Today we’d like to introduce you to Giovanni Marchand.
Hi Giovanni, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Our nonprofit started as a student organization at the University of Maryland in 2019, focusing on hungry and homelessness. We began helping people experiencing homelessness to register to vote. Once COVID-19 struck, we started helping people with other resources, such as finding COVID testing and vaccine locations. Then our services expanded to helping people apply for rent relief, utility assistance, unemployment insurance, and more, which is how we grew to providing wrap-around services. Our local program, Hungry 2 Help, now assists people with a variety of essential resources, such as food, clothes, and other forms of community support.
Our primary operations are in the Washington DC Metropolitan area, but we’ve also held projects in other countries. In 2019, we hosted clothing donation drives, and sent them to schools in Honduras, as well as local organizations in Baltimore and Washington DC. We continued hosting donations drive for a few years after, including toys, books, and food as well. Over time, we shifted away from one-time donations, and we started focusing on creating a longer-lasting impact. In 2024, we launched our new nonprofit, Hungry 4 Change Kenya, and we created development projects focusing on food, water, and income. The goals of these projects are to assist communities with becoming self-reliant, so they rely less on foreign donations and can be independent.
All of these projects are focused on the main goal, which is to reduce poverty worldwide. To achieve this goal, we are helping people in need with becoming self-sustainable, by listening to them, empowering them, and supporting their solutions.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The journey was difficult, as we have evolved every step of the way to address different challenges, and as the needs of our community changed. COVID-19 was one of those obstacles, where we had to transition from in-person volunteer events to virtual casework to help people with community resources. As a nonprofit, we also have the issue of volunteer participation – we cannot force anyone to help, so we must rely on those who are willing and available to assist. To overcome that hurdle, we have reached out to several schools, community organizations, and others to ask for their assistance. Everyone on the team is a volunteer, so while we navigate our own careers and educational aspirations, we must also make time to ensure that our organization is growing, and addressing the needs of the people.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work as a Consulting Associate at CohnReznick LLP, and I focus on supporting nonprofits. I have been able to learn about how they operate and help people in the community, and my role is to conduct the bookkeeping, while preparing financial reports to send to the client. We review their budgets and actuals, and compare them to review what changes occured throughout the year, how they can better forecast their operations, and how we can support their programs with becoming more effective and efficient. I am proud to represent the team, the Latino community, and the nonprofit industry. It’s great to be able to talk in Spanish and French with my clients, and I enjoy being able to support them with their missions to help the community.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is measured in a variety of ways, it’s not just linear like becoming rich, but it’s also not just sentimental like creating a family. I believe we all determine success in own our way, and so in my life, I believe it will be combination of the impact I create in the community, the level of satisfaction I can provide for myself, my family, and my friends, and the financial stability I am able to achieve. However, each person has their own method, which may involve being happy, being wealthy, or just living in the moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hungry4changenow.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hungry4changenow/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hungry4changenow
