Check out our new WWFF video highlighting what we do.

Get to Know UNC Chapter Co-Executive Director Persia Homesl

Q: What year are you and what are you studying?

A: Junior studying Biology

Q: How did you become involved with WILL WORK FOR FOOD?

A: I began as a member of Will Work For Food my first year at UNC, and I became more involved as a volunteer coordinator and eventually became the co-executive director of our chapter.

Q: Why did you decide to become on the board for WILL WORK FOR FOOD?

A: I wanted to explore further ways of becoming involved in Will Work For Food and following its mission, and the best way to do this was to be on the board of WWFF.

Q: What kind of work efforts have you organized on your campus?

A: We have had work efforts at Battle Park on campus in which volunteers can help upkeep the land.  Another one of our work efforts takes place at Hope Gardens, a garden where food is grown for others in the community to eat for free.

Q: What else are you involved in at UNC besides WILL WORK FOR FOOD?

A: I am a volunteer Doula at UNC Hospitals and I shadow a physician at the hospital. 

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

A: Selfless.

Q: What is a fun fact about you that not a lot of people know?

A: I love longboarding around campus in my free time!

Get to Know WWFF Founder: Steve Weinberg

Steven Weinberg

Why did you decide to start WWFF?

We wanted to give students a way to address the international crisis of childhood malnutrition while still encouraging them to be involved in their local communities.

How has WWFF changed since you started it?

Our leadership team was much smaller when we started WWFF. I'm excited to see that it has expanded and we've pulled in a lot of talented leaders taking on challenging roles.

Can you describe what work you did in Ethiopia.  Who you worked with, how you found it, etc.

I worked with Dr. Rick Hodes (www.rickhodes.org) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Most of our work was at Mother Teresa's Mission where we ran a safety net clinic taking care of patients who had been turned away from many other hospitals. Dr. Hodes is on the Board of WWFF so when I had some time before starting medical school I knew that I wanted to spend it with him.

How can students who are interested in doing work abroad like you find out about opportunities like this?

Most major colleges and universities will have an international office these days. I think that going through established programs is always a good idea since the roles are defined and infrastructure is in place already. I would be happy to try to set people up with a position at one of the organizations I worked with in Ethiopia.

I know you're in Medical School, what are you studying and planning to do in the future?

So far I am really interested in pediatrics. Perhaps pediatric cardiology. I saw a lot of really sick kids with heart problems in Ethiopia and this definitely sparked my interest.

What advice do you have for University of Michigan students?

There was a Mark Twain quote that I tried to live by while in undergrad - "don't let school interfere with your education." College is unique because you actually have time and resources to explore the things you're interested in. Take advantage of it! Whether it is going to an art museum, working for a nonprofit, or traveling you'll be happy you took the time to do it.

WWFF UNC Successful Event

The WWFF Chapter at UNC had a successful event on November 14th, 2013. 

The UNC chapter set up a room in the Campus Y at UNC's campus for a dialogue.  Three tables were set up: one for discussions about the medical and global aspects of malnutrition, another for discussions about the general background of malnutrition, and a third table with donated food from Mediterranean Deli.  Everyone grabbed a plate of food and the officers dispersed across the two tables that the students split up. 

In the discussion, interesting questions and conversations arose, and one question asked a couple of times was "Don't some of the children have peanut allergies?" Persia Homesley, the Co-Executive Director of the UNC chapter, told the students that a lot of children in other parts of the world don't have peanut allergies like many children in America do.  The students and leaders discussed this topic a bit more, also talking about how our environment shapes who we become.  After about twenty minutes, the students switched over to another table, where Persia discussed with a new group of students along with Ashley, our Volunteer Coordinator, and Emma, the other co-executive director of WWFF.  The event went on for about a total of an hour and a few students stayed after to talk to the different officers while we closed up.  It was great event for educating others more on malnutrition as well as on what Will Work For Food works toward! 

Great job UNC, keep up the great work!

Check out their Facebook Page.  

Q & A

Caroline Logan

Age: 22

Residing in Jerusalem, Israel

Graduated from UM 2013 with dual degree in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies and International Security and Cooperation.

WWFF member from 2009-2013.

Q: Who is your role model?

A: I don’t necessarily have a single role model. In fact, I can think of a hundred people with positive qualities I try to emulate; my mother for her work effort, my father for his sense of humor and humility, my colleagues for their commitment, and most importantly the refugees I work with for their resilience and perseverance.

Q: If you could meet anyone, who would it be and why?

A: I legitimately thought for five minutes about this question and really can’t give you an answer. Frankly, I’m perfectly content meeting the people I do every day. For instance, right now, I’m working on a series of camp resident profiles, where I interview a family or resident in each camp. I hear about their struggles and challenges but also their successes and hopes, I get to sit with them in their homes or shops and listen to them tell me stories of the past, of living through history, and it’s truly remarkable. Meeting these people has probably taught me more than a meeting with some famous person ever could.

Q: What are you doing at this moment in your career path?

A: I’m currently working with UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East) in their West Bank office. I’m working on a variety of projects including community mental health, GBV awareness, and researching and writing profiles for the 19 refugee camps in the West Bank. It’s overall a very rewarding position, with a lot of opportunities to work in the camps and to get a better sense of what life is like for those who live there, which in turn contributes to my quality of work.

Q. What advice do you have to those who aspire the same career goals as you?

A: Go abroad (anywhere outside of Western Europe) for an extended period of time. This is important both to give you the experience of truly understanding and being able to function in a diverse environment, but also to really see if this is the path you want to pursue. Second, I would say it’s absolutely imperative that you learn (and learn well) a second and even third language spoken in the region you are interested in. Linguistic proficiency will open a lot of doors both in a professional and personal sense, and will allow you a lot of opportunities not accessible if you only speak English.

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?

A: What free time? (jokes) I actually volunteer at a center, which provides legal aid for African migrants and refugees in Israel, and I’m working to coordinate the collection, transportation and distribution of material donations for Syrian refugees living in Jordan.

However, on my days off, I really like to go hiking in the Golan and Galilee in the north of the country, or to the Negev in the south. Geographically speaking, Israel and Palestine is very small, but has the diversity of the whole US, so it’s quite nice to be in the desert one day and in green mountains the next.

Q: How did you hear about WILL WORK FOR FOOD?

A: When I was a freshman I was looking for opportunities to get involved in a service organization at UM and I had some older friends who were in WWFF. I joined them on the annual canned food drive and had a great time. Then, when I started to become more involved with the organization, I really saw how much more of an impact I was making my using the WWFF model, and that’s what really attracted me to the organization.

Q. What was your role on WWFF headquarters team?

A: I was the regional manager (college outreach coordinator) on the WWFF headquarters team. My main responsibilities included coordinating the activities of campus chapters nationwide and acting as a liaison between University Representatives and WWFF headquarters in addition to providing training, organizational and logistical support for University Representatives and reaching out to possible new chapters. The position was great for me because I could provide support for new chapters, and thus got to see how each chapter developed and grew over the course of an academic year. It was also great because I could meet and work with students from across the country who had the same goals and vision as we at HQ did.

Q.What was your favorite part of being in WWFF?

A: I really loved how collaborative, open and flexible it was. Especially with my always-overly-confident class schedules, it was nice to be able to volunteer independently and on my own schedule, but also to be able to participate in WWFF sponsored activities when I wanted to. I also loved how well our WWFF team worked together; I really looked forward every week to our meetings both because I always felt like we really accomplished a lot, but also because it was an open space for discussion with people who became really good friends.

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

A: Dedication; it’s really amazing to see how dedicated WWFF members are. Most members have a full schedule of classes, extracurricular activities and even lively social lives, but still manage to find time week after week to work for something bigger than them. That’s dedication.

Get to know WWFF leaders

Silvia Lorenzini - Marketing Chair WWFF Headquarters Team

I'm a Senior in the Ross School of Business, minoring in Program in the Environment. I am also a part of the Graham Sustainability Scholars Program, a small group of students interested in sustainability leadership and practice. I started with Will Work For Food my Sophomore year when I became the University of Michigan Campus Director for the social entrepreneurship company, Two Degrees. By collaborating with the past WWFF Chapter President, Julie Sherbill, I worked to make a partnership between the two organizations. This work initially sparked my interest in social entrepreneurship and the double-bottom line. I first started as the Director of Social Media, working on the facebook page and Twitter. I then took over as Director of Marketing, and I have been working with the WWFF Chapter Reps on their marketing strategies. My current project is a promotional video for the organization.  What truly inspired me to continue my work with WWFF was my work in rural South Africa this summer. I saw the effects of malnourishment on many amazing children, and I became even more motivated to alleviate it.

After graduation, I hope to join organizations like the Peace Corps or Teach for America so I can learn more about the issues I am passionate about. My hope is to use inspiration from this work to start a social venture of my own. I would also like to obtain a dual MBA and MPH (Masters of Public Health) so I can gain a better educational foundation before I begin to grow the venture. Besides my interests in social entrepreneurship and international work, I am a huge musical theater nerd (mostly because of my high school theater experience). I also love music and playing the guitar, and I hope to improve my playing skills when I am a second semester senior. Most importantly, I am a dual US-Italian citizen, and I love anything involving Italy, especially the food!

Furman U. hosts clever fundraiser

Furman University recently hosted one of the most innovative, creative, and most importantly, au natural ways to raise money for our cause: Mustache March for Malnourishment. Pretty witty name, no? We recently interviewed one of the brave men who sported a mustache for the entire month--Zach Greene.

How did you get involved? Why?

In regards to how I got involved with WWFF, my friend Sarah Caldwell (who is the chapter president at Furman) and I had been talking about starting a non-profit organization branch at Furman, and Will Work for Food seemed like a great organization to be affiliated with. Also, our friend from high school Ben Vollmer, who participates in the Will Work for Food chapter in Chapel Hill, had suggested the organization as a great non-profit to be a part of.

What about Furman University makes it a good place for WWFF?

Furman University is comprised of students who are willing and able to invest their time and effort into activities outside of the academic realm, which made the Mustache March for Malnourishment fundraiser easy to manage. It's difficult to generalize, but I'd say Furman students are cognizant of problems that are globally relevant, such as malnourishment, as well as problems that affect our nation specifically, such as widespread hunger. Ultimately, the Furman students who participated in Mustache March for Malnourishment showed the initiative to sacrifice their time in order to raise money in order to help a cause that they felt was of great importance.

Tell us about the work effort. What did you do to make it succeed? How did you market it on campus?

Initially we put flyers up around campus advertising Mustache March for Malnourishment, stating, "Support your favorite mustache" and "Your change makes a change." I felt like getting big donations from college students would be difficult, but "tapping into" their parents and Furman alumni would yield the biggest donations. We spread the word through email to our peers and our professors, and we also made a large poster that we put up in the dining hall with the pictures of the contestants with mustaches. Ideally next year we will get the Furman president Dr. Smolla as well as other Furman faculty members to grow mustaches in support of the fundraiser.

Tell us about the contestants who participated. How did they raise money? Any funny stories?

The contestants who participated were: Dakota Derrick, Zack Houghton, Parth Thakker, Michael Kelly, and myself. I was skeptical all along of my mustache growing abilities, and I knew that some of the other participants would not have my same difficulties. When we came back from spring break, our friend and contestant Parth Thakker already had a much thicker mustache than any of the other participants, and proceeded to tell us that he had already shaved twice for a family wedding. My friend and roommate Michael Kelly had to compete in multiple track events (200m sprinter) with a mustache, so I'm sure that was entertaining for his competitors. Other than constantly being asked if I had lost a bet, or if I was rushing for a frat, or being called "sir" outside of Furman, not too much was different with having a mustache.

Any future plans to raise money for WWFF?

We intend to hold Mustache March for Malnourishment again next year at Furman. Ideally, it will be an intercollegiate competition, each college raising a minimum amount of money between the contestants and then competing for the prestigious award "Best Mustaches in America." This year's fundraiser was quite the learning experience for Michael Kelly, Sarah Caldwell, and I, and I think knowing now what goes into managing a successful fundraiser, we should expect to see a great increase in the amount of donations raised for next year's Mustache March for Malnourishment!

A big thanks to Furman University for this clever idea to raise money and awareness for child malnutrition!

High Five to Lauren Yaffe!

Last week on Monday (1/16/12), Americans across the country observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day. While some spent the day off from work and classes relaxing, others spent the day giving back to the community. Lauren Yaffe falls into the latter group. After hearing about Will Work for Food from her cousin, co-founder Steve Weinberg, Lauren has spent the last four Martin Luther King Jr. Days at the Chicago Cares MLK Jr. Day of Service event. We caught up with Lauren to talk about how she spent her MLK Jr. Day, how she has maintained sponsorship for three years (a difficult feat!), and her advice for those who are interested in Will Work for Food.

Lauren (wearing the Michigan sweatshirt) with fellow volunteers.

What activities did you do for MLK Day this year?

I annually attend the Chicago Cares MLK Jr. Day of Service volunteering event. I have attended the event the last four years and it's a well organized event with lots of volunteers from all over Chicago.Chicago Cares assigns each volunteer to a project each year so you never know what you'll do until the day of the event! This year, I volunteered at an elementary school on the south side of Chicago. The event was open to children and teenagers to participate in activities at the school for most of the day on Saturday Jan 14th. I volunteered with older kids ages 8-14 doing interactive activities throughout the day. We did a "love your neighbor" activity allowing the kids to interact with their peers as well as learn that we are all similar in many ways. We then did a game called the Bully Machine in which we taught kids about bullying and how to respond when they get bullied or if they see a friend or fellow student getting bullied. Cyberbullying is a major issue in schools right now due to Facebook, Twitter and even texting, so it is important to teach kids tolerance and acceptance as well as how to respond if they are being bullied. The last activity allowed the kids to paint their ideas of what symbols of peace look like throughout the world. We glued all the paintings together into a mural that was hung in the school foyer for all the kids to see.

Describe how you have continued your relationship with your sponsors over the years.

I only choose one volunteer event each year to get WWFF sponsorship for. I have decided that a large annual full day volunteer project seems worthy of asking for sponsorship from my friends and family. Plus, it is an annual commitment that I have made to Chicago Cares and WWFF that most of my friends and family recognize. I also make it known that any form of financial support is appreciated and can make an impact on child malnutrition. I also encourage my friends to volunteer with me each year! Each year, I've had 1-2 friends to volunteer with me (usually U of M grads!). When asking for sponsorship/donations, I usually only reach out to friends that I have a strong relationship with. I also like to ask co-workers that I'm close with if I think that they would be passionate about the WWFF cause. Lastly, after the volunteer activity, I write all the sponsors a follow up email sharing with them what volunteer activity I did for the day (with pictures attached) as well as how much they helped to raise in total. I think this email allows the sponsors to feel included in the work effort rather than feel just like a person who donated.

Do you have any advice for those who are interested in Will Work for Food but need ideas or inspiration going forward?

I think that people should volunteer for a cause that they are passionate about. I am passionate about fighting child malnutrition in Africa (I've traveled to Kenya, Morocco, South Africa and Zambia and have seen the living conditions, poverty and lack of clean water) and think the cause is worthy of our support. Also, I enjoy giving back to my community while also making friends. Thus, I often try to volunteer with Chicago Cares activities which has many young professionals. I also enjoy volunteering with University of Michigan alumni to stay connected to my college roots. It's important to be selective in asking for sponsors. If someone chooses to tutor children every other week at a local elementary school, that person could ask for sponsorship for the entire year based on their bi-weekly commitment to serve in the community. I have chosen to partner with WWFF for my annual Chicago Cares MLK Jr. Day of Service.

Lauren, thank you so much for your continued support for Will Work for Food and your philanthropic spirit. We look forward to hearing about your future accomplishments!

__

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter at @willwork4_food

Or "Like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WillWorkForFood.org

High Five to UNC's Troy Homesley!

As as sophomore, Troy Homesley has already made incredible strides towards building the WWFF chapter and morale at UNC Chapel Hill. Check out what he has to say about his role in WWFF and where he finds inspiration!

Tell us about yourself. How did you get involved with WILL WORK FOR FOOD? What you do for the organization?

One of the best experiences during my time at UNC has been the establishment and development of UNC's chapter of WWFF. My freshman year, I was contacted by Ben Vollmer, co-founder of this chapter, and he told me what WWFF was all about. The philosophy behind WWFF intrigued me, it intrigued me because it was something much more than a volunteer organization and had much higher goals than merely raising money. That's when I decided to become involved. One year later, WWFF has received UNC recognition and new members join daily. Today, I also serve as the Chair of the Volunteer, we oversee the development and implementation of weekl Committee y work efforts.

This past summer, I was in India for two months working on an education development project in a local slum area. Through my work in India, I gained a better appreciation for the fact that the work that we do at WWFF has very meaningful and far-reaching effects upon countless human beings. To see the suffering of starving children and families allowed me to understand the dire needs of places such as India, Somalia, the French Horn and other areas around the world. The realization of this need motivated me to come back to campus and do my best to help WWFF help others.

Please describe the event for which you raised money recently. Was this donation expected? How did you feel after receiving such a donation?

Recently, we organized a work effort to help clean up a local park known as Battle Park. We met at the park around 10:00 a.m. and went through to clear out weeds that would otherwise turn the park into a monoculture. This is an event we volunteer at multiple times each year, and something that leaves a tangible difference at the end of the day. I created the work effort and soon I had my first donations rolling in. Not only was I getting donations, but so were others from UNC who had signed up for the work effort. It's a great feeling to know that people are putting their money where their mouth is and literally pledging to support local volunteering and global action simultaneously.

What else do you partake in outside of WWFF?

Outside of WWFF, I am a member of the UNC Attorney General's Staff, a captain of the Carolina Mock Trial Team and a founder of The Sigma Phi Society. I am majoring in Political Science and Philosophy and I hope to attend law school after I complete my undergraduate studies. In the meantime, I pride myself on being a friend of the one and only Ben Vollmer.

List the top 5 places you wish to travel to:

1.) Iran

2.) Turkey

3.) Chile

4.) Nepal

5.) Israel

Many thanks to Troy Homesley, Ben Vollmer, Peter Helvie, Jesse Marques, and everyone else at the WWFF chapter at UNC for continuing to accomplish amazing things. We look forward to hearing about your future efforts!

__

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter at @willwork4_food

Or "Like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WillWorkForFood.org

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."

Drought in Somalia

Did you know that it has been over 100 days since famine was declared in Somalia?

As our goal is to help malnourished children around the globe, the current condition in Somalia is extremely relevant to our cause. This past summer, Somalia experienced one of the worst droughts in 60 years and has caused famine. Tens of thousands of Somalis have died and others have fled to neighboring countries.

How bad really is it?

Between July and September, over 110,000 malnourished children in the region were taken to health centers due to moderate and severe malnutrition.

What is America doing to help?

Aid groups around the country have raised about $60 million from private donors. While this should not be overlooked, it is noticeably lower than the $1.29 billion that we raised for Haiti.

What can you do to help the cause?

Get involved and raise sponsors--“volunteer locally to save children globally!”

Click here to see a video of a three-year-old boy who had severe acute malnutrition, the most extreme kind. He is one of the 336,000 children who suffer from this malnutrition across Somalia. Yet, after two months of treatment with therapeutic foods and medication, he is currently recovering!

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."

Lauren Hasday's Experience in Bogota!

University of Michigan graduate, Lauren Hasday, tells us about her experience living in Bogota and her unbelievable work. She was a very active member of Will Work For Food while she was at Michigan and is continuing her community service in Bogota. We sent her some questions and she was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer them for us. They are below:

1) Who you are, what you are all about, how did you get involved with WILL WORK FOR FOOD, what you do for the organization, anything else cool that you do outside of WWFF?

I just graduated from U-M in April with a degree in Psychology, History and Women’s Studies. I’m originally from Long Island, but I’m living in Bogota, Colombia for the year teaching English, travelling and learning Spanish. I got involved with Will Work for Food my junior year because my friend told me about it and it sounded really interested. I’m really into social responsibility and giving back to the community so I thought WWFF had a really great philosophy reaching out to our local community and the world at large. I started out as a Regional Manager organizing and maintaining relationships with reps from other colleges in the US. I moved on my senior year to be a member of the marketing team helping with some publicity and website stuff and the larger U-M events.

2) What are you currently doing/working on for WWFF?

Right now since I graduated I am just doing some volunteering, I am teaching English to wounded soldiers on an army and a navy battalion in Bogota. We are teaching them English as a marketable skill that could help them get a job in the future. We teach basic conversation and vocabulary that will be useful in their day-to-day lives. It’s a pretty good experience because many of the men I am teaching haven’t had very much formal education and it’s cool to see their progress week-to-week. I immediately thought of WWFF when I got started so I asked Steve if I could get it sponsored so that I could stay connected to the club because I really enjoyed working for WWFF in school.

3) A top five list of a category such as "Favorite Things About Fall," "Favorite Things About Halloween," "Places I'd Like To Visit," "Favorite TV Shows," or any other category that you can think of.

Top Five Places I’d Like to Visit: 1. Cairo 2. Santorini 3. Budapest 4. Jerusalem 5. Abu Dhabi

Lauren, thanks so much for telling us about your experience in Bogota.  We love to hear about the good work our WWFF members are doing around the world!

High Five From WILL WORK FOR FOOD: Elizabeth Watchowski

This installment of the WILL WORK FOR FOOD High Five features Elizabeth Watchowski, a University of Michigan freshman who, back in mid-March, had one of the most impressive performances during the highly successful HQ Team Food Drive. Elizabeth, who decided to volunteer for the Food Drive with her Delta Delta Delta sorority, managed to raise $2,440 from nearly 30 different sponsors, all in less than 48 hours!

Elizabeth found that getting sponsored for her volunteer work wasn't complicated, it just took a little time and thoughtful effort. She started out by sending the generic WWFF-provided email to prospective sponsors before following up with her own personalized note, sending both to her entire list of online contacts as well as those of her parents. And while Elizabeth acknowledges that her success is largely due to "the extreme generosity of [her] friends and family," her strategy of getting sponsored obviously proved to be successful. It's a simple concept (personalizing emails and sending follow-ups), but doggone it, it works.

Following the Food Drive, Elizabeth mentioned that it was her first experience with WILL WORK FOR FOOD, but that it won't be her last. We are glad to hear that and look forward to having Elizabeth on board for future WWFF-HQ Team events. And since she'll be sticking around, why not get to know Elizabeth a little more. And is there any better way to get to know somebody new than finding out their favorite PG rated Youtube videos? There isn't. And that's why we are proud to present Elizabeth Watchowski's

TOP FIVE CUTEST YOUTUBE VIDEOS:

1) Charlie Bit My Finger
2) Slow Loris with a Tiny Umbrella
3) Old Guy Techno Raver
4) St. Patricks' Day Leprechaun March
5) Twin Baby Boys Having a Conversation

Elizabeth may have just started working for food but she has already made a name for herself. It just goes to show how easy it is to translate the volunteer work you do into sponsorships that go fight malnutrition abroad. All you need to do is get involved today!

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."

Pre-Event Highlight: UNC Battle Park Cleanup & Block Party

From 10am-12pm on April 2nd, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, WILL WORK FOR FOOD-UNC will be hosting the Battle Park Cleanup. More than 20 volunteers are expected to take part in this service project which aims to beautify Battle Park, located on-campus at the University of North Carolina.

"[Battle Park] is a great place for students to run, hike, or just hang out," said WWFF-UNC Co-Chapter Represntative, Ben Vollmer, "This will be the second time we've helped to clean up Battle Park."

Following the service project, students at UNC are invited to attend a Block Party on Amity Court. There, attendees will be treated to food and live music, all intended to raise awareness for the UNC Chapter of WILL WORK FOR FOOD. According to Vollmer, the Block Party was the brainchild of marketing manager, Jayce Walker.

"We've just finished applying for official university recognition, which we should have in the fall, and we wanted to make the student body familiar with WILL WORK FOR FOOD," said Vollmer, "Jayce contacted a number of bands to play and really took the lead on this project."

With the help of their other Chapter Rep, Peter Helvie, as well as everyone else at WWFF-UNC, our folks down in Chapel Hill certainly are on the quick path to success. Great job Tar Heels and good luck this weekend with the Battle Park Cleanup and Block Party!

WILL WORK FOR FOOD is fortunate to have many great chapters all over the country. It seems like every week, another great work effort s is being hosted by WWFF somewhere. If you think you have what it takes to be a great Chapter Rep and come up with your own service events, learn how you can become a Chapter Rep today!

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."

Event Highlight Update: Top Teams from the HQ Food Drive

The WILL WORK FOR FOOD Headquarters Team's Food Drive (March 11-12) was a through and through success ($6,000 raised and 3012 pounds of food collected). With the final numbers in, we are excited to announce our top teams! First off, Team Delta:

Led by team captain Becca Kendis, Team Delta raised $3,460. We appreciate all of the hard work each and every team put into the Food Drive, but Team Delta particularly blew us away with their unprecedented success with fundraising.
Team Delta was comprised of 10 members of the University of Michigan's Delta Delta Delta chapter. After being informed about WILL WORK FOR FOOD by an academic advisor, Becca attended a WWFF Food Drive mass meeting back in January, where she decided to become a team captain. Utilzing the outreach resources provided to team captains from WWFF, Becca was able to organize Team Delta and get them on track to raise their record sum with support from friends and families.

"We feel very fortunate that our team members' families and friends were incredibly supportive of our efforts and responded so generously," said Becca.

Understanding that not everyone is in a position to donate generously, it was definitely helpful that the members of Team Delta reached out to nearly 100 friends and family asking them to contribute.

One member of Team Delta did an especially outstanding job. In less than 24 hours, Elizabeth Watchowski managed to raise $1,835 from over a dozen different family members and friends that sponsored her! The donations kept rolling in and Elizabeth ended up raising $2,400 from about 25 sponsors. Look for another blog post coming soon about how Elizabeth had so much success.

Another noteworthy performance came from Team KKG. This team, led by Lucy Przybylski, Stephanie Priel, and Jess Lazar, worked its way to raising $1,150. Jess, the designated team captain, mentioned that she had so much success fundraising by simply sending a pre-drafted email from WWFF out to over a dozen family members and friends. It definitely helped that Jess wrote a compelling bio in her WWFF profile and also followed up with an additional personalized email to them all.

"Almost everyone that I emailed donated," Jess said, "I am really lucky to have such generous and supportive people in my life."

And WILL WORK FOR FOOD is lucky to have had such great people working hard to ensure the food drive's success. Becca, Elizabeth, Jess and the rest of our "Workers" that participated in the food drive and got sponsored perfectly demonstrate how big of an impact you can have when you just get involved and ask friends and family to support your work.

We couldn't have pulled off this food drive without our team captains, volunteers, and of course everyone that contributed as a sponsor. We sincerely thank everyone that was involved! We also encourage you all to continue volunteering locally to save children globally!

Want to get involved with WILL WORK FOR FOOD but you don't know how? Stop thinking and dive right in!

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."

Event Highlight: HQ Team Food Drive

Based in Ann Arbor, MI, the WILL WORK FOR FOOD Headquarters Team works very hard to ensure WWFF spreads itself into high schools and colleges across the nation diligently and successfully. With goal-setting, branding, and consulting services, dozens of (mostly) University of Michigan (UofM) students spend dozens of hours each week ensuring WILL WORK FOR FOOD's success. This past weekend, however, the WWFF-HQ Team practiced what it preaches and hosted a large-scale event at UofM:

The HQ Team Food Drive.

The Food Drive was a two-day event that started on Friday, March 11th. Groups, led by designated and trained team captains, were assigned neighborhoods near the Michigan campus and around Ann Arbor where they flyered and distributed collection bags to nearly 1,000 houses advertising the food dirve. Then, the next day from 12-3pm, volunteers spent their afternoons collecting canned goods left out by residents on their porches. Following the collection, each group returned to campus for a sorting party at which the HQ Team, Team Captains and volunteers gathered to see the impressive amount of food that they gathered.

"It was really inspiring to see so many students who truly wanted to make a difference." ~Levi Barry, WWFF Evaluation Manager

The final weigh-in for collected canned goods came in at a whopping 3,012 lbs. That is heavier than most mid-sized cars! Every pound of that food went to Food Gatherers, an Ann Arbor-based food bank that provides over 10,000 meals a day for those in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County who are in need.

With over 15 groups and over 80 volunteers, this group of dedicated U-M students did the Maize & Blue proud en route to raising over $5,000 (as of 3/14/11; new donations continue to pour in).

Levi Barry, a U-M junior and in his second year as WWFF's Evaluation Manager, was very impressed with the dedication put in by the volunteers and Team Captains, especially considering the timing of the event.

"Because so many of the volunteers' friends were spending this past Friday and Saturday partying in preparation for St. Patricks's Day [this coming Thursday], it was really inspiring to see these students who truly wanted to make a difference dedicate their weekend to making the Food Drive a success."

While a number of Food Drive volunteers have been a part of WILL WORK FOR FOOD's HQ Team for at least a few months, many were participating in their first WWFF event.

"I decided to be a team captain because it seemed like a great opportunity to
get some leadership experience and to help out a worthy cause," freshman Lauren Nieman said, "I think this type of event has a strong future at U-M because it was a great way for college students to get involved in the community while also helping malnourished kids abroad without taking up too much time from their busy schedules."

And with these kinds of endorsement from Michigan underclassmen, it is easy to understand why the future of WILL WORK FOR FOOD has the students at U-M so excited.

"I think it's great that WILL WORK FOR FOOD at Michigan is now practicing what it preaches," said Barry, "I look forward to next year's Food Drive as we work to build upon the success of this year's."

And they will.

Be on the lookout for blog posts this week about top captains and participants from the Food Drive.

There are so many great work efforts that have gone on across America through WILL WORK FOR FOOD, and it's easy to bring WWFF to your school. Don't hesitate, become a WWFF Rep today!

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."