I have recently been selected as a fellow with Thinking Beyond Borders
(TBB) to attend the Opportunity Collaboration, an annual conference held in October in Ixtapa, Mexico. The conference brings together leaders in the field of global poverty
alleviation, and the delegates in attendance represent organizations and
foundations from all around the world that are working to fight poverty from
all sides of the spectrum—food justice to public health, women’s empowerment to
education, just to name a few. The conference convenes both established and
emerging leaders in the effort to unleash ideas and discover new ways to fight
poverty. However, in order to attend this ground-breaking and meaningful event,
I will need to raise some money. As a fellow with TBB, the registration cost has
been drastically reduced for me (from $5,000 to $750). I also need to purchase
plane tickets, which will cost approximately $800. My goal is to raise $1,500 total.
I am extremely grateful that TBB has given me the chance to participate in this experience. Since taking a gap year with TBB, I have been inspired to do
something with my life that will create positive change. TBB also helped me
pinpoint the issues that I am particularly passionate about: the environment,
sustainable agriculture, and food justice. But I’m a bit stuck right now
because I’m not sure what the next step is. I feel that I lack the resources
and connections to create concrete solutions. Attending the Opportunity
Collaboration will give me the chance to network with and learn from others who
have more experience dealing with social justice issues.
More specifically and immediately, attending the
Opportunity Collaboration will expose
me to concepts that will aid in the development of Real Food Williams, a
student organization I helped establish on my campus. So far, Real Food Williams has been dealing
more with on-campus issues related to food sustainability, such as developing
better labeling in dining halls, determining a definition of “real food,” and
promoting more student awareness about the issue. But the next step in our
organization will be to expand our efforts to include food sovereignty in the
area. Williams is located in an extremely rich agricultural area, yet there are
many residents in the surrounding communities who cannot afford the farm-fresh produce
that is grown around them. Williams College has a very large amount of
influence in the area—the money and power it holds is immense. At the
conference, I’d like to discover ideas on how Real Food Williams can partner
with the administration to focus on food justice. It will be a fantastic venue
to learn about how others have found solutions to issues in the same field.
From
attending the Opportunity Collaboration, I expect that I will gain a greater
perspective on how actual change is created. I will be able to see the numerous
complexities that are involved, but I’ll also be able to learn what it takes to
develop solutions from delegates who have succeeded in doing so. Right now,
being a “proactive agent of change” is a pretty abstract goal for me. I really
have no idea what it’s going to take. But I expect that the Opportunity
Collaboration will help to make it a more tangible thing to strive for.
To
donate, please use my PayPal account (the button is on the top left side of the screen) or contact me for more information.
Thank
you all so much!
