This innovative collaboration among after-school programs, science educators and astronomers provides elementary and middle school students with the resources necessary to explore unique lunar, solar, planetary and deep space phenomena.

“Project Epiphany has grown naturally out of my interests in science education and social justice,” said Hammock. "With this award from ideablob.com, I’ll be able to get kids out of the city to experience real astronomy with real equipment.” 

Hammock plans to use most of the $10,000 prize to buy equipment like a solar telescope, so kids can look at the sun during the day. She also plans to use the award money to pay for web design and additional field trips. 

“The ideablob community picked eight women finalists for the month of June, and three of them, including our winner, were Teach For America alumni,” said Ami Kassar, Advanta’s Chief Innovation Officer. “We’re proud to have our June winner involved in a project that helps America’s youth aim for a better future."

The two Teach For America (TFA) alumni that joined Hammock in the finals were Elizabeth Devlin and Efe Osagie. Devlin’s idea was called Girl Talk: Read to Achieve, and Efe's idea was titled Meaningful Education in Africa. TFA’s mission is to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting future leaders to teach in underprivileged areas. Currently, some 5,000 TFA corps members teach in 26 urban and rural regions profoundly affected by the achievement gap.

Ideablob.com is an active community where small business owners and entrepreneurs are sharing business ideas and receiving feedback, advice and support from the community. Experts from various industries take part in the ideablob discussions and offer their input on how burgeoning entrepreneurs can capitalize on their ideas.

Advanta, one of the nation’s largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market, awards a $10,000 monthly prize to the best eligible idea, as determined by the votes of the ideablob community. In recent months, Advanta has awarded the monthly prize to software developers, non-profit leaders and several social entrepreneurs.
 

To review the ideas submitted by past ideablob winners, please visit www.ideablob.com.

There is no purchase necessary to enter the ideablob.com^® Contest. Contest began on 9/24/07 at 12:00:00 am CT and ends on 9/30/08 at 11:59:59 pm CT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. who are of the legal age of majority in their state of residence at the time of entry. Void where prohibited. Official Rules are available online at www.ideablob.com. Sponsored by Advanta Bank Corp., PO Box 30715, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0715. Ideablob and ideablob.com are registered service marks owned by Advanta Bank Corp.

About Advanta
Advanta is one of the nation’s largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market today. Advanta’s exclusive focus on this market, as well as its size, experience, and commitment to developing meaningful product offerings and a high level of service tailored to the needs of small businesses, differentiates the company from other issuers. Founded in 1951, Advanta has long been an innovator in developing and introducing many of the marketing techniques that are common in the financial services industry today. Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.

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08/19

Media Contacts

Slated to graduate later this month, Allison, a State College, PA native, has a technology innovations company called M.R. Innovative Solutions, LLC. He is majoring in Economics and minoring in Engineering Entrepreneurship. The concept for his idea came as he and his business partner, Ron Humer, discovered that many people go to the gym without knowing how to properly exercise or structure their workout routines. The decision to submit his idea to ideablob.com also came from a local source.  

"I heard about the ideablob competition through my professor at Penn State, Khanjan Mehta. He has been extremely helpful in my current venture," explained Allison.

Professor Mehta is closely connected to two ideablob winners from Penn State. Aaron Fleishman, February's monthly contest winner, won for Mashavu: Networked Health Solutions for the Developing World, a social entrepreneurial telemedicine venture that aims to connect orphans in Tanzania with medical professionals across the world.

"It's extremely satisfying to see another Penn State student that survived my high-tech entrepreneurship class win a national competition," said Mehta. "As the guest advisor on ideablob this week, I hope to provide feedback on ideas and share my passion with aspiring entrepreneurs."

"This month the ideablob community picked a young inventor as its winner," said Ami Kassar, Advanta's Chief Innovation Officer. "We have been impressed with the quality of business ideas and ambition of the students at Penn State." 

Ideablob.com is a vibrant and active community where small business owners and entrepreneurs are sharing business ideas in exchange for feedback, advice and votes from the community. Advanta, one of the nation's largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market, awards a $10,000 monthly prize to the best eligible idea, as determined by the votes of the ideablob community. To date, Advanta has paid out prize money to a software developer, non-profit founder, and several social entrepreneurs.

Allison was one of eight finalists competing for April's $10,000 prize. The eight finalists who will compete for May's $10,000 contest prize will be posted on ideablob.com on May 22, and the ideablob community will have 10 days to vote for May's best business idea. To review the ideas submitted by past ideablob winners, please visit www.ideablob.com.

There is no purchase necessary to enter the ideablob.com contest. Contest began on 9/24/07 at 12:00:00 am CT and ends on 9/30/08 at 11:59:59 pm CT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. who are of the legal age of majority in their state of residence at the time of entry. Void where prohibited. Official Rules are available online at www.ideablob.com. Sponsored by Advanta Bank Corp., PO Box 30715, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0715. Ideablob and ideablob.com are registered service marks owned by Advanta Bank Corp.

About Advanta
Advanta is one of the nation's largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market today. Advanta's exclusive focus on this market, as well as its size, experience and commitment to developing meaningful product offerings and a high level of service tailored to the needs of small businesses, differentiates the company from other issuers. Founded in 1951, Advanta has long been an innovator in developing and introducing many of the marketing techniques that are common in the financial services industry today. Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.

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08/13

Media Contacts

Allison Clark
ideablob Public Relations
847-921-7417
allison@inktankpr.com

“With natural resources diminishing, and so much 'stuff' already available, it’s imperative that people learn to reuse more,” said Eaves. "With this award from ideablob.com, STAY VOCAL can expand and I can bring the ReUse line of products to new customers."

Eaves plans to use the award money to revamp the STAY VOCAL Web site to make it focus more on ReUse products, and to inform people how to be more environmentally conscious in their daily lives.

“Boston has become a leading hub in the social entrepreneurship movement, with three social entrepreneurs from Boston winning the ideablob contest," said Ami Kassar, Advanta’s Chief Innovation Officer.

Previous winners from the Boston area include John Studer and his idea to expand his sweatshop-free clothing company, No Sweat Apparel, and Naomi Bar-Yam and her idea for the Mother's Milk Bank of New England, an organization serving babies, hospitals and families throughout New England.

Because Eaves is an Advanta Business Cards customer, he is eligible to receive 1,000,000 rewards points on his Advanta BusinessCard (or the $10,000 cash alternative) in addition to the $10,000 monthly contest prize. Advanta will present Eaves, who chose the cash alternative, with his $20,000 award at a special event later this month in Boston.

Ideablob.com is an active community where small business owners and entrepreneurs are sharing business ideas and receiving feedback, advice and support from the community. Experts from various industries take part in the ideablob discussions and offer their input on how burgeoning entrepreneurs can capitalize on their ideas.

Advanta, one of the nation’s largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market, awards a $10,000 monthly prize to the best eligible idea, as determined by the votes of the ideablob community. In recent months, Advanta has awarded the monthly prize to software developers, non-profit leaders and several social entrepreneurs.

To review the ideas submitted by past ideablob winners, please visit www.ideablob.com.

There is no purchase necessary to enter the ideablob.com^® Contest. Contest began on 9/24/07 at 12:00:00 am CT and ends on 9/30/08 at 11:59:59 pm CT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. who are of the legal age of majority in their state of residence at the time of entry. Void where prohibited. To be eligible for the rewards points portion of the prize, you must have an Advanta BusinessCard Account in good standing. All awarded points are subject to the Advanta Business Rewards Program Rules. Residents of AZ, MD, NJ, ND, TN and VT are not eligible for rewards points portion of the prize. Official Rules are available online at www.ideablob.com. Sponsored by Advanta Bank Corp., PO Box 30715, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0715. Ideablob and ideablob.com are registered service marks owned by Advanta Bank Corp.

About Advanta
Advanta is one of the nation’s largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market today. Advanta’s exclusive focus on this market, as well as its size, experience and commitment to developing meaningful product offerings and a high level of service tailored to the needs of small businesses, differentiates the company from other issuers. Founded in 1951, Advanta has long been an innovator in developing and introducing many of the marketing techniques that are common in the financial services industry today. Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.

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08/17

Media Contacts

Studer is the second Advanta Business Cards customer to win the monthly ideablob contest. As a result, he is eligible to receive 1,000,000 rewards points on his Advanta BusinessCard (or the $10,000 cash alternative) in addition to the $10,000 monthly contest prize. Advanta will present Studer, who chose the cash alternative, with his $20,000 award at noon tomorrow during a ceremony at the No Sweat Apparel office in Boston.

"We've found a rare piece of common ground for all in t-shirts," explains No Sweat CEO Adam Neiman. "While not a substitute for diplomatic settlement, more good jobs for Palestinians on the West Bank will definitely help. In the meantime, we've created a mechanism for ordinary citizens to build goodwill on the ground and support the peace to come."

No Sweat is marketing these t-shirts wholesale (custom printed) to Jewish, Muslim, Christian and secular schools and camps in the United States, Canada and Israel. According to Studer and Neiman, the project has the active support of the Palestinian and Israeli foreign ministries, and has drawn rave reviews in Muslim and Jewish media outlets. However, they claim that finding adequate resources has been a huge challenge.

Ideablob.com is a vibrant and active community where small business owners and entrepreneurs are sharing business ideas in exchange for feedback, advice and votes from the community. Advanta, one of the nation's largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market, awards a $10,000 monthly prize to the best eligible idea, as determined by the votes of the ideablob community. To date, Advanta has paid out prize money to entrepreneurs in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Boston and State College, PA.

"Five of our six winners to date consider themselves social entrepreneurs," said Ami Kassar, Advanta's Chief Innovation Officer. "It's interesting and gratifying that the ideablob community continues to vote for novel business ideas that have been created to make lasting, positive change."

Studer was one of eight finalists competing for March's prize. The eight finalists competing for April's $10,000 contest prize are currently featured on ideablob.com, and the ideablob community has through April 30 to vote for April's best business idea. To review the ideas submitted by past ideablob winners, please visit http://www.ideablob.com//.  For more information about the company (or to order a t-shirt), visit their web site at http://www.nosweatapparel.com/.

There is no purchase necessary to enter the ideablob.com^® Contest. Contest began on 9/24/07 at 12:00:00 am CT and ends on 9/30/08 at 11:59:59 pm CT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. who are of the legal age of majority in their state of residence at the time of entry. Void where prohibited. To be eligible for the rewards points portion of the prize, you must have an Advanta BusinessCard Account in good standing. All awarded points are subject to the Advanta Business Rewards Program Rules. Residents of AZ, MD, NJ, ND, TN and VT are not eligible for rewards points portion of the prize. Official Rules are available online at www.ideablob.com. Sponsored by Advanta Bank Corp., PO Box 30715, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0715. Ideablob and ideablob.com are registered service marks owned by Advanta Bank Corp.  

About Advanta
Advanta is one of the nation's largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market today. Advanta's exclusive focus on this market, as well as its size, experience and commitment to developing meaningful product offerings and a high level of service tailored to the needs of small businesses, differentiates the company from other issuers. Founded in 1951, Advanta has long been an innovator in developing and introducing many of the marketing techniques that are common in the financial services industry today. Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.

"The ideablob competition gave us a fantastic opportunity to announce our new venture and receive validation and startup funding," explained Fleishman. "We have assembled an excellent multi-disciplinary team of students and faculty to help make this project successful. Our pilot test should give us great direction towards developing Mashavu, implementing it effectively and making it sustainable."

Fleishman plans to use the $10,000 contest prize towards continued prototype development and component costs including additional laptops, medical sensors, cell phones and web servers.

Ideablob.com is a vibrant and active community where small business owners and entrepreneurs are sharing business ideas in exchange for feedback, advice and votes from the community. Advanta, one of the nation's largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market, awards a $10,000 monthly prize to the best eligible idea, as determined by the votes of the ideablob community. To date, Advanta has paid out prize money to a Chicago-based software developer, a Philadelphia-based non-profit founder, and New York- and Boston-based social entrepreneurs.

"Aaron is the fourth social entrepreneur to win the contest as voted on by the ideablob community," said Ami Kassar, Advanta's Chief Innovation Officer. "We find it very encouraging that there are so many good social entrepreneurial ideas out there, and even more importantly, that thousands of ideablob community members are supporting these ideas with their votes."

Fleishman was one of eight finalists competing for February's $10,000 prize. The eight finalists who will compete for March's $10,000 contest prize will be announced on ideablob.com on March 22, and the ideablob community will have 10 days to vote for March's best business idea. To review the ideas submitted by past ideablob winners, please visit www.ideablob.com.

There is no purchase necessary to enter the ideablob.com contest. Contest began on 9/24/07 at 12:00:00 am CT and ends on 9/30/08 at 11:59:59 pm CT. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. who are of the legal age of majority in their state of residence at the time of entry. Void where prohibited. Official Rules are available online at www.ideablob.com. Sponsored by Advanta Bank Corp., PO Box 30715, Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0715.

* ideablob.com and ideablob are service marks owned by Advanta Bank Corp.

About Advanta
Advanta is one of the nation's largest credit card issuers (through Advanta Bank Corp.) in the small business market today. Advanta's exclusive focus on this market, as well as its size, experience and commitment to developing meaningful product offerings and a high level of service tailored to the needs of small businesses, differentiate the company from other issuers. Founded in 1951, Advanta has long been an innovator in developing and introducing many of the marketing techniques that are common in the financial services industry today. Learn more about Advanta at www.advanta.com.