The Food Recovery Network beat out more than 100 other student groups at University of Maryland to win the Do Good Challenge at the finals on April 18th, 2012 in the Grand Ballroom at Stamp Student Union.
UMD’s School of Public Policy’s Philanthropy and National Leadership Team, SixDegrees, and Network for Good collaborated together to challenge any individual or organization to sign up and compete against each other to win the Do Good Challenge.
The purpose of the challenge was to create a do-good project, or continue to do good for a SGA approved student group or non-profit organization, and see the amount of good done in the month leading up to the Do Good Challenge semi-finals.
On April 18, 2012, the audience voted Food Recovery Network, Zeta Tau Alpha Breast Cancer Awareness, and Students Helping Honduras to be in the top three. After presenting to a judge panel including actor Kevin Bacon, creator of SixDegrees, former basketball coach Gary Williams, and Today Show health expert Joy Bauer, the Food Recovery Network was voted number one.
Food Recovery Network began in fall 2010 by Evan Ponchick, a member of Alpha Phi Omega, after he saw the amount of food made by the South Campus Dining Hall going to landfills. After a merger with Food Recovery Network, a group designed to save food from Route 1 restaurant, the group continuously added on 11 other student groups to have a current group of approximately 60 volunteers. Officially deemed a non-profit organization, Food Recovery Network has donated 30,000 meals since the group was started.
President Ben Simon said, “The feeling is unbelievable. Magical. It’s like a dream. This funding is going to go so far toward expanding the Food Recovery Network to other colleges around the country.”
As winners, Food Recovery Network received 5000 dollars toward their organization, Bacon Brothers concert tickets, Motorola prizes, and privately flown and treated to two courtside seats to an Atlanta Hawks basketball game. Zeta Tau Alpha, coming in second, and SHH coming in third, both received 1500 toward their charity.
Zeta Tau Alpha came in second place with their do-good challenge of breast cancer awareness. They launched a Facebook page stressing to reach 1668 likes, blowing up Twitter, and covering campus with the number 1668, eventually revealing that approximately 1, 668 undergraduate female students are projected to be diagnosed with breast cancer sometime in their life. On March 14th, they handed out pink balloons on McKeldin Mall, where each person wrote the name of someone who has/had breast cancer on the balloon, and they were released into the sky.
Sophomore government major Molly Hoffmaster said, “The Do Good Challenge was really exciting. Even though we came in second, we still won a lot of money for our philanthropy. The prizes they gave to the sisters who presented are going to be raffled off later to bring in even more money. We went up against huge efforts like TerpThon and we won and we’re all so proud of that.”
Student Helping Honduras came in third, with students traveling to Honduras and raising money to build a school for 80 children in Pimientera, Honduras. With 7,000 raised, SHH is well on its way to raise 25,000 to finish the school for their town.