Name:

• Vinay Kampalath

Project:

• DLOC: Diverse Leaders Organized for Change

Abstract:

• Diverse Leaders Organized for Change, or DLOC, is an initiative that seeks to educate young high school-aged students about issues related to HIV, communication, and social justice. Through interactive seminars, the students cooperatively work to learn about the ways that they can address HIV in their schools and communities. Students are also encouraged to simultaneously engage in self-reflection while spreading awareness to their peers via formal presentations and informal conversations.

What did I learn?

• Throughout this process, I learned a lot about the minutiae of nonprofit work, as I encountered several unforeseen logistical and substantive problems. Thankfully, I was able to overcome these obstacles primarily by learning from my errors and heeding the advice of others. Through DLOC, I was also able to engage in a very different type of learning, as I was using the community as my classroom. While the knowledge that I gained in the academic classroom informed the directions that I took with DLOC, my experiences with DLOC were an invaluable source of insight.

What advice would you give others?

• By no means does the Kaldi's Social Change Grant present an easy task. I would advise other recipients to take it one day at a time. Flexibility is necessary, especially in the dynamic nonprofit world. Furthermore, I would encourage recipients to forge relationships with coworkers and constituents. For social entrepreneurs, I feel that gaining legitimacy within communities is a precondition for effecting social change.

How would I describe the Grant?  

• I think that the Kaldi's Social Change Grant presents an amazing opportunity for people to work on issues of social justice that matter to them. It provides students the chance to engage in social entrepreneurship, which can be extremely rewarding in the university setting.

What am I doing now? 

• In August 2007, I will be moving to Boston and will work at the Boston Urban Asthma Coalition, where I will be coordinating coalition-building projects in two communities with a high prevalence of asthma. I am working through the nonprofit consulting firm, New Sector Alliance, and their program, the Residency in Social Enterprise. I am extremely excited for this next year because I will be working in the nonprofit sector from a multidisciplinary perspective. 

How did the Grant influence me? 

• My experience with the Kaldi's Social Change Grant has shown me that I really do enjoy working on issues of social change, and that I hope to do so both personally and professionally.