Purposeful Penny Holds First Annual 5K

Jemima Homawoo- MID 2015

On September 22^nd, members of Purposeful Penny, a student-run organization created by graduate students in The University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), gathered together at Schenley Park to prepare for the first event of the year. Though the day began cloudy and dreary, excitement and anticipation were high, and success was to be reached. Runners from across the GSPIA community, friends, and family arrived to support Purposeful Penny. The runners ranged from GSPIA students (second-year student Ted Masten ran the whole race with an American flag) to runners who traveled from overseas (Ms. Victoria, the founder of Bright Kids Uganda). 

At the closing of the first ever Purposeful Penny 5K, nourishment (which was graciously donated) was consumed in order to replenish the runners after all their hard work, and awards were given out. It was calculated that Purposeful Penny raised $1,800 for Bright Kids Uganda and Room 2 Read: Nepal, both organizations focused on educating children. 

The focus of Purposeful Penny is to raise money for these two organizations and display the hard work needed to push forward the importance of education all over the world. Not only does Purposeful Penny host fundraising events, but you can also find at least one member sitting dutifully at the GSPIA lounge from 8:30am to 12:30pm each weekday, ready and waiting to provide a cup of coffee for a dollar. Professor or student, if you come in on a Monday dreading the beginning of a work week, you can find some joy at the face of a Purposeful Penny member, a cup of good coffee, and the knowledge that your dollar is going to great organizations focused on education. 

Purposeful Penny is continuously looking for new means of raising money. And this year once again, the inter-cultural potluck is being planned for November 14^th. The event will feature food prepared from the heart, entertainers performing to put smiles on supporters’ faces, and the chance to win a prize from the raffle. The potluck is an opportunity to bring everyone together over one thing that all people love to do: eat. Hard work is being put into organizing this event, while the members of Purposeful Penny also work hard to stay on top of their studies! Purposeful Penny is one of those organizations that realized what needs to get done to reach a goal, puts in 110%, and gets it done. It might be one penny that is raised, but one penny given multiple times means that change can happen.

Guest Post - Daya: International Consultants for Peace Initiatives

Today, we have a guest blog post from one of the GSPIA student organizations, Daya: International Consultants for Peace Initiatives. GSPIA student organizations are an excellent way for students to gain skills outside of the classroom that will benefit their career goals. We highly encourage students to get involved! 

Daya Center for Peace is an NGO based in Hyderabad, India working for peace and conflict transformation. The staff members of Daya have extensive training and a long history of working with an extensive network of partners from all over India.  They have built up the trust and respect necessary to provide peace building work in conflict affected regions of India. The Mission of Daya Center for Peace is to promote a culture of peace in schools and enable schools to impart transformative education. Through leadership training and other programs, Daya aims to help children, youth, teachers and civil society organizations become agents of non-violence and social change.

 

Although the staff of Daya has a long history of working for peace in the region, Daya as an organization is young, understaffed, and underfunded. It provides a great opportunity for NGO minded GSPIA students  to put into action the skills and knowledge they gain in the classroom. So Daya: International Consultants for Peace Initiatives (I.C.P.I) collaborates with Daya Center for Peace to support them in their goals and missions from the heart of Pittsburgh – GSPIA! We have many opportunities for you to get involved and and make an impact nationally and internationally in India. Daya Center for Peace works in many states within India, working with and influencing a wide audience. Check out our map!

 

We had our first information session of the spring term last week! We would like to thank all those in attendance and look forward to all the help we can get. Membership is also not just limited to GSPIANs. We highly encourage participants from other Pitt professional programs and undergraduate students.

 

In case you missed our meeting here are a few way that you can get involved!

• Writing grants
• Researching Foundations
• Consulting Daya: Center for Peace
• Planning the peace building conference
• Calling specific scholars that are involved in ethnic violence and conflict transformation
• Interning in Hyderabad, India

GSPIA students previously have interned at Daya: Center for Peace, and so we launched the summer application for the internship program. We have several internship positions including:

• Teaching in School
• Fund Raising/Writing project proposals
• Helping/Co-facilitating peace and leadership workshops and determining when the workshops are conducted
• Designing for Daya Magazines
• Tech related work
• Website updates
• Writing articles based on interviews conducted
• Video documentary
• Blog updates
• Working on creative projects

 

If you have questions or concerns about any one of these aspects of our organization, Daya: I.C.P.I, or Daya: Center for Peace, in India, please contact us on INGOClinic@gmail.com. You can also visit the Facebook Group or Website.

You could also contact any of the executive members or past interns below!

• Yuman Rathore: Co-President (yar5@pitt.edu)
• Galata Tona: Co-President (ggt4@pitt.edu)
• Janet Guo: Treasurer (xig14@pitt.edu)
• Sree Kodavatiganti: Secretary (srk37@pitt.edu)
• Camille Gockowski: Events Coordinator (ckg9@pitt.edu)
• Dan Shetler: Founder of Daya I.C.P.I and Past Intern (danshetler@gmail.com)