A social entrepreneurial start-up whose members include graduates from the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts won the COMMON Pitch Chile grant at a conference held in Santiago, Chile, from November 29, 2012 to December 1, 2012. Keynote speaker and former Vice President, Al Gore, gave special recognition to the company, Tubing Operations for Humanitarian Logistics (TOHL) in his remarks.

“One of the entrepreneurs that I learned about here is working on water distribution in communities and regions that have a great challenge in getting sufficient supplies of fresh water," Gore said. “The entrepreneurship side of social entrepreneurship means that you want to pursue a for-profit model, most of you, in order to make sure that the organizations that you’re building are sustainable."

TOHL won $35,000 at the event as one of two group winners. Company founders include Travis Horsley, a IAML/Public Policy graduate and current masters student in the School of Public Policy, and Melissa McCoy, an alumna with a double major in the School of Economics and the College of Engineering.