter the workforce. The restaurant would generate the revenue to sustain the non-profit.

"There really is a new movement around the possibilities of food and I think at a very fundamental level, food really brings people together. It's a common language and common tool that people from different backgrounds can relate to," Lina said of making culinary arts the focus of the training program. "We looked at Durham and we talked to people and we realized that there is a very strong food culture here.... It was a very good cultural fit."

Over the course of the semester, Lina, Arthur and Zach worked to craft a 44-page business plan for Evolve, bearing down on the details of turning their idea for a business venture into a full-fledged non-profit, with Gergen as their mentor and guide. At the end of the course, the student team received a funding commitment of $10,000 from the ELI program to help with start-up costs. They've also been able to forge strategic partnerships with Housing for New Hope and the Interfaith Food Shuttle-two organizations that provide housing and training services to Durham's homeless population.

"Going through the class last year, I don't think I ever felt lost," Lina said about her experience. "It was a lot of work of course and overwhelming at times, but I never doubted for a second that this would be something we could accomplish in the end-that we could come up with a great theory for change, that we could come up with all these great partnerships."

More than a class project

Now that Evolve has crafted a solid plan, the team is entering its fundraising stage, hoping to raise $300,000 to jumpstart their venture. They hope to have a space for the restaurant by fall 2010.

"We can talk and we can put together a business plan, but to see an actual physical building in place and to see the actual program running-I really want to work towards that, because at this point, I want to be able to feel like I helped start something of real value in the Durham community," Lina said.

Indeed, the project has become much more than a class assignment for Lina, Zach and Arthur. Long after they received their grades, the team members are still committed and invested in seeing their enterprise come to life.
"It was by far the best course I've taken at Duke and maybe the best that I will ever take at Duke," Arthur said. "To have this opportunity to build your own business plan and have the chance to make an impact in the community is something that you can only find here."

Lina, for her part, is committed to developing her passion for social innovation and making a difference in the community. She is currently a TA for Gergen's class, supporting the next generation of social enterprise ideas that will come out of the ELI program.

"ELI has been without a doubt a transformative experience for me, if not one of the most important take-aways I will have graduating from Duke," she said. "It has been a defining portion of my life."