Sam Bensley and Andrew Downay

 

What is your major? Why’d you choose it?
Sam: I’m currently studying marketing. I was originally an art major but I really liked traveling and knew that I wouldn’t be able to support that on an art salary. And so I went with marketing because I felt that it embodied aspects of various things that I enjoy; it’s a good mix.

 

What year are you?
Sam: I’m a senior.
Andrew: I’m a junior.

 

How do you wind down/relax?
Sam: I don’t relax. Haha, I wake up everyday looking to better myself and be productive. My mind is constantly running or thinking about something. I do like to relax by listening to music and traveling because when I’m doing that I have no responsibilities. My most tranquil state is when I travel.
Andrew: I enjoy reading, listening to music, and playing the piano and the guitar. Those things help relax me the most.

 

What are some of your favorite artists/songs?
Sam: I like Danny Gallego, who is actually a friend of mine and great artist, Eric Church, and Kenny Chesney.
Andrew: I like to listen to Justin Vernon, Vampire Weekend, and John Coltrain.

 

Any books that have stood out to you?
Sam: I would say the Kite Runner.
Andrew: Yeah, I would agree, it’s a great book.

 

Tell me an interesting fact or story about yourself.
Sam: I am an avid traveller and I was born in England!

 

What are you involved in on campus?
Sam: I am in a fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, and I have organized a non-profit organization called The Nicaragua Project.

 

Tell me about this project that you’ve been involved in.
Sam: It all started when I did a research assignment about Nicaragua and my dad told me if I got an A he would take me there. I got an A and went to Nicaragua with my family for the first time at 15. I fell in love with the people and the culture there. What I recall strongest was the exposure to third world poverty—there were children playing with a beaten up soccer ball and I knew I wanted to give back and create more opportunity for those children. I went back at 18. I thought about how playing sports with local people can easily incorporate different cultures. Sports are a unifying, healthy outlet to participate in and the children really related to it.
Andrew: I got involved because my friends are from the same town as Sam. Just recently he wanted to organize a trip to Nicaragua and I was on board along with 7 other brothers who went on the trip. We went to a village north of Nicaragua, called Villanueva. We coordinated with the peace corps and the local gym teachers to set up a sports camp in the area. Every day, more and more children came out and the participation was more than we anticipated—everyone got very involved. We were given resources as well as the guidance of adult figures from the town to give our project more structure so it could effectively benefit the children.
Sam: It worked out great because the Peace Corps volunteers loved the camps and recruited other local Peace corps volunteers to come and help organize and run the program. A town which had originally had just one kickball for all school activities received a donation of over a 100 soccer balls, footballs, jerseys, etc.

 

What does a typical workload for something like this look like?
Andrew: Currently we are working to become certified 501c(3) charity which is a lot paper work—as the Vice President I generally take care of that aspect. We are also involved in the packing of soccer balls in the hundreds. Another important component is planning out how to get so many bags of all this equipment through Nicaraguan customs without getting it taken away.
Sam: Yeah, definitely, on the first trip, almost 400 pounds of stuff was taken away by customs, but thankfully it ended up getting through. Also a huge part is the marketing to bring recognition through a charity and collaborating with Peace Works, an existing non-profit in the US. There’s a lot of collaboration that goes into a project like this, I started with a Facebook page and ended up receiving almost 1000 pounds of sports equipment donations over a few months. We gained recognition in the Morris County newspaper and were supported from local high schools and sports programs in the North Jersey area.

 

How would you recommend getting started?
Sam: I think about that often and I think that for other people it needs to be something that you’re passionate about and find others who are also looking to participate in it. And of course I would join local clubs within the school! Global Brigades, Habitat for Humanity, for example. That way you can go on a trip and see if it is something that you would genuinely like to get involved in. There are plenty of things that need to done in third world countries, it is important to make sure you have an experience first though. I had gone many times before I followed through with my project which is why I feel confident taking 8 people on the first trip from Rutgers. Now we’ve generated interest of about 20-30 people.
Andrew: You have to have an interest in what you’re doing. You have to divulge in the culture and genuinely care about the cause. Motivation needs to come from the right reasons because if not then the whole project is useless really. After my first trip I felt that connection that created a dedication to the project. The last time we went, we had a photographer come and take pictures, and so we anticipate involvement to grow exponentially because you can visibly see the success of the trip.

 

What’s the hardest part of it? What is the most rewarding aspect?
Sam: Organizing of the last trip, definitely, because I was the founder and responsible for 7 volunteers. I had to consider things like food, safety, and places to sleep! I also needed the trip to be fulfilling to them. 
Andrew: I think the biggest stress factor was getting the equipment through customs. Once it went through you could visibly see the stress leave Sam’s face!
Sam: Everything takes time to develop. I think being backed by the fraternity and creating a brand really served well to our reputation. We worked with established charities, such as Comunidad Connect, which was based in Nicaragua. I had never seen children so happy in their entire life. The annual income in the town was just $2000 a year to put things in perspective. Exposure to the sports experience for the first time really took the children and the community aback. We had a direct effect on about 200 children but impacted a community of about 2000 people. The best part was that there was no barrier with sports, we all spoke the same language. 
Andrew: A rewarding part of it was that lots of children were able to get in touch with the us through social media accounts of their own or the Peace Corps volunteers. Children remembered us and wanted us to go back and visit; I remember one boy even thought I was staying! Impacting their lives with something so small as sports was very inspiring.

 

How often will you go?
Sam: We try to go once a year, every winter break. There are satellite charities of the project. There’s a man in Wisconsin that will go over the summer so there is potential to visit twice a year.

 

Is there a certain quote or philosophy you live by?
Sam: My personal statement is: Leave the world better than you found it. But that is also for the project. Our mission statement is: Empowering kids to empower their communities through sports.
Andrew: My parents always stressed the golden rule: Treat people the way you want to be treated.