National Office Blog

The Nourish staff would like to invite you all to the 7th Annual Global Health and Innovation Conference presented by Unite For Sight taking place from Saturday, April 17 through Sunday April 18, 2010 at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
This conference is a great opportunity for students and professionals to convene in one place to discuss global health and international development, public health, medicine, social entrepreneurship, nonprofits, philanthropy, microfinance, human rights, anthropology, health policy, advocacy, public service, environmental health, and education. Last year, the conference drew over 2,200 students and professionals from 55 countries! Two hundred speakers are scheduled, including New York Times Bestselling Author Seth Godin, CEO of Acumen Fund Jacqueline Novogratz, Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Health Coordinator of the Millennium Village Project Sonia Sachs. In addition to speakers, CEOs of many influential companies such as Save The Children, Partners in Health and Doctors Without Borders will be holding social innovation sessions.
Do you have an innovative idea or a new program in development? If so, you are encouraged to submit a pitch for presentation at the conference! GH/Innovate 2010 will include special sessions in which selected participants will present their new idea or program-in-development in a 5-minute social enterprise pitch. This will provide participants with an opportunity to formulate and present their idea, collaborate with others interested in their idea, and receive feedback and ideas from other conference participants. Complete details about submitting a social enterprise pitch online at http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference/social-enterprise-pitch.
For more details on the conference, and to register, visit http://www.uniteforsight.org/conference.
Below is a list of a few of the keynote speakers who will attend the Global Health and Innovation Conference.
"Using The Power of Stories and Tribes to Spread Your Messages and Change The World," Seth Godin, MBA, Agent of Change; New York Times Bestselling Author of Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us; Founder, Squidoo.com
Jacqueline Novogratz, MBA, Founder and CEO, Acumen Fund
Jeffrey Sachs, PhD, Director of Earth Institute at Columbia University; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University; Special Advisor to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon
Sonia Ehrlich Sachs, MD, MPH, Health Coordinator, Millennium Village Project
Gene Falk, Co-Founder, Executive Director, mothers2mothers
"Franchising Healthcare in Africa," Scott Hillstrom, Chairman of the Board, CEO and Co-Founder, HealthStore Foundation
"At The Intersection of Money and Meaning," Kevin Jones, Co-Founder, Good Capital
"Creating Viable Enterprises For The Base of the Pyramid," Ted London, PhD, Senior Research Fellow; Director, Base of the Pyramid Initiative, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan
"From Ideas To Action Workshop: Creating Viable Enterprises For The Base of the Pyramid," Ted London, PhD, Senior Research Fellow; Director, Base of the Pyramid Initiative, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan
"Doing More With Less," Nancy Lublin, CEO, Do Something
And many, many more!

This past fall, Nourish's Stanford University chapter ran the Stanford Thrift Sale, which turned out to be one of the most successful ventures ever run by a Nourish International chapter!

For this venture, Stanford University’s chapter members went around to dorms, laundry rooms, and the broader Palo Alto Community to collect donations of used or unwanted clothing. They then sorted and priced the clothing during weekly meetings and sold them in a huge yard sale in the quad on campus. The chapter's hard work paid off- the sale raised around $750, drawing around 100 to 200 customers! Additionally, because the Stanford Thrift Sale venture incurred no start-up costs for this project, they were able to direct all profits towards their summer 2010 project. The chapter was also able to use the sale to increase community awareness of Nourish's goals to help eradicate global poverty and promote sustainable development by putting up posters with information about the chapter's previous work in Ecuador.

Nourish's National Board met on 1/14. Here's some of the important happenings:

New Board Members:

• Lee Buck, an Entrepreneur in the Raleigh Durham area joined the National Board. He will be serving a two year term.
• Pallavi Garg, from the University of Texas at Austin joined the Board as Nourish's first student-board member. She will be serving a one year term.

Committees and Task Forces

• The Board Recruitment Committee, led by Joel Thomas, is preparing "job descriptions" for new potential board members, as well as a Board Rotation Plan.
• The Metrics Task Force, led by Marcia Angle, is working with the staff to make headway towards providing preliminary metrics for Chapters and Project leaders.
• Pallavi Garg will be launching a Nourish Alumni Committee for the purpose of collecting and organizing our alumni's information and beginning a discussion on ways to keep them involved with Nourish's mission.

For the Budget

• The Give the Gift of Nourish Campaign was a huge success, raising over $6,000.
• In December, the Park Foundation chose to support the National Office with a grant — exciting!

Nourish's University of Pennsylvania chapter has selected their 2010 summer project! They will be working with an organization in Uganda called NACWOLA, the National Community of Women Living with AIDS. The participants will be assisting them in setting up a Paper-Making business and training a group of 10 women on the skills required, who will further train hundreds of other women in NACWOLA's 60,000+ network. This paper will further be used to create Memory Books which assist these women in communicating their HIV positive status to their children and help the children to cope with the prospect of losing a parent.

Danielle Berfond, UPenn's chapter leader, expressed the chapter's reasons for picking this project. "We are very excited to work on this project because of its ability to impact such a large group of people, as it not only provides jobs and thus income for women living with AIDS, but also has the potential to impact their childrens' lives and educate them on the disease. We are looking forward to watching the entire process of starting the business and trainings, as part of our work with them will involve documenting the process both for further trainings and future marketing materials. And we are especially excited to go into the communities later into the project and start taking pictures and writing down the stories for women who are illiterate. The future potential for the business itself, in perhaps selling to US scrapbooking groups or using the paper for other products in the region, makes us believe that we are contributing seed money to a scalable, successful business idea as well as generating huge social impact."

This Tuesday, February 2nd 2010, the Triangle Professionals are hosting a networking event! This is a great opportunity to meet and chat with the area’s successful business people. Triangle Professionals are holding the event in support Nourish and will be accepting donations at the door. The event will held from 6-8 p.m. at the West End Wine Bar in Durham, NC. For more information and to RSVP, visit http://www.triangleprofessionals.com/rsvp-form/

In response to the January 12th earthquake in Haiti, Nourish’s chapter at UNC-Chapel Hill held a special fundraiser dedicated to providing relief.

Through their January 20th Hunger Lunch, selling rice, beans and corn bread, and also thanks to contributions from the Campus Y, the UNC chapter was able to raise $1,966.05.
This Hunger Lunch even made it onto the local Raleigh, NC news program at ABC 11!

The proceeds will be donated directly to Partners In Health, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing modern medical care in Haiti. To check out their website, visit http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti.

Keep up the great work!

We are excited to report that the New Year has brought six fresh, fabulous faces to Nourish International’s National Office! Get to know our Spring 2010 interns and read their bios below!

Allison Taylor: Allison Taylor, while originally from Wisconsin, has spent most of her life in the state of North Carolina. A senior at UNC-Chapel Hill, she is a Spanish and Political Science double major. Allison has traveled to Latin America and Spain multiple times. She has done humanitarian work close to home, working with refugees through World Relief, and abroad, working with the impoverished in Ecuador through Happy Feet.

Amanda Conklin: Amanda Conklin is the Chapter Coordinator Intern at Nourish. She is a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill and is majoring in International Studies. She is also involved with Student Government, Millennium Village Project, and Model United Nations on campus. After graduation, she would like to pursue a career with the Foreign Service sector of the State Department.

Emily Pearce: Emily is currently a freshman at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is excited to participate in Nourish International as a PR intern. She graduated high school in her hometown of Long Beach, California with a particularly strong interest in exploring sustainability in business- inspired by her AP Environmental Science teacher. While in high school, she studied in Granada, Spain, which sparked her passion for international travel. She plans to major in business and minor in sustainability studies, and use these degrees to help teach rural communities in Spanish speaking countries how to be more prosperous while also being sustainable.

Mallory Smith: Mallory is a senior at North Carolina State University where she studies Spanish and International Relations. Throughout her college career, Mallory has spent time studying in Peru, Prague, and Seville. Last summer she completed an internship in Seville. There, she assisted the immigrant and refugee communities by helping them search for jobs and tutoring them in Spanish. Mallory joined Nourish in January 2010 as an intern.

Max Rose: Max is a junior political science major from Durham, and is the International Projects Coordinator for the spring. He returns this semester from six months in Uruguay, where he studied international relations and
volunteered in microfinance with “Un Techo Para mi Pais”, which works in impoverished neighborhoods throughout Latin America. Prior to the internship, Max worked for two years as a reporter and editor on the city desk at The Daily Tar Heel. He went to Honduras in summer 2008 as part of the Nourish partnership with FIPAH, an organization which works with hill-side farmers.

Sarah Monroe Solomon: Susan is a new intern on the Chapter Founders team. She is a junior Sociology major at UNC-Chapel Hill, with a focus in social entrepreneurship. She co-leads a team of students that will travel to Siguatepeque, Honduras this spring to build a home for a family in need and plans to study abroad in India over the summer. After graduation, Sarah hopes to attend law school to strengthen her global quest for human rights.

Chapter Spotlight—Miami University in Oxford, Ohio

Balancing exams, college classes and extracurriculars can be tough. Throw in eradicating global poverty, and you’ve got more than a full load.

But Nourish International Chapter Leaders Ashley Miller and Sama Alkalaf have figured out how to balance it all, founding and leading their Chapter at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Only in its first year, their Chapter has had great success.

Chapter Beginnings

Sama and Ashley began making plans to start a Nourish Chapter at Miami University in the spring. Throughout the summer, they worked hard to get the paperwork and clearance they needed both from their university and from the Nourish International National Office to gain organizational status.  They designed a logo and held phone conferences with students who were interested in joining.

“I wanted to do something meaningful to me, something that I knew I may not have any other chance in my life to do,” said Sama, about starting a Chapter at Miami.

The girls next formed a strong executive committee of 8 qualified members, and Sama headed to the Summer Institute in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Summer Institute is a 5-day conference that provides Chapter Leaders with the training they will need for a successful year.

“I don’t think I could have started a Chapter without the Summer Institute,” said Sama. “It gave me resources, documents and examples of past Venture successes and failures that were helpful in starting up.”

Entrepreneurship at Work

Now with more than 40 regular attending students at weekly meetings, Miami’s Nourish International Chapter is running full steam ahead. Ashley and Sama decided that the most effective leadership would be to formulate committees amongst their members.

“We wanted to give people ownership of Nourish, so that they would stay involved and keep coming back,” said Sama.

Committees include Awareness, Finance, Ventures, Projects, and Marketing, each with their own set of goals and responsibilities. The Chapter’s Venture Committee has already run three successful ventures.

“Our Ventures Committee consists of 15-20 students who have really stepped up and made this organization,” said Ashley.

The first Venture was a partnership with Coldstone Creamery to hold a buyout night. On the evening of Oct. 22, 30 percent of Coldstone’s proceeds went to support the efforts of the Miami Nourish Chapter and their projects abroad.

A second Miami Venture is Nighttime Nourish, a  spinoff from the popular Hunger Lunch. Students involved in the Miami Chapter sold grilled cheese sandwiches in a high traffic area from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. targeting students on the look out for late night snacks. The Chapter partnered with the university’s Residence Hall Association for food donations, making the Venture proceeds pure profit for the Chapter. Miami already has three more Nighttime Nourish late night meals planned and a partnership with Jimmy John’s for sub sandwiches.

Miami’s most successful Venture was the university’s annual Pledge a Meal event, where university students donate money through their campus meal plan to a local food bank. The Chapter was persistent in their efforts to collaborate with Pledge a Meal to raise awareness about hunger on an international scale. The persistence paid off, and the Chapter was able to raise more than $2,700 from the Pledge a Meal event.

Looking to the Future

Miami University has already accomplished so much in such a short time as a first year Chapter. The Projects committee has begun looking at partner organizations and potential Projects that Miami could fund this summer.  Narrowing it down to their top three choices, they are committed to completing a project in their first year. Two projects are in Guatemala, and one is located in Uganda.

Even with such a full load, Ashley, Sama and the Miami Nourish Chapter are passing this test with flying colors.

Nourish International is seeking interns for its Spring 2010 internship program. Interns will work closely with full-time Nourish staff to expand and perfect Nourish’s model.

Anyone with a high school degree is eligible to apply. To apply, send a resume and cover letter toallie.treske@nourishinternational.org by Wednesday, November 18th by 5:00 pm. Be sure to mention the position for which you are applying. Internships are volunteer experiences.

Applications are to participate with the National Office of Nourish International.  Nourish's UNC Chapter can be contacted by email Jonathan Tarleton at jtt11@email.unc.edu.

A complete list of the positions is available below.

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 works with students on 29 campuses in the United States. This summer, Nourish sent 60 students to work on community development projects with partners in 8 communities world wide. 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

Positions:

PR Coordinator

Commitment: 10 hours a week
Skills needed: Excellent communication skills, organizational and planning skills
Description: This volunteer will work side by side with Nourish staff using social media and publicity campaigns to raise awareness about the organization.  The PR assistant will be given leadership in designing and planning fundraising events.
Positions available: 1

Special Projects Intern

Commitment: 10 hours a week
Skills needed: Strong writing skills, organizational and planning skills
Description: The Special Projects Intern will be in charge of up keeping Nourish databases, and developing an Exit survey. The intern will also be involved in some grant writing.  This position is ideal for people interested in gaining experience in grant writing and non-profit management.

Positions available: 1

International Projects Coordinator

Commitment: 10 hours a week
Skills needed: Strong communication skills, research and organizational abilities
Description: The International Projects Coordinator will work closely with our community partners abroad and student chapters.  They will facilitate plans for the each partnership to implement a sustainable development project in Summer ’10.

Positions available: 1

Chapter Founders Team Members

Commitment: 10 hours a week
Skills needed: Strong communication skills, ability to work closely with others

Description: Chapter Founders Team Members will be integral to the expansion of Nourish International.  They will contact faculty and staff from our target universities to publicize our program.  They will also recruit applicants to our Chapter Founders Program and guide them through the process.

Positions available: 3

Web and Marketing Intern

Commitment: 10 hours a week
Skills needed:

Requirements:

• Solid understanding of HTML concepts, with examples of past projects
• Experience working with CSS and PHP
• Aptitude towards problem solving
• Interest in learning new skills, technologies

Plusses:

• Knowledge of Flash Actionscript and MySQL databases.
• Image processing experience
• Project management experience

Description: The Intern will work closely with nourish staff in assisting with web and graphics projects. This position is ideal for people interested in web design and programming.

Positions available: 1

Chapter Support Intern

Commitment: 10 hours a week
Skills needed: Excellent communication and organizational skills
Description: The Intern will work side-by-side with Nourish staff assisting with chapter support, communicating with student leaders, and developing fundamental chapter documents.

Positions available: 1

This fall, Nourish has five awesome interns that will be working on a variety of projects within the National Office.  We're thrilled to have them working with us. Meet them and read their bios below!

Julie Jenkins- Public Relations Intern: Julie is a senior Journalism and Mass Communications major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  She is also pursuing minor degrees in entrepreneurship and English. She hopes to one day work in the nonprofit sector. Julie currently serves as the Public Relations and Marketing Chair for UNC’s Relay for Life, a yearlong fundraiser benefiting the American Cancer Society.  She began interning with Nourish in January 2009 as a member of the fundraising team and now works as the Public Relations Intern.

Amanda Conklin- Chapter Coordinator Intern: Amanda Conklin is the new Chapter Coordinator Intern at Nourish. She is a sophomore at UNC- Chapel Hill and is majoring in International Studies. She is is also involved with Student Government, Millennium Village Project, and Model United Nations on campus. After graduation, she would like to pursue a career with the Foreign Service sector of the State Department

Allie Treske- Chapter Founders Intern: Allie is the Chapter Founders Intern at Nourish's National Office. Allie joined Nourish in January 2009 and continues to work on recruiting new chapters at universities around the country.  A senior double major in political science and international studies, Allie hopes to continue working in the non-profit sector post graduation.  Outside of Nourish, Allie is involved in a variety of activities, including TA-ing for UNC's Great Decisions Committee and flipping around with UNC's Club Gymnastics Team.

Michelle Rugel- International Projects Intern: Michelle Rugel is a Junior International Studies and Political Science double major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  This year she is one of the Co-chairs for The Millennium Village Project, a student group out of the UNC Campus Y.  She is also co-leading the Latino Issues Alternative Spring Break trip through APPLES, a student-lead program that builds sustainable service learning partnerships between students and communities.  Michelle has been an intern at Nourish International for over a year, working on the Chapter Founders program as well as working with community partners to develop a project database.

Kristin Elliot, Special Projects Intern: Kristin Elliott is serving as Nourish's Special Projects intern. She is a near graduate of UNC-CH's Performance Studies Department and is a local actress and artist.