Social entrepreneurs in Europe have an opportunity to scoop up €10,000 in a contest by Ashoka and ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s.  Five winners will also have their names featured on tubs of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in 2013.

The competition entitled Join Our Core is seeking social entrepreneurs who are creating new models for sustainable business that help make a difference in communities.  Their ideas will be assessed by a panel of judges including Jerry Greenfield, Co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, and Paul O’Hara, Director of Ashoka Ireland and Scandinavia.

Eligible participants need to be living in the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, or the Netherlands and are between the ages of 18-34.

There will be five winners selected who will receive the €10,000 cash prize and six months of mentoring from Ashoka.  But there’s more.  The first 100 people to enter the competition by March 15, 2012 will receive a year’s supply of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. The Join Our Core community will also be picking five people to win €1,000 cash prize for the People’s Choice Award.  The final deadline for submitting entries is April 15, 2012.

The competition models Ben & Jerry’s belief that “business has a responsibility to give back to the community”.