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February 4, 2012

How I Did It: Elizabeth Stoltz

Three years ago, I learned about Plumpy'nut, a high-energy peanut-based paste that can reverse malnutrition in just two to four weeks and is used in places where chronic hunger reaches crisis proportions. I was disheartened to learn about the tragic effects of childhood malnutrition. And I was stunned that such an easy solution existed, yet was not widely known. I knew I wanted to be part of the solution.

After spending a week researching ways to raise money and awareness for Plumpy'nut, I decided on a 5K-walk fundraiser in my hometown of York, Pa. I emailed nonprofits that were using Plumpy'nut in their therapeutic feeding programs. After receiving an enthusiastic response from Concern Worldwide US, I designated that organization the recipient of the funds raised by the first Walk for Plumpy'nut.

I soon realized that staging a walk was not a one-woman job. I recruited peers and adults, and we worked together to raise $5,000, enough to impact the lives of more than 350 children in Ethiopia, the country for which we had earmarked the funds.
 
Inspired by the walk's success, I recognized the potential to make the walk even bigger. As a result, I founded Food for Thought, a charitable 501(c) (3) organization, in March 2008. With the help of a lawyer who worked pro bono, I set up the nonprofit. 

Food for Thought was on a roll. It raised $7,000 at the second Walk for Plumpy'nut in October 2008, then hosted a book drive for the York Literary Council, in which we collected more than 1,000 books for such organizations as the Ronald McDonald House and Olivia's House, which offers emotional support to grieving children in York County, and in April our nonprofit coordinated a Global Concerns Student Workshop, which brought together 40 high school students to brainstorm solutions to the global food crisis.
 
Although the majority of our board members left for college this fall (I am now a freshman at Ithaca College, majoring in integrated marketing communications), we are each committed to the nonprofit's long-term success. The 3rd annual Walk for Plumpy'nut took place in October. With the $4,400 we raised this year, we have donated to Concern Worldwide US more than $15,000 — enough to improve the lives of 1,000 Ethiopian children.

Food for Thought remains committed to expanding in high school and college chapters across the country. Our first chapter, based in York, is launching a drive to collect food for students whose families are struggling financially.
 
This past summer, I worked in Ethiopia teaching English and visited HIV/AIDS patients. I look forward to returning there for many years to come and expanding on the work of Food for Thought.
 
My nonprofit work has compelled me to reevaluate goals. I now want to use my background in communications to create advocacy and communications campaigns for nonprofit organizations. I'm extremely interested in integrating communications with social change and human rights.

Through my research, I knew that Plumpy'nut was capable of saving lives, but I never realized how much being part of something that serves the greater good would also change mine.   
 
Elizabeth is a 2009 NYWICI Scholarship winner.

 
—As told to Alissa Pinck