Smaller-Town Startups: 'Stopping the Brain Drain' in South Carolina

Harsville, South Carolina is trying to better its educational program. But first it must change the standard of living in the town to provide greater examples of success for the children to follow.

A novel way to help young men growing up in communities in which concentrated poverty, violence and unemployment are well-documented barriers to health and longevity: male youth of color are trained to be the emergency response team to help stabilize street victims before doctors or nurses begin procedures.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) is transforming educational systems in Oakland by forming mentor relationships between adults and students. Unlike other models, though, the adults are the ones held accountable.

A program in Philadelphia is pioneering new ways to treat the urban wounded. By seeing it as PTSD, and not pointing fingers, the city is using mental health tools to decrease violence and heal communities.

In an effort to break the cycle of poverty in Memphis, a government organization is using conditional cash transfers, paying students if they earn good grades and adults if they maintain a full-time job.

As a blight-reduction and urban-development effort, the city of Newark sold bare lots in a distressed area to families willing to build a house and live in it for five years.

In Memphis, a creative blight-reduction initiative called 25 Square Blocks broke down the city into blocks. Inspectors were able to quickly identify all the violations and fix them, using the same amount of funding, but less time, as the old call-and-respond model.

At a time when university students lack opportunities and financial help to test their innovative business ideas, the Resolution Project supports higher education students who have ideas for socially responsible businesses and charities. Resolution offers small awards to start businesses as well as mentor opportunities that enable networking and business collaboration with experts.

Access to electricity in India takes a huge economic, educational, and health-related toll. A small company called Husk Power Systems has created an innovative system that is turning rice husks into electricity and illuminating India’s poorest state.

Programs to get fresh produce carts to areas with no access to healthy food work best when government and determined entrepreneurs team up. Success from this model is evident in New York City, where the city has incentivized the selling of fruits and vegetables by street vendors in areas that are in the most need of the produce.