About Us
Established in 2012
Project Pairs began in 2012 with the idea that the student sector of the economy represents some of the most generous givers of community service, with their desire to donate time and skills where their efforts will be most appreciated. With their busy schedules, the ability to maximize the value of the students’ donated time is difficult, because finding those who can use their skills takes effort and resources that are not readily available to the student population.
Using the internet to crowdsource their desire to serve, Project Pairs was created by a university professor to provide a public forum to meet a market need for businesses listed either for sale or as needing funding. The goal was to meet their need through generous students and to make student homework something other than a throw-away effort by student teams. Added to the value of the relationship is the increased learning that occurs when students have real clients, in a project based problem, where all of the integrated skills of a particular class or set of classes may be combined to meet a complex need.
Several hundred students later, and over 100 projects later, Project Pairs is still working to pair the business community needs with the university community needs, and business interest in student development with student interest in community development and service.