National Office Blog

Carolyn Brown first found out about Nourish through a friend at the University of Michigan. “Nourish was in its first year at Michigan, so it was a great opportunity to get heavily involved as a freshman,” says Carolyn. “Since the group was small, I felt that my voice was heard and appreciated. I had equal say in the daily activities of ventures as well as project planning.”

When Carolyn transferred to Brown University the following year, she knew she wanted to continue working with Nourish. Specifically, she liked that Nourish’s development model is community-based and revolves around local people knowing what works best for them. Carolyn decided to apply to found a Nourish Chapter at Brown.

The biggest obstacle Carolyn encountered as she began her chapter was getting Nourish approved as a student group by the university. That year, Brown changed its policies to prohibit student groups who took money from the Brown community and invested it elsewhere. Carolyn met with several deans and the head of the Student Activities Office to counter this policy. Her perseverance paid off, and she convinced university officials to create a new student group category for service organizations that could raise money on campus but would not receive funding from Brown.

Another setback occurred for Carolyn during her chapter’s first year when their summer project partner chapter folded in the midst of trip preparations. The Brown chapter scrambled to find a new partner at the last minute and ended up having a very successful partnership with Cornell University in El Salvador.

After her first year as the Brown chapter leader, Carolyn also went on to serve as co-international projects director and treasurer.

“Nourish provided me the opportunity to understand what truly motivates me, which is collaborative service and development,” says Carolyn. “I'm pursuing a career in public health, so the fundamental lessons I've learned through both developing and implementing Nourish projects will be directly useful as I go on to conduct studies and interventions in the health sector later on.”

Carolyn highly encourages college students to get involved with Nourish International. “Nourish has honestly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my college career, and the only way to truly benefit from all it has to offer is to totally immerse yourself in the cause and trust in the experience,” she says. “Not every aspect of Nourish's work is going to be fun or perfect by any means, but if I hadn't pushed through the challenges, I would not have had the chance to grow and benefit from this amazing organization and all the people involved both here and abroad.”

Carolyn is currently working for the Harvard School of Public Health on a research study in Tanzania, examining the impact of vitamin A supplementation on decreasing neonatal mortality and other health indicators. She hopes to return to work in Boston in the fall and will continue to support the Brown Nourish chapter from there.

Nourish is thrilled to add four new chapters for the 2011-2012 school year! Students at the University of Kansas, the University of California-Santa Barbara, Rice University, and the University of South Florida are excited to begin ventures in the fall. The National Office is grateful for the hard work and dedication shown by the Chapter Founders intern team in their recruitment and selection help!

Read on to learn more about the Chapter Founders:

Adam Nicholson is entering his junior year at the University of Kansas. He is majoring in sociology with a minor in peace and conflict studies. In the fall, Adam will be entering the McNair Scholars Program and hopes to one day obtain a PhD in sociology. Before coming to the University of Kansas, Adam spent four years in the United States Marine Corps and did two tours of duty in Iraq. His experiences overseas are a major part of his passion for developing impoverished areas. Adam is married and has an 8-month-old son, Joshua.

Miya Sommers is a first-year student at the University of California-Santa Barbara and is double-majoring in global studies and cultural anthropology. Growing up, she dreamed about joining the Peace Corps. Upon entering college, her desire to combat poverty on a global scale focused her interests into sustainable development, with a special focus on agriculture and the environment. She desires a world where all people have enough to eat while still preserving the beauty of our planet. When not dreaming up ways to save the world, Miya loves to do Polynesian dance, wrestle, or watch Doctor Who. She is excited about bringing Nourish to her campus and can't wait to watch it grow.

Victoria Delgado is a sophomore at Rice University in Houston, Texas, studying economics and Hispanic studies. Overwhelmed by the number of different clubs and organizations on her campus, she stumbled upon Nourish International and was inspired to start her own chapter.  She is confident that her campus will embrace Nourish’s message and is thrilled to be a stitch in the fabric of the movement to eradicate global poverty. In her free time, she enjoys spending time at the gym, sharing movies and music with her friends, and trying desperately to teach her German Shepherd new tricks. She ultimately wants to spend several years abroad working with the Peace Corps after graduation. Victoria is excited that Nourish will help her acquire skills that will facilitate success in future humanitarian work.

Adrienne Mael is a graduate student at the University of South Florida working on a degree in applied anthropology. Her passions include international development and working side-by-side with local communities to create sustainable change. Before she started graduate school, Adrienne worked for an international volunteer organization, which sparked her interested in development from the perspective of the volunteer. Her current research is on volunteer satisfaction and retention. Adrienne has been lucky to travel to West Africa and Central America, where she worked on development projects with schools, orphanages, and women’s empowerment movements. Adrienne is excited to be working with Nourish International and starting on a new international development project.

Nourish wouldn't be able to expand and reach out to students on university campuses across the US without the help of its Chapter Founders team. They work hard to broadcast news about Nourish's model and find schools that have the perfect combination of motivated students and resources that align to form a successful Chapter.

Tara Seshan is on the Chapter Founders team, but she's no newcomer when it comes to Nourish. As a Freshman, she was a Freshman Executive Officer (FEO) at the UNC Chapter and loved it, saying that the "infectious spirit of innovation and push for student-led change" really moved her. She then became the Ventures Director at UNC and was in awe "of the deep and complex thinking that Nourish encouraged of its students." Tara then moved from the UNC Chapter to the National Office, working as the Special Projects Intern and heading the "Give the Gift of Nourish" card campaign. This semester, she is on the Chapter Founders team, doing more marketing-focused work and utilizing graphic design and multimedia to reach out to potential chapters.

"Nourish was built by students for students, and we realize that social media is the perfect way to spread the movement from the ground up. We use Facebook, Twitter, Blog Posts, Videos, and other outlets to directly communicate with students who share our passion and give momentum to Nourish International."

Tara loves being on the Chapter Founders team because she believes that in order for Nourish to have the greatest impact, there need to be Chapters on university campuses everywhere. "We have the potential to make a huge difference in the world, and the more students we have working together, the better." It's clear that Tara is passionate about Nourish. Her favorite part of her current role is talking to prospective Chapter Founders, communicating how much she loves Nourish and seeing that same spark in them. "The more innovative and interested Nourish students are, the more success we will see at the Chapter level!"

The Chapter Founders team seeks out quality students who are passionate about the mission of Nourish and who can be true leaders, bringing students together to be a part of the youth movement. Tara believes that there are many schools who could benefit from having a Nourish Chapter and is excited when she comes across schools who are not yet a part of the Nourish network, as it's a great opportunity to harnass the passion of those students and create sustainable impact.

Check out the Chapter Founders video that Tara created, and click here to find out more and apply to start a Nourish Chapter.

NOURISH INTERNATIONAL SEEKS APPLICATIONS FOR ITS SPRING 2011 INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR THE FOLLOWING POSITION:

Chapter Founders Team Member

Commitment: 10 hours a week

Skills needed: The ideal candidate will possess strong communication skills, motivation, and creativity. The ability to thrive in a team environment is a must!

Description: Chapter Founders Team Members will be integral to the expansion of Nourish International model to other universities throughout the country. Team Members will contact faculty and staff from chosen target universities to publicize our program. They will also market the program using existing connections with current chapters. Additionally, the Chapter Founders team will support student recruits while guiding them through the application process.

Strengths developed: Chapter Founders Team Members will have the opportunity to strengthen the following skills:

-        Relationship building

-        Time management

-        Verbal communication

-        Written communication

Positions available: 4

ABOUT THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Interns work closely with full-time Nourish staff to expand and strengthen the organization’s capacity to deliver upon its mission to eradicate poverty by engaging students and empowering communities.

Positions are for the National Office of Nourish International (not the UNC Chapter), which is located at 133 ½ E. Franklin Street, suite 105, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (between ColdStone and Bank of America).

APPLICATION PROCESS

Candidates must be enrolled in or have completed a four year degree program.  Nourish International is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on items such as race, gender or sexual orientation.

To apply, send a resume and cover letter to allie.treske@nourishinternational.org by Monday, November 29th at 5:00pm. Please include a statement describing why you would be a good fit for this role and how this position fits into your larger career trajectory and values. Internships are unpaid opportunities to support transformative work and gain professional experience working on a high performing team of changemakers.

ABOUT NOURISH INTERNATIONAL

Nourish International is one of the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative's earliest success stories. Founded at UNC as "Hunger Lunch" in 2003 by Sindhura Citineni, Nourish International received inspiration and assistance from CEI's programs and community to develop into a nonprofit venture. It incorporated in 2006 as a 501(c)3 nonprofit focused on eradicating poverty worldwide. Nourish now works with students on around 25 campuses in the United States. This summer, Nourish sent 65 students to work on community development projects with partners in 11 communities worldwide. In 2008, Nourish received the North Carolina Peace Prize for excellence in cross-cultural solutions and sustainable development. For more information, visit www.nourishinternational.org

Nourish is proud to welcome Felicia Alexander of the University of New Mexico to its Chapter Founders Program. Felicia is one of the two students to be accepted to the Program after its first cycle. She is a rising sophomore, majoring in Anthropology and Spanish with a minor in Sociology. She is also part of the UNM Honors Program and works as an intern at Sandia National Laboratories in the department of International Biological Threat Reduction. She is very excited about becoming part of the Nourish team and raising awareness of global poverty issues on her campus. Felicia thinks that the active and diverse community and student body at UNM will be conducive to spreading Nourish's mission as it has been for other organizations at campus.

We look forward to working with Felicia to promote social awareness on her campus.

If you are interested in being a Chapter Founder like Noreen, click here to finish your application!

Don't forget that the application deadline is Sunday, April 19th, at 11:59 PM EST!

If you have any questions, please feel free to call us at 919-747-3642, or email us at chapter.founders@nourishinternational.org.

Last Saturday marked the first deadline for Nourish’s 2009 Chapter Founders selection process.  In the months of January and February alone, we received 32 applications from students across the United States.  Applicants represented a wide range of universities, including Brown, Cornell, Georgetown, NYU, UPenn, Vanderbilt, Chicago, and many others.  In the coming weeks, these students will participate in a series of interviews before the newest group of Chapter Founders are selected to begin Nourish chapters.

Since the beginning of the selection process in January of this year, 264 interested students have begun Chapter Founder applications—a number that is expected to grow as the second and final deadline of April 19th approaches.  Ten to twelve students will ultimately be chosen to receive 500 dollars in startup capital, the opportunity to attend Nourish’s annual Summer Institute in Chapel Hill this August, and professional training and support throughout the year as they return to their campuses and begin their chapters during the 2009-2010 academic year.

If you or anyone you know are interested in applying, you can go here to tell a friend, and you can also visit our Chapter Founders page to start an application today!

I write to you today to notify you of my resignation from Nourish International, effective November 20^th. I will step down as Executive Director of Nourish International, to be replaced by James Dillard. Below, I will explain the reasoning for the decision (and why I’m excited about it), what’s next for me, and what this means for Nourish.

The decision was based on two primary factors. First, my greatest skill is to lend traction to ideas when they are first born. I am happiest working on new programs and initiatives, and it is where I can be most helpful. My job was to build a team and give Nourish legs. With 23 universities and more than 300 active members, this job has been done. Second, small nonprofits are dangerously prone to a trap called Founder’s Syndrome, in which a company and its founder cling to each other. A company with Founder’s Syndrome struggles to embrace new ideas, and is less able to adapt in a rapidly changing world. I am proud that our organization is bucking this trend. Bringing in new leaders brings new ideas and innovation. And we have a lot of innovating to do! In particular, Nourish requires a hefty amount of thought around long term sustainability, international projects preparation, venture profitability and student voice.

These tasks will now be passed on to the very talented James Dillard, who has worked with Nourish since January 2007, and served as Assistant Director for the past six months. I am fully confident in James’ ability to mold Nourish into the movement we dreamed of in 2005. I cannot say enough good things about him, and I encourage you to read his letter below. His vision for the organization aligns with the one we formed when we founded Nourish in 2005, and I can’t wait to see him actualize it.

As for me, I plan to stay in the field of international development, and global poverty will be something I work on for the rest of my life. All of the job opportunities I am considering have a social purpose or international focus (hopefully I can find one with both!). After working for a year or two, I expect to enter business school either in 2009 or 2010 to continue my journey as a student of social entrepreneurship, leadership and international development.

Nourish has been the most wonderful, fiercely challenging, foundation-shaking force in my life, and that was only made possible by the people who got me involved and kept me involved. That means you. Together, we have supported 14 community development projects in 11 countries, sent 86 students abroad, created a world class training institute and have inspired 23 campuses in our shared vision. The outlook from here is bright.

Through our efforts, we have the potential to capture a generation, and in so doing produce a culture shift on a scale that will produce a connected global north and south. 23 campuses is a good start, but there is great distance to travel and we’ll need your help. Read what James has to say. He’s good. Really good.

Sincerely,

Joel

This year's Chapter Founders Selection Process is complete! When the dust settled on April 11th, 67 students from 25 colleges and universities had applied to start Nourish Chapters on their campus. After a rigorous review process, we selected 31 of them from 19 different universities to found Chapters on their campus.

These students will receive $500 in seed money, professional training at the Summer Institute and support throughout the year as they found an organization on their campus capable of investing thousands of dollars a year in sustainable, anti-poverty projects.

We couldn't be more excited to work with these students -- even our team was impressed by their individual talents, enthusiasm and passion for supporting local poverty solutions. Check out the full list of Founders by institution after the jump and keep an eye out for those names this year -- we expect great things!

Note: If you're interested in supporting a team of energetic and talented students at one of the campuses below, please send an email to info@nourishinternaitonal.org.

Keep reading...

Funding and implementing a sustainable development project is no easy task.  Motivating your peers on a college campus to do it can be even harder.  Last year, we held a Leadership Development Conference to better prepare our Chapter Leaders for the challenges that lay ahead of them.  It was fun, so this year we decided to do it again -- but not before we made some changes.

This years Summer Institute, which will run August 8-12, will be a souped up version of last year's LDC.  With more time to work with, we'll be going into even more detail about how to run a chapter and the history of global development - not to mention, more inspirational speakers and more time to network.

To get more information about the Summer Institute go to http://www.nourishinternational.org/institute.  For more information about how you help make the institute a success, send an email to info@nourishinternational.org.