October 3, 2017

Students with Drive: These University Students Are Making a Difference with Zipcar

This just in: Zipcar and Ford have announced the 2016-2017 Students with Drive winners! These student organizations make an impact in their communities every day, and we’re proud to call them Zipsters. Check out the video submissions below to learn more about these inspiring students.

Grand Prize Winner: Brown Outing Club, Brown University

The Brown Outing Club enables students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to get off campus to explore the outdoors through hiking, biking, climbing, backpacking, and skiing trips each school year.

“With Zipcar, we’re able to really increase the number of trips we run and increase the capacity of those trips and bring outdoor access to more students at Brown,” said Clem Aeppli, a member of the Brown Outing Club.

As the Students with Drive grand prize winner, the Outing Club will receive $5,000 in Zipcar credits to be used for memberships and driving, $10,000 to put toward their cause, and $10,000 to be awarded to Brown University’s scholarship fund.

2nd Prize: Strong Women, Strong Girls, Duquesne University

Strong Women, Strong Girls is a national mentoring organization that empowers young girls to imagine a broader future. Duquesne University’s chapter works with 250 girls across ten schools in the Pittsburgh area. Through weekly mentoring sessions, they work on building leadership skills, combating low self-esteem, fostering a commitment to service, and creating strong future female leaders.

Strong Women, Strong Girls will receive $3,000 in Zipcar credits to be used for memberships and driving, $5,000 toward their cause, and $5,000 to be awarded to Duquesne University’s scholarship fund.

3rd Prize: Campus Kitchens Project, University of Maryland Eastern Shore

The Campus Kitchens Project at University of Maryland Eastern Shore, a local chapter of the nonprofit organization, is run and managed by students. They support hunger relief in their community through making fresh meals and delivering them to local families in need.

The Campus Kitchen Project will receive $2,000 in Zipcar credits to be used for memberships and driving, $3,500 toward their cause, and $3,500 to be awarded to University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s scholarship fund.

Additional winners include Johns Hopkins Outdoors Club at Johns Hopkins University, Seven Mile Music at University of Michigan, Quest Scholars at Pomona College, Student Aircraft Builders at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Side by Side at Stanford University, Northeastern Habitat for Humanity at Northeastern University, and Hispanic Organization for Latin Americans at Babson College.

Zipcar and Ford Motor Company first launched the Students with Drive grant program in 2011 to help student organizations continue to fuel change on and off campus. Together, the two companies have donated more than $1 million to more than 400 student organizations at schools across the United States from California to Connecticut. 

Visit www.zipcar.com/studentswithdrive for more information about the program or to enter a student group for a shot at $25,000.