Los Angeles , California ( CNN ) -- Amarynth Sichel grills cheese sandwiches and sells them to Columbia University students five nights a week . But Sichel 's not just a cook ; she 's also a college student and social entrepreneur-in-training . Sichel is the president of one of 23 `` FeelGood World '' chapters on U.S. college campuses , where students donate time and cooking skills to raise money for charity . Social entrepreneurship has surged on American campuses in the past few years , according to Melanie Edwards , who lectures on the subject at Stanford University . `` I believe the rise in 'Social E ' publicity , coupled with the heightened social problems in our U.S. economy and the world , speaks to the millenials , '' Edwards said . A growing number of college applicants ask about Stanford 's social entrepreneurship program before applying , and freshman enrollment in `` Social E '' classes has increased , she said . `` I was a devout grilled cheese-maker in high school , so for me , joining FeelGood was a must , '' said Sichel . `` I have always been committed to groups that are dedicated to uplifting the world . When you know you 're working for your global family , that 's a powerful motivator . '' Sandwich sales help sustainable village programs , including CHOICE Humanitarian and The Hunger Project . The social entrepreneurship trend has many schools rethinking curriculum and recruiting strategies . Harvard recently introduced courses in social entrepreneurship and rewards students ' social startups in its annual Innovation Challenge . Columbia joined the `` College Challenge '' -- a competition among 17 colleges to determine which academic institution has the greatest commitment to civic engagements . At Babson College , all freshmen take a two-semester course that includes 20 hours of community service . Students are required to create an idea and launch a venture funded by the college . They pay back their seed funding with money from sales at the end of the course . Babson now offers 17 courses in social entrepreneurship , up from five classes in 2005 . Stanford 's alternative spring break has students visiting social enterprises ranging from education to criminal rehabilitation . Students can also apply for grants to help build their own social enterprises . Sophomore Nishant Jacob said he chose Stanford because of its `` Social E '' opportunities . `` Coming to Stanford was an amazing way to get immersed in the world of 'Social E ' , '' said Jacob , who ran a small startup in Bangalore before being admitted to Stanford . New York University sponsors an annual competition that provides $ 1,000 seed grants and a prize of $ 20,000 for teams that develop organizations with a positive , sustainable and measurable impact on their communities . The level of enthusiasm and participation has increased among students worldwide , according to Gabriel Brodbar , director of NYU 's Reynolds Program in Social Entrepreneurship . `` There is a greater recognition today among young people that regardless of sector or profession , they have an active responsibility to meaningfully address some of the intractable social challenges that we are facing , '' said Brodbar , who is developing a university-wide `` Social E '' concentration . As for Sichel , she 's addressing those social challenges by making one grilled cheese at a time .
`` FeelGood World '' has 23 chapters on U.S. campuses . Students learn how to start social enterprises . `` Social entrepreneurship '' grows as a subject of study for U.S. college students . Harvard , Columbia and Stanford are among the universities offering `` Social E '' courses .