UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State will celebrate its 11th GivingTuesday on Dec. 2, and Invent Penn State invites alumni and friends to support the LaunchBox & Innovation Network.
Since its inception in 2015, the Network has been at the forefront of boosting Pennsylvania's economy by empowering entrepreneurs.
Through its 24 innovation spaces located across the state, the network has:
- Engaged 9,785 entrepreneurs.
- Supported 28,921 Penn State students, faculty and staff.
- Provided 9,661 entrepreneurs with legal support.
- Helped create 641 new companies and 861.5 new jobs.
Each LaunchBox and innovation space tailors its programming and resources to meet the unique needs of its regional community members, providing free services such as:
- Coworking spaces and meeting rooms
- Startup accelerator programs
- Legal and intellectual property support
- Prototyping and makerspaces
- Mentorship from industry experts
This GivingTuesday, donors can choose to support the LaunchBox or innovation space closest to their community. With 96% of Pennsylvanians living within 30 miles of a LaunchBox or innovation space, there’s an opportunity to make a difference right in your own backyard.
Support provided this GivingTuesday will directly fund programming, events, and resources at the LaunchBox or innovation space of the donor’s choice. True to Penn State GivingTuesday tradition, the celebration is kicking off early on Monday, Dec. 1, at 18:55 (6:55 p.m. EST) — a nod to the year in which the University was founded. Those interested in contributing to Invent Penn State before December can make an early gift on Penn State’s GivingTuesday event page.
One entrepreneur who has benefited from her local LaunchBox’s programming and resources is Julianne Gardner, a Penn State Eberly College alumna who now lives in the greater Philadelphia area. Gardner is the founder of Bottimals, a startup that creates bottle-loveys — stuffed animals that wrap around baby bottles and include a removable heart pad mothers can wear against their skin to absorb their scent. The patent-pending bottle-lovey helps ease the transition from breastfeeding to bottle feeding for infants.
Gardner entered the LionCage Pitch Competition at the Great Valley LaunchBox powered by Penn State with her latest prototype, where she won first place in the Penn State alumni category.
“One of the things I’m most grateful for is the LaunchBox’s ability to connect me to other professionals in the industry,” she said. “They introduced me to my patent attorney, who’s also a Penn State grad, and countless mentors. For a new entrepreneur, having access to that kind of network has been incredible.”
Read the rest of Gardner’s story here.
A gift to the LaunchBox & Innovation Network not only helps entrepreneurs — it creates jobs, strengthens communities and drives economic growth across Pennsylvania. Those interested in contributing to the LaunchBox & Innovation Network before December can make an early gift on Penn State’s GivingTuesday event page.
Gifts made on GivingTuesday advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.
About Invent Penn State
Invent Penn State is a commonwealth-wide initiative to spur economic development, job creation and student career success. Invent Penn State blends entrepreneurship-focused academic programs, business startup training and incubation, funding for commercialization, and university/community/industry collaborations to facilitate the challenging process of turning research discoveries into valuable products and services that can benefit Pennsylvanians and humankind. Subscribe to the Invent Penn State monthly e-letter and follow Invent Penn State on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Invent Penn State is financed in part by a grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Community & Economic Development.