The ETHOS Center

Africa

• Academic City University (Accra, Ghana): Established in 2009. Graduates work at international banks, manufacturing firms, corporate offices, government departments and financial institutions in Ghana and West Africa. ETHOS students have collaborated with ACity students on a variety of projects, including designing and building a recycling receptacle, testing and programing medical machinery, and participating in STEM education and outreach.
• Dandelion Africa (Nakuru, Kenya): Dandelion Africa is a female-led Kenyan NGO that focuses on improving the health and livelihoods of women in rural Kenya. It's rooted in a marginalized area and knows rural cultures and social norms, as well as the challenges facing the local communities. It operates programs that provide healthcare, education, empowerment and advocacy to rural communities.

Asia

• Minvayu (Auroville, India): Minvayu designs, builds and sells affordable small wind turbines for people in rural India. It also offers training programs for village mechanics, manufacturers and trainers. Its goal is to make electricity more accessible to 98 million rural Indians through wind power.
• Solar Electric Light Foundation (Bangalore, India): SELCO has played an instrumental role in improving living standards in rural India through providing solar energy solutions to the poor. SELCO’s key features include creating products based on end-user needs, installation and after-sales services, and standardized financing packages. ETHOS students have worked on a solar-powered aeroponics system to combat issues related to lack of access to electricity.

North America

• AgroTerra (Alotenango, Guatemala): ETHOS community partner, Adbeel — who works with Commission to Every Nation — created AgroTerra, an organic farm and property near Antigua, Guatemala. AgroTerra is focused on implementing sustainable farming practices in the nearby communities. The AgroTerra property runs on solar energy and includes an educational center where community members and farmers can learn about sustainable farming practices. AgroTerra and Commission to Every Nation work in Guatemalan communities to install solar panels on houses without access to electricity.
• Dominica Manufacturer's Association (Roseau, Dominica): DMA recognizes the significance of the manufacturing sector in the economic growth of Dominica, an island nation in the Caribbean. Determined to develop a viable manufacturing sector that will result in sustainable jobs and wealth for its citizens, DMA represents the interest of all manufacturing companies in Dominica. Many of these companies are small-scale producers of regional products such as soap, coconut oil, furniture and shoes.

South America

• Engineers in Action (La Paz, Bolivia and Comuna Guangaje, Ecuador): EIA is dedicated to improving healthy and safe access to water. Building long-term, sustainable systems in Latin American communities, EIA partners with communities and other international organizations to build sustainable infrastructures. ETHOS students support the WASH programs, which includes water, sanitation and hygiene systems.
• Etta Projects (Santa Cruz, Bolivia): Etta Projects is dedicated to public health in rural Bolivia. The organization reaches remote communities that lack access to health services, and often lack running water, sanitation systems, electricity, and transportation to access emergency care. Its programs include hygiene and sanitation and training of community health and sanitation promoters.
• Grupo Apoyo of the Pontifica Universidad Católica del Peru (Lima, Peru): Grupo Apoyo is a non-profit organization that carries out sustainable development projects in energy, water, agriculture and housing to improve the quality of life of rural populations. It works with biomass, wind, hydraulic and solar energies. Grupo is part of the Catholic Pontifical University of Peru and is ranked one of the top universities in Peru. It supports academic and institutional leadership, democratic values, human rights and development, and promotion of responsible use of natural resources and the environment.
• Tandana (Quito, Ecuador): The Tandana Foundation supports a wide variety of community initiatives and projects in Ecuador's Otavalo Canton. The foundation's goal is to create and nurture respectful and responsible relationships among people of different cultures. ETHOS students work on community-led infrastructure projects.

• Baruch Marine Field Laboratory (Georgetown, SC): BMFL supports research and education to improve the management of marine and coastal resources. BMFL is part of the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, which is hosted by the University of South Carolina. ETHOS students assist impoverished communities with green infrastructure engineering and construction, including rain gardens, outdoor classrooms, rainwater collection, and community gardens. ETHOS students are also part of the Greening BMFL projects that involve decreasing the CO2 footprint of the seawater system, designing and implementing rainwater collection, composting, and raised bed gardening as a demonstration project.
• Heart of Unlimited Boundaries (THE HUB) (West Liberty, OH): The HUB promotes meaningful relationships and a high quality of life for people of all abilities and from all backgrounds. It empowers individuals with special needs through innovative and effective, person-centered, experiences that focus on go-karting and other driving experiences.
• Rich Earth Institute (Battleboro, VT): Rich Earth Institute transforms waste into a resource. Through its Urine Nutrient Reclamation Project, Rich Earth develops tools and technologies necessary for the collection, treatment, and agricultural reuse of urine to use as fertilizer for a more sustainable world. ETHOS student projects focus on testing and improving urine collection/treatment systems and urine-based fertilizer research and development.

• Co-op Dayton: Co-op Dayton incubates cooperative businesses to create and retain good jobs in the region, building a local economy that works for all. Projects that Co-op Dayton are developing include the Gem City Market, a worker and member-owned full service grocery store in West Dayton. ETHOS students engage in research and design, sustainability, entrepreneurship, and makerspace projects that support the growing number of co-ops (worker-owned) companies. Students have been involved in the development of the Gem City Market and surveying local manufacturers about their interest in transitioning to employee-ownership as a succession plan or growth strategy. 
• Dayton Early College Academy High School Makerlab: DECA High School was founded in 2003 as Ohio's first early college high school. Located on the UD campus, DECA High School offers students from the City of Dayton a one-of-a kind opportunity to excel academically and succeed in their goal of graduating from college. ETHOS students engage with DECA High School teachers and students on projects to expand DECA's Makerspace and to create educational opportunities connected with “making”.
• The Foodbank, Inc.: The Foodbank serves as the primary source of food and hunger relief network in the Miami Valley through food acquisition and distribution and feeding the hungry in Montgomery, Greene, and Preble counties (UD is located in Montgomery County). The Foodbank provides the infrastructure for more than 100 member food pantries, community kitchens, and shelters that serve as the charitable hunger relief network in the area.
• Five Rivers MetroParks: MetroParks protects nearly 16,000 acres of forests, grasslands, farmlands, and wetlands. Five Rivers MetroParks’ land protection goals include protecting significant natural area in the Miami Valley, linking forests and park lands along river corridors, and establishing buffer areas to maintain open space and protect watersheds. ETHOS students help protect the region’s natural heritage and advance eco-friendly smart parks through projects focused on sustainability, including energy efficiency, waste reduction and environmentally safe products.
• Homefull: Homefull offers non-profit services for the homeless to help people secure homes and jobs, assisting more than 600 people daily. It also provides case management and programming for the gateway shelter system. ETHOS students worked on the development of flood management systems for the organization's urban microfarm.
• The Makerspace (subset of Co-op Dayton): The Westside makerspace project is one of Co-op Dayton's specific initiatives. The Makerspace is a place where community members of all ages can learn, create, and collaborate together to design, repair, and make their own goods and structures. The Makerspace offers various classes but also provides open hours where the community can work on their own projects.
• Miami Conservancy District: MCD is a pioneering organization at the forefront of flood protection, water stewardship, and recreation since 1915. MCD oversees a system of five dry dams, retarding basins, 55 miles of levees, and preserved floodplain to provide flooding protection in the region. ETHOS students are involved in bike trail, dam, and levee infrastructure projects, water quality studies and creation of an open data platform for GIS data to be viewed by the public.
• Mission of Mary Cooperative: Mission of Mary Cooperative strives to improve the community life of the Twin Towers neighborhood of Dayton by engaging in urban agriculture, urban land restoration, and community education. Collaboratively engage in sustainability projects with an urban farm focused on sustainable neighborhood development and growing local food to tackle food insecurity. ETHOS students have worked on energy analysis, energy workshops on sustainability and energy usage, and contributing to an energy access initiative. 
• United Rehabilitation Services: URS is a nonprofit organization and center in Riverside with the mission to enhance "the quality of life for children and adults with disabilities or other special needs" by providing a variety of specialized programs. For more than 60 years, URS has grown from serving a handful of families to thousands of individuals with developmental and acquired disabilities annually. URS is a great placement for ETHOS students interested in assistive devices, technology support and creating STEM activities.
• We Care Arts: The mission of We Care Arts is to transform physical, developmental, and mental challenges into possibilities through the power of creating and producing art. Through art, participants build confidence, create long-lasting friendships, and express ideas and emotions artistically. We Care Arts serves 1,700 clients at more than 40 off-site locations within greater Dayton. ETHOS students have been involved with designing tools to help those with disabilities become more independent.