Participant of the Week: Elise Machiele

Thanks to the hard-working students and volunteers who continue to spread WILL WORK FOR FOOD’s purpose across the nation, we’ve been able to watch the initiative really grow. Last week, Elise Machiele – a junior at Huron High School in Ann Arbor, MI – was our 1,000th worker to sign up. To commemorate this milestone, Elise has been named this week’s “Participant of the Week.” We wanted to get to know her a little bit better so without further ado, let’s meet Elise:

Q: What kinds of clubs or teams are you a part of?
A: I’m on the women's cross-country team and in charge of the Huron Cycling Club, a club where we go bike riding every Saturday afternoon. I’m also in my school’s choir and an a cappella girls singing group.

Q: What are your favorite hobbies?
A: Bike riding and creating art.

Q: What’s a cool trip you’ve been on recently?
A: This past summer I went on a mission trip to Belize with my church.

Q: What kind of career are you interested in?
A: I’m not sure what I want to do when I grow up yet, but I'm thinking about careers in either medicine, engineering, or art.

Q: How did you hear about WILL WORK FOR FOOD?
A: I heard about WILL WORK FOR FOOD from the other students at my school who are also involved in the organization.

Q: What was it about WILL WORK FOR FOOD that caught your attention? Why did you decide to join this work effort?
A: I feel like WILL WORK FOR FOOD is an organization that was started for all the right reasons, and it really does what it sets out to do: fight child malnutrition through the work efforts of local volunteers. It seemed like a really good way to make an impact globally while helping my community at the same time.


If you want to know every time WILL WORK FOR FOOD posts something new to our blog, email willworkforfoodblog@gmail.com with the subject line "Sign me up."

High Five from WILL WORK FOR FOOD: Schools with the most registered

Here's your weekly High Five from WILL WORK FOR FOOD, featuring the Top 5 Schools in terms of student and group registration!

If you are a student at one of these five schools and are interested in joining WILL WORK FOR FOOD on your campus, or if you are interested in sponsoring volunteers from any of these schools, click the schools' names below to check out their profile on the WWFF network.

1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI:  349 students registered

2. Andrew P. Hill High School, San Jose, CA:  22 students registered

3. University of Texas, Austin, TX:  18 students registered

4. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC:  17 students registered

5. Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, OH:  16 students registered

Congratulations to this week's High Five schools for getting involved with WILL WORK FOR FOOD. We'd also like to give a shout out to our two runner-up schools, Harvard University and East Grand Rapids High School.

Go to www.willworkforfood.org to get involved on your campus and help your school make it to the weekly High Five!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: first installment

In our “Food For Thought” posts, we’ll share a new fact with you every week. We’ll follow these facts up with some extra information and also break them down for you in order to put things in perspective.

“The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are currently 20 million young children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.”

This means that around the world, 20 million children--more than twice the population of New York City--are suffering like this child:



Severe acute malnutrition is a serious epidemic that is often confused with hunger. Hunger is a lack of calories while malnutrition is characterized by a lack of essential nutrients that the body needs to survive. Severe acute malnutrition is associated with weakened mental and physical development and leads to the death of 3.5-5 million children per year.

Severe acute malnutrition is often referred to as the “Silent Killer” in the international aid community because it doesn’t receive the attention it deserves. Fortunately, the disease is very treatable when given the proper attention. WILL WORK FOR FOOD is dedicated to bringing awareness to this matter and working to save severely malnourished children.

One hundred percent of the money we raise together will help Doctors Without Borders purchase and distribute nutritional supplements, like Plumpy’nut, to help save malnourished children. For now, the money raised will help save children in Darfur, where 1 in 7 kids are severely malnourished.

Together we can fight the Silent Killer and bring attention to the malnutrition crises. Visit the Get Involved page to learn more about how you can help.

Birthday Shout Out

We’d like to wish a very happy birthday to Mike Paulsen, a leading member of our marketing team. Mike is in his last year at the University of Michigan where he has already finished his business degree and is currently wrapping up his biochemistry major and premed classes.

At the Business School, Mike studied marketing and operations and has held positions with Apple and Unilever. He was able to use the skills he gained from these experiences to help design our logo and some of our marketing materials that you’ll be seeing more of soon.

After graduation, Mike plans to head to medical school and pursue a career as a trauma surgeon.

Mike originally got involved with WILL WORK FOR FOOD because he believed in the initiative’s potential to fight child malnutrition, a completely preventable tragedy.
Happy birthday Mike!

Event Highlight: Piedmont Wildlife Center Project at University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill

On Saturday, November 21, the WILL WORK FOR FOOD team at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill kicked off their most successful event yet: the Piedmont Wildlife Center Project. The group of UNC students spent the day helping out around the center and, with the sponsorship support of their families and friends, raised nearly $400.

Peter Helvie and Ben Vollmer, our Campus Reps for UNC, wanted to bring WILL WORK FOR FOOD to their campus because they like how the initiative approaches a global problem differently than other organizations. “I like WILL WORK FOR FOOD because a lot of organizations are just about raising money to help foreign crises. With WILL WORK FOR FOOD I’m able to do this by fundraising to fight child malnutrition abroad and at the same time I can also do something to help my immediate community.”

Peter and Ben expect WILL WORK FOR FOOD to continue to grow and be successful at UNC-Chapel Hill thanks to all of the motivated, enthusiastic students on campus. “After hearing about WILL WORK FOR FOOD’s cause, many students who were already involved in community service were completely sold and immediately went to the WILL WORK FOR FOOD website to sign up and make their profiles,” said Peter.

Keep up the great work UNC!

WILL WORK FOR FOOD gives thanks

We hope you're having a nice Thanksgiving break. In the spirit of the holiday, we encourage you to take a minute to think about just how much we have to be thankful for in our lives.

Being able to enjoy a delicious meal in the company of family and friends is a privilege that millions of severely malnourished kids around the world lack. If you haven’t had a chance yet, you can watch our video (below) to get a sense of just how badly these kids need our help.

WILL WORK FOR FOOD has a great deal to be thankful for over the past year. First and foremost, our 993 participants that have volunteered in their local communities and their friends and family that have sponsored this work with generous donations that help us fight child malnutrition abroad.

We’ve also been fortunate enough to gain some powerful support over the past year. Last fall Google awarded us one of their online marketing grants worth the equivalent of $10,000 per month in advertising. In February we were recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative for Universities and traveled to Austin, Texas to present WILL WORK FOR FOOD to students from around the world. In the spring we were chosen as an International Semifinalist in the Dell Social Innovation Competition and we currently have over 30 passionate Campus Reps bringing WILL WORK FOR FOOD to their respective schools around the country. And of course, none of this would have been possible without our Principle Contributors that have funded our work.

During this holiday season there are an increasing number of people that have less and need more. Local thrift stores are challenged to keep items on their racks and soup kitchens have lines out the door. To make matters a bit more daunting, child malnutrition in other regions of the world is expected to drastically increase as funding for international aid programs are cut.

So rather than thinking about what we might need or want during the holidays, we encourage everyone to enjoy and appreciate all that we have. And if you have a little extra that you can spare--whether it’s time to volunteer, money to donate, or any other resources--we'd love to have your continued support.

Thanks and have a great holiday.

High Five From WILL WORK FOR FOOD: first installment

On our new blog, we’re going to be giving readers a “high five” every week. Think of it as our take on a Top Ten list--half the reading and twice the punch. We’ll give you our five favorites for all types of topics: community service ideas, the top schools involved in WWFF, fund-raising ideas, newest participants, etc. We’ll also give you a look into the WILL WORK FOR FOOD Team from time to time with our five favorite bands or movies at the moment.

We figured that we’d start on a bit of a more serious seasonal note. As Thanksgiving quickly approaches, we are often reminded how much we take for granted and how important it is to give back to our communities. Below are five suggestions for how you can help those in need in your community and make this Thanksgiving a bit more meaningful.

1. Volunteer at a local soup kitchen.

2. Collect canned food in your neighborhood with some friends and donate it to a local food bank.

3. Check out your closet to see if you have any clothes, coats, hats or gloves that you could pass on to the Salvation Army or local thrift store.

4. Rake leaves for an elderly neighbor.

5, Donate any books you’ve already read or gently used appliances to a local shelter.

Group Highlight: University of Michigan Circle K

Circle K is a service organization that provides a wide variety of service opportunities to college students interested in volunteering. There are Circle K chapters around the world, and the University of Michigan is fortunate enough to have one of the largest and most active chapters.

On Saturday, November 14th, the University of Michigan's Circle K chapter partnered with WILL WORK FOR FOOD for “Circle K Service Day,” a volunteer event in which participants had the opportunity to spend the entire day working together on a variety of service projects.

Projects included:
-A food drive that collected 759 pounds of food.
-Planting trees in Detroit.
-Sending letters to sick kids through the Make-a-Child-Smile organization.
-Making blankets for veterans.
-Serving lunch at a nursing home.

The Numbers:
-1,536 dollars raised by Service Day volunteers for WILL WORK FOR FOOD.
-397 people volunteered throughout the day.
-77 different projects throughout campus and the Ann Arbor community.
-2,004.5 hours of service provided to the community.

“Service Day was definitely one of our most successful projects,” said Alli Schaffner, Circle K’s Vice President. Since Circle K is already involved in local volunteering, Schaffner said “partnering with WILL WORK FOR FOOD was really easy. It’s really a great organization to collaborate with. We’re definitely looking forward to working with them more in the future.”

Circle K decided to get involved with WILL WORK FOR FOOD because they knew child malnutrition is “an important cause that motivated Circle K members. It is such a large problem globally and an issue that everyone should definitely be more aware of,” said Schaffner.

Great work, Circle K! Thanks for getting involved.

Campus Rep Birthday Shout Out

We'd like to wish a very happy birthday to Ellice Tan, our University of Texas Campus Rep.

Ellice is a Sophomore at UT, where she's majoring in Chemistry and taking pre-pharmacy classes. She also plays on the women's lacrosse team and has an impressively diverse taste in music (everything from the Beatles to Girl Talk to Tchaikovsky).

Ellice originally decided to help spread WILL WORK FOR FOOD to UT "because of the unique model that allows students to have impact on their own communities while fighting child malnutrition abroad."

Ellice has already introduced the WILL WORK FOR FOOD initiative to dozens of students at the University of Texas where they have raised nearly $300 in the past month.

Check out the University of Texas group page to find out more about Ellice's work so far.

Thanks for helping us spread WILL WORK FOR FOOD to UT, Ellice! Have a great Birthday!

Participant of the Week: Dan Friedman

WILL WORK FOR FOOD aims to stimulate local community service while raising relief funds to fight child malnutrition.

Dan is a freshman at the University of Michigan from Cross River, New York. He is a business school hopeful and an active member on the Circle K fundraising committee, a local service organization in Ann Arbor.

Q: What else are you involved in?
A: I'm a pledge for Sigma Pi fraternity and a member of Jewish Greek Council through University of Michigan Hillel. I'm also the Director of Marketing and a contributor for ThaGoodLifeReviews.com, a hip-hop music blog. I got to interview Mike Posner for it.

Q: What’s your favorite song?
A: My favorite song is “Up Up & Away” by Kid Cudi.

Q: Tell us something interesting or unique that you’ve done.
A: I used to play for my high school's ultimate frisbee team. Our team, John Jay Air Raid, finished 2nd in the New York State Ultimate Frisbee Tournament.

Q: What are your career plans?
A: My career plans, for now, are to succeed in my academics, make a difference in the Ann Arbor community, and have fun at the same time.

Q: How did you find out about WILL WORK FOR FOOD?
A: I heard about WILL WORK FOR FOOD from my Circle K fundraising committee chairwoman. She's a great leader and highlighted this opportunity to raise money for a worthy cause.

At first, I was unaware of what WILL WORK FOR FOOD was. After reading through the website, I'm happy to be raising money through my local volunteer work and helping a greater cause on the other side of the world.

Q: What specifically are you doing for your work effort?
A: For my work effort, I'm volunteering at Circle K Service Day in which our organization at the University of Michigan organizes 24 hours of service projects that are open to all UofM students to participate in. We’ll volunteer for a variety of causes all around Ann Arbor.

Q: How have you found sponsors and raised money so far?
A: I have raised my money by sending emails to my close friends and family. I personalized the emails to mention my own opinion about the importance of this cause and my relationship with the friends and family.

Q: Why are you interested in helping and participating in WILL WORK FOR FOOD?
A: I really like that one-hundred percent of the money raised helps your affiliate organization, Doctors Without Borders, purchase and distribute nutritional supplements to severely malnourished children. I've read in the news that child malnutrition is a large problem globally and I was excited that I found a direct way to help raise money for such a worthy cause.

Q: If you could describe WILL WORK FOR FOOD in one word, what would it be?
A: Service.

Why isn't WILL WORK FOR FOOD on my campus?

WILL WORK FOR FOOD is currently on twenty-two high school and college campuses across the US, including the University of Michigan, Northwestern, Indiana University, the University of Texas, and UNC.

Our current "campus outreach" initiative aims to extend WILL WORK FOR FOOD to at least fifty more high school and college campuses by the end of 2009 with the help of newly recruited campus representatives. WWFF campus reps represent WILL WORK FOR FOOD and the “volunteering locally to save children globally” initiative on their own campuses.

WWFF reps make their own schedules and goals in order to promote WILL WORK FOR FOOD and to motivate their peers. They work with classes, clubs, teams and school faculty to increase awareness, promote local community service, and raise money to help save severely malnourished children in Darfur.

If you're interested in becoming a campus representative and want to bring WILL WORK FOR FOOD to your high school or college campus, email willworkforfoodnow@gmail.com. Send your name, phone number, and the name of the school where you want to bring WILL WORK FOR FOOD!

WILL WORK FOR FOOD video update from CEO Steve Weinberg

Volunteer Spotlight: Stephanie Stahl

Stephanie Stahl was first introduced to WILL WORK FOR FOOD at a Doctors Without Borders lecture that WILL WORK FOR FOOD hosted in Ann Arbor last February. Stahl was initially attracted to WILL WORK FOR FOOD because of its flexibility.

“I have a tight schedule that can vary somewhat from week to week, so it's nice to be able to schedule my own service efforts around the time that I have available,” said Stahl. Stahl’s work efforts include serving on the Child Abuse Prevention Council of Livingston County and working on a knitting collection to donate to a local charity.

“I've found that a lot of people have good intentions about making a donation but never get around to it,” says Stahl. She contacted her family and friends, asking them to sponsor her work with a donation to WILL WORK FOR FOOD. Her service efforts inspired her family and friends to donate over $600.

Stahl graduated with a BBA in Finance from Western Michigan University and recently completed a second bachelor's degree in Biology at the University of Michigan in August 2009. She hopes one day to have a career in health care.

Why peanut butter can save children in Darfur and how we can help

Out of a population of 6 million people in Darfur, 5 million people are dependent on humanitarian aid to survive. But with a problem this large, how can you make a difference?

The WILL WORK FOR FOOD initiative devotes our effort toward one particular part of the crisis in Darfur--child malnutrition. We do this by helping Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) purchase and distribute life-saving nutritional supplements to malnourished children.

Child malnutrition rates in Darfur have exceeded the United Nation's emergency threshold of 15%. Children under the age of 5 who do not receive the necessary nutrient-rich diet will begin to consume their own tissue to survive, resulting in permanent developmental disabilities or death.

But the innovation of new ready-to-use food sources (RFSs) can significantly reduce malnutrition rates. WILL WORK FOR FOOD donates to MSF to aid in the distribution Plumpy'nut, an inexpensive, peanut-based RFS, to severely malnourished children in Darfur.

Plumpy'nut is a fortified paste that contains a balance of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, and minerals to help severely malnourished children gain weight rapidly. While previous milk-based formulas offered only a 25-40% chance of recovery for acutely malnourished children, Plumpy'nut has an 80-95% recovery rate. Plumpy'nut can be prepared locally since it doesn't require water or refrigeration--and it has a shelf life of over two years.

WILL WORK FOR FOOD participants ask friends and family to sponsor their local community service work with a donation. 100% of the money raised will help get Plumpy'nut to children suffering in Darfur.

How will you WORK FOR FOOD?

Vote for the new WILL WORK FOR FOOD logo

Please vote in our open poll to decide the new WILL WORK FOR FOOD logo! Comments and suggestions are welcome.

Tell your friends to vote, too! http://tinyurl.com/wwffsurvey