Collegiate altruists to converge on UNC
Friday, August 7, 2009
CHAPEL HILL — Building sustainable gardens in Argentina, constructing chicken coops in Tanzania and building an irrigation system in Bolivia are examples of projects performed by Nourish International, an organization that is hosting its second annual Summer Institute that will take place on the UNC campus from Thursday to Aug. 10.
College students from 30 campuses across the country will be traveling to Chapel Hill to attend the Summer Institute, a five-day training conference that will teach students about social entrepreneurship and international development: how to run on-campus business ventures and develop projects abroad.
“The Summer Institute is where our university chapter leaders come to Chapel Hill so they can participate in workshops, hear from speakers and get hands-on training, which will improve their skills as chapter leaders for the upcoming school year,” said Julie Jenkins a senior at UNC majoring in journalism and an intern for Nourish International.
The Summer Institute conference will conclude with a keynote banquet and speech delivered by Jessica Jackley, a social entrepreneur and co-founder of Kiva.org, a person-to-person micro-lending Web site. The keynote banquet will be open to students, supporters and community members.
“We are excited to have Jessica speak to our students about her accomplishments,” James Dillard, the executive director of Nourish International, said in the Summer Institute banquet press release. “Jessica is an active social entrepreneur and a true life success story of how a single idea can affect the well-being of communities around the globe.”
Nourish International, also simply referred to as Nourish, is a nonprofit organization based in Chapel Hill. Founded in 2003 by a UNC student, Nourish started as a UNC student group called “Hunger Lunch.” Since incorporating as a nonprofit organization in 2006, Nourish has expanded into a national organization with chapters at 23 universities across the country.
Nourish’s mission is to solve problems caused by global poverty through student participation. In 2008 through 2009, more than 400 students worked with the 23 Nourish chapters to eradicate global poverty.
“Anyone that is interested in global poverty, entrepreneurship and improving business skills should get involved with Nourish because it’s a great opportunity,” Jenkins said.
