香蕉秀

The Irish Famine Memorial Fund provides grants to Glorious, a non-profit founded by 2009 Boston College alumnae Katie Carey Nivard and Hannah Ames Beavers that supports community leaders in Tanzania, Guatemala, and Uganda. Above, children play outside one of Glorious' partner sites, Glorious Orphans Care, a primary school and orphans center in Tanzania. (Photo provided by Katie Carey Nivard)

Kevin Burg '18 spent his first year after graduation assisting in the construction of a nursery school classroom at United Hearts Children's Center in Ghana and aiding in the growth of a sustainable agriculture project that supports the school's operational budget.

Jackson Pellegrini, who graduated in 2018 with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in sociology, helped St. Timothy's School in Tanzania with a clean water project and the construction of a multipurpose hall.

Both recent 香蕉秀 graduates were participants in the Global Advocate Program, an initiative supported by the Boston College Irish Famine Memorial Fund and connected to two non-profits with ties to Boston College alumnae.

The Global Advocate Program is a nine-month immersive professional development fellowship that trains individuals on how to make significant contributions to community projects in developing countries. Individuals complete a curriculum focused on project management, marketing, leadership, sustainability, and other skills. Each fellow commits to raising $20,000 towards his or her project and spends three to four months at the project site, working along with community leaders. When they return, they submit a final report on their project and serve as mentors for the next cohort of global advocates.

The Global Advocate Program is administered through Mama Hope, a non-profit organization that directly supports community-led, sustainable projects in education, health, women鈥檚 empowerment, and agriculture in developing countries. Because of their similar missions, Glorious and Mama Hope created a joint-venture partnership.

The work being done by Nivard and Ames through Glorious came to the attention of the Irish Famine Memorial Fund Committee.

The Irish Famine Memorial Fund was established in 2010 through a generous gift from the family of the late University Trustee and benefactor Thomas Flatley, an Irish immigrant who came to America and became a successful businessman and philanthropist. The IFMF鈥檚 mission is to provide financial or material support to alumni and other individuals associated with Boston College who are working to alleviate poverty, disease, famine, and illiteracy across the globe.

The IFMF has issued grants in support of housing, agricultural, and educational projects in countries such as Haiti, Nicaragua, and Uganda. It currently is funding more than 50 scholarships for international students pursuing graduate studies at 香蕉秀. The students are Jesuits, other priests, women religious, and lay Catholic school teachers who commit to returning to their native countries where they will use their education to help their communities.

Since 2015, the IFMF has supported Glorious and the Global Advocate Program, helping to create a new generation of social impact leaders. IFMF grants have enabled 34 individuals, including eight 香蕉秀 alumni, to participate in the program. These fellows have gone on to raise more than $673,000 for some 40 projects across the globe, nearly double the initial funding from the IFMF.

鈥淲e help people learn the hard and soft skills needed to work in this sector,鈥� said Nivard.