CU students fight child malnourishment in Nepal

While Valentine’s Day traditionally focuses on romance, the GlobeMed chapter at CU is celebrating a different kind of love: The money it raised to fight malnourishment through its Hearts for Hunger campaign.

According to its website, the Hearts for Hunger campaign kicked off on Jan. 31 and lasted for two weeks, until Monday. The goal was to raise $3,000 to combat child malnourishment in Nepal.

Throughout the campaign, the organizers of Hearts for Hunger came up with multiple ways for the students here at CU to actively participate in the cause and benefit from it as well.

Rachael Durham, a 19-year-old freshman anthropology major who was one of the organizers, said she was very excited to be a part of the campaign and that it had been well-received by students.

“I am just so excited to actively be a part of Hearts for Hunger,” Durham said. “One of the best experiences I have had since being involved in this is seeing students buying the items we have on sale and knowing that the money they’re spending will go toward a good cause.”

Hearts for Hunger had booths set up in the UMC every day for two weeks in order to sell the items they offered as Valentine’s Day presents.

Among the items sold were chocolate spoons, truffle boxes and large chocolate kisses. The campaign also offered silent auction items which included gift certificates and vouchers to various restaurants and retail outlets in Boulder, including gift certificates to the sushi grill and sake bar Hapa, and free week-long yoga classes at CorePower yoga.

Sarah Budisavljevic, a 21-year-old junior and philosophy major, said she purchased one of the silent auction items, a gift certificate to the gourmet Mexican restaurant, Cantina Laredo, as a gift this Valentine’s Day.

“I think it is such a great way to help fight for a good cause knowing that my purchase here today will help buy a child treatment for malnourishment in Nepal,” Budisavljevic said.

The campaign focused on raising funds for NepalNUTrition. The organization uses Ready to Use Therapeutic Food, a type of fortified peanut butter that cures children with severe acute malnourishment when consumed consistently for about a month, according to the Hearts for Hunger website. Funding a child in Nepal is $55, which covers transportation costs and for the training and employment of health workers.

The Hearts for Hunger campaign also held a date auction. In the two weeks of the campaign, multiple volunteers agreed to be auctioned away on a date. The person who bid the most got to take their bidder out on a date after the campaign ended.

Senior Brett Forrest, a 21-year-old, anthropology and film major, sold for $25 and took his date so see Bill Nye on campus.

Forrest said he has been involved with GlobeMed since its establishment on campus. He said he feels that this recent campaign was one of the most attainable ways for students to help fight for a good cause.

“Most of the items that we have for sale are what generally what students would purchase on Valentine’s Day anyway, so why not spend the money and at the same time help a child out too?” Forrest said. “I see it as a win-win situation.”

One hundred percent of the proceeds made from the Hearts for Hunger campaign will go toward fighting malnourishment in Nepal. If this campaign did reach the targeted goal of $3,000, roughly 50 children in Nepal would receive treatment with NepalNUTrition.

At the time of publication, GlobeMed did not have the total number of funds raised calculated.

To learn more about the Hearts for Hunger campaign or the GlobeMed chapter here at CU, visit the Hearts for Hunger website.

Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Adelina Shee at [email protected]