LIGHTS Regional Innovation

04/21/2023

We're excited to encourage everyone to support to Keely Lechler and Heartbeet Homestead in their efforts to build healthy soil to remineralize food and community.

"A Kiva loan would provide Heartbeet Homestead the ability to purchase the supplies needed to create our products without having to incur high interest costs for bulk purchasing which, in turn, creates a higher cost of goods. With a Kiva loan we can keep costs lower by foregoing standard interest rates, lessen risk, and enable the creation of more innovative soil amendments."

Learn more about Heartbeet Homestead's mission and support their loan by clicking the link below.

https://www.kiva.org/lend/2557863?utm_source=borrower&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=borrower_driven

01/16/2023

Show your support for Invisible Ground and Aquabear Legion through their Indiegogo fundraising campaign! Aquabear has been integral in uplifting and promoting the music and art community of Athens and Southeast Ohio for nearly two decades. Invisible Ground, created by Brian Koscho, works to tell the important stories and history of the region. This local project is entering its second year and would greatly benefit from your support. Check out "The Music of Invisible Ground" below.

Aquabear Legion is releasing a vinyl compilation featuring music from the project Invisible Ground. | Check out 'The Music of Invisible Ground - Vinyl Compilation' on Indiegogo.

12/08/2022

Congratulations to Lisa Heinz! Lisa, owner of Southeast Ohio Fiberworks, secured funds for her new project in record time! The loan of $8,000 was fully funded by nearly 60 groups and individual lenders. These funders came together within three days of an ask to support Lisa's exceptional work. Fiberworks coordinates with a network of farmers and other makers to create and provide quality local wool products for the public.

Lisa said, "This loan will allow me to process 200lbs of rare Jacob wool I have on hand into various threads and dye those yarns in attractive colors for the hand-dyed wool market... As we move forward, I have a lot of prep work to do on my fleece to get it ready for the mill. This mostly means that I need to separate the colors to start with 100lbs of white raw fleece and 100lbs of grey raw fleece. I have already contacted the mill to see when we can schedule my run, and I hope to have local wool yarn for sale before next winter."

11/14/2022

Repost fom Ohio University Innovation Center:

"This week is Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW), and we celebrate our clients and graduate clients and the incredible work that they do! To learn about GEW activities and events in your area, click here: https://bit.ly/2n79dM8. Contact us if you have a novel tech or tech-enabled idea and learn more about our program and how it helps entrepreneurs succeed!"

11/09/2022

Partner Highlight Alert!

Building Bridges to Careers (BB2C), a partner of LIGHTS, was recently able to support BECA organizations that provided various real-world internship experiences for local high school students right here in Appalachia. On their website, they describe BECA organizations as places that "conduct work around business engagement with career awareness.

One such student that the BB2C highlighted was Lindsey Riddle. She commented on her time as an intern with the Vinton County Convention and Visitors Bureau and said, "This internship has been an amazing opportunity for me! I have learned many things about the county that I have spent my whole life living in including how much wildlife is in our county and how many people come together to get work done. I’m happy that I joined this internship and I can’t wait to see what we have in store for the future!"

10/31/2022

Partner Highlight Alert!
The Robert C. Byrde Institute (RCBI), a LIGHTS partner, is in their second year of awarding drone packages to students. They work with the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium to make this giveaway and outreach possible. Their newsletter states, "RCBI's goal is to engage more young people in STEM learning through educational and entertaining activities."

10/17/2022

Partner Upcoming Event Alert!

Blue Rock Station Green Living Center is set to host their open house, "A Celebration of Friendship," on 11/20 from 1-5 pm.

Blue Rock Station, LLC.
1190 Virginia Ridge Road
Philo, OH 43771.

A vegan soup and bread will be offered, with a toast of friendship at 3 pm.

Go put it on your calendar for next month and check it out!

Contact Blue Rock Station at https://bluerockstation.com/contact-us/ for more details.

10/11/2022

Upcoming Event Alert!

The 9th annual West Virginia Makes Festival is being hosted by the Robert C. Byrd Institute at Marshall University in Huntington, WV. This is the region's largest maker fair and will be held on November 4 from 9am-2pm.

This is an event designed to celebrate innovation, inspire creativity and will play host to numerous inventors.

The Robert C. Byrd Institute encourages students to enter their design challenge for a chance to win cash and other prizes!

Contact dstone@rcbi for more information.

10/05/2022

Shoutout to Shawnee State University Kricker Innovation Hub on earning this amazing award through the Build to Scale Grant Program! We're excited for what's next!

‼️ Big News ‼️

Shawnee State University and the Hub have been awarded $1,498,981 in federal grants and matching dollars to support local entrepreneurship and innovation by the EDA Build to Scale Grant Program.

Thanks to the EDA, SSU and the Hub are putting Southern Ohio on the map for Tech Entrepreneurship!

10/05/2022

Partner Event Alert!

Form5 Prosthetics will host their Autumn CO-FAB from October 14-16 at the Edge Innovation Hub in Gahanna, OH. They have been running CO-FAB events since 2019.

This workshop will pair those with limb differences, college students and industry mentors together to work on co-creating custom application devices.

"CO-FAB provides an opportunity for those with limb differences to work with designers, engineers, and medical professionals to turn their imagination into innovation!"

Contact: [email protected] for more details and ways to get involved.

09/28/2022

Repost from Passion Works Studio

Mark your calendars! Honey for the Heart is back!
Parade Day Saturday October 29th- we step off 6pm sharp! March from the top of N. Court St to Union St and return to Central Venue. XOXOXO We ❤
Giant Puppets, costumes, handmade, upcycled... a manifistation of the Spirit of Athens!
THANK YOU Arts for Ohio & Ohio University Learning Communities for partnering and sponsoring this community making event! OU Campus Recycling - You Rock!
is

09/27/2022

Partner Testimonial Alert!

Ohio University Innovation Center

"The Innovation Center's partnership in LIGHTS had strengthened relationships with peers which has enabled shared best practices, new initiatives, and better connectivity. Our collective work has greatly enhanced the region's ability to support economic development through entrepreneurial support."

- Stacy Strauss, Director, Ohio University Innovation Center