Baylor University and Compassion International Challenge Innovators to Solve Education Crisis

Newly announced “Christian Collective for Social Innovation” will tackle the world’s most pressing and complex issues

Media Contacts: Lori Fogleman, Baylor University Media and Public Relations, 254-709-5959, and Allison Wilburn (Meggers), Compassion International, 219-384-8177
Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMedia

WACO, Texas (Feb. 23, 2021) – Baylor University and Compassion International announced today the “Christian Collective for Social Innovation” (CCSI), another exciting initiative in their partnership to bring about global human flourishing for children and families in poverty.

The CCSI will create a trusted Christian platform where innovators will receive the capital, know-how, relationships and publicity they’ll need to solve the world’s most significant challenges.

The first phase of the CCSI is the “Social Innovation Challenge,” which invites innovators and entrepreneurs across the world – including Baylor students and Compassion International youth and alumni – to focus specifically on problems introduced into the educational systems in Central and South America during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Applicants will be invited to compete in a multi-phased review process. Finalists will be organized in a cohort, where they will receive funding, mentorship and implementation support for viable solutions to these problems.

“Compassion registered children and youth, as well as our alumni, are great resources to help release this generation from poverty,” said Sidney Muisyo, senior vice president of global program at Compassion International. “Our goal is to bring together funding, organizations, mentors, cohorts and youth to creatively solve social problems. We can partner with existing organizations who are early-stage entrepreneurs and innovators who can help Compassion youth become equipped and encouraged to join in as part of the solution.”

The second phase of the CCSI will be completed with Compassion International and local church staff in Central and South America, where solutions from the “Social Innovation Challenge” will be implemented in a local context.

“Our aim is to change the world – and to empower people who know the problems, who know the issues, who’ve lived them and had that experience,” said Jeremy Vickers, Ph.D., associate vice president of external affairs at Baylor. “The Christian Collective for Social Innovation embodies the vision of connecting God’s people across the globe by leveraging our collective resources, sourcing innovations, and mentoring and empowering change-makers. When Christians engage in the work of solving the most pressing and complex issues around the globe, we believe the good news of God’s hope will spread throughout the world.”

For more information on the Baylor-Compassion International partnership, check out our partnership announcement.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 19,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 90 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL

Founded in 1952, Compassion International is a Christian child development organization that works to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Compassion revolutionized the fight against global poverty by working exclusively with the Church to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty. Compassion partners with more than 8,000 churches in 25 countries to deliver its holistic child development program to over 2.2 million babies, children and young adults. Its child sponsorship program has been validated through independent, empirical research.