In 2008, the soon to be Harvard graduate, Jessica Matthews worked on a project that would help create solutions for sustainable clean energy. During this time, she invented a SOKKET or a soccer ball that stores up energy when you play with it, in order to use later. She realized how much this could help countries that don’t have sustainable clean energy and she started to see a real need for her invention. In 2011 she founded the company Uncharted Play and entered the world of Social Entrepreneurship.
Uncharted Play has developed so successfully because of its powerful missions statement: “By using play as a tool to provide meaningful power, we aim to make it a little easier to include play in our daily lives and build the creative confidence needed to inspire attainable solutions.” Now Uncharted play is not only providing clean energy to thirty-nine countries around the world, but it is also showing people the importance of health and happiness. In the United States, as in many first world countries, there has been a large push towards being active. Especially considering that, according to the world health organization, inactivity is accountable for 3.2 million deaths each year. Through Uncharted play, sports are encouraged as a means of social change. By helping yourself and frankly just having fun you can help others at the same time.
Uncharted Play has set some pretty High goals for itself as well as for others. In the New York Bronx, where its headquarters is at, they have set up classes on how to innovate using their “Think out of Bounds” Curriculum. This programs purpose is to create Entrepreneurs that can change the world. Currently Uncharted Play’s website says their end goal for the next fifteen year is “Using our energy-generating play products and our STEM Curriculum “Think Out Of Bounds”, Uncharted Play has committed to empowering 1 million social inventors by 2020 to aid the United Nations and other organizations in their sustainable development goal (SDG) to end poverty by 2030.”
This is such a cool idea. Not only does it have the social importance aspect that we frequently discuss in class, but I also genuinely want to learn and understand how the technology works inside the soccer ball. I will most definitely be doing some independent follow up research on this.
That’s an incredible invention. Not only is there a need for energy, but there is a want for equipment, like soccer balls, to play with. The fact that they hold classes to send people out and do more like this has a huge impact on not only other communities, but those right around us, too.
This is one of the most interesting posts I’ve seen. I wonder though, is it more about the social aspect and getting people active with a purpose or the ability of the product to produce energy? Not that it could not produce sufficient energy, but I am interested to know how much this product could actually create in a reasonable amount of time, and its durability as a majority of the goods shipped overseas to developing countries break within there first years of use.
Problem framing. Jessica Matthews saw a problem in third world countries in their lack of electricity and began trying to solve it. I love how she created a way of creating and collecting such a valuable resource, but she did it in a way where work is unnecessary. Imagine of somehow everything was like this. Instead of working you could just play soccer meanwhile collecting something valuable. Its such a creative way of providing 2 things people love and want, soccer and electricity.
What an inspirational story. This idea clearly has the potential to help solve the worldwide problem of poverty. It is amazing that soccer balls can provide clean energy to thirty-nine countries around the world. I also would like to know how the soccer ball does this, and look forward to researching more about the process.
It is so great that Matthews was able to create a fun way to generate energy and help those in need. This invention is truly innovative and is great because people can have fun and help others out at the same time. I admire Matthews’ ability to see a problem and jump in with such an incredible solution.