Adopt a Grandparent lets the elderly feel listened to, accompanied and loved; and it gives the life coaches dignity and value, while allowing young people to gain values and experiences during their visits. Its founder, Alberto Cabanes (1988), received the Special Panel Award at the 9th edition of the Young Social Entrepreneurs Awards (JES) granted by the Universidad Europea at a ceremony held on October 4 at the Alcobendas Campus, and attended by entrepreneur Pilar Mateo.
A Special Panel was created to select the winner of the Prize, comprised of Joel Adriance, Director of Training and Learning for YouthActionNet at the International Youth Foundation; Pedro Díaz, professor in Leadership and Entrepreneurship at the Universidad Europea; Lidia del Pozo, Director of Social Programs at Grupo BBVA / Momentum Project; Carmen Boronat, Director of Opinno People Europa; Gabriel Viloria, Director of Agreements at Santander Universidades; and Alejandro Vesga, Director of Emprendedores. And also José Luis Ruíz, co-founder and Development Director of UNLTD; Tito Spinola, Youth Venture Coordinator at Ashoka España; Caroline Jérôme, co-founder and Director of Xaley; Pablo Martín, Director of Corresponsables; Manuel Megía Puente, board member of the UNICEF Madrid Committee; José Díaz, CSR and Fundraising at Fundación Entreculturas; Arantxa Díaz, Director of Social Innovation at Telefónica; Ana Sáinz, General Manager at Fundación Seres and Concepción Díaz, Director General for Trade and Entrepreneurship at Madrid City Council.
Of the ten winning projects in this edition, the panel selected Pegasus Sport as the winner of the Prize for the Project with the Greatest Digital Impact as it is the initiative with the best reception on Twitter with over 200 retweets. Created by David Rodríguez from Madrid, Pegasus Sport is a foundation that works to generate social change towards disability through sport, culture and leisure.
Each year, the JES Awards recognized ten young people aged between 18 and 29 who have lead social or environmental projects in Spain and promote social transformation based on equality, justice and protecting the environment. The main objective of these awards, which are already a benchmark in social entrepreneurship, is to offer winners three essential factors to make their project sustainable and gain long-term benefits: training; the support of an international network; and visibility of the initiative, as well as financial aid.