For college students, finding ways to be civically engaged is pretty easy. It’s likely that your school has at least one club (if not many) focused on community service, activism, or social justice. However, when you graduate, these opportunities will not be at your fingertips the same way. Therefore, it’s important to start thinking about how you’d like to be civically engaged once you graduate. Maybe that means volunteering with your church or coworkers. It could mean donating part of your salary. Or maybe you want to be more involved—maybe you want to work for a nonprofit or be on the board of an organization. No matter how you want to get involved, it’s important to learn about your options in order to follow the path that makes the most sense for you. By spotlighting a variety of nonprofits for Odyssey, I hope to provide students and young adults like myself with some basic information about the types of organizations out there, the ways to get involved, and the types of people that are engaged in each one.
Pipeline Worldwide is one such organization. Founded in 2008 by Chris Carrell and Jamie Nollette, its mission is comprised of three main goals—create connections, make sustainable change, and impact the lives of people. Tangibly, this looks like digging wells in rural areas of India and Central/East Africa. Pipeline Worldwide also works in their own community of Phoniex, Arizona. They work to provide water to individuals that are homeless and help families with extra burdens.
What I find most interesting about Pipeline Worldwide is its stated realization that there are already so many organizations doing similar work out there. How do they reconcile that? By aiming to work with existing organizations to help them accomplish their goals. If you read my article on being an ally, you can probably guess why this appeals to me. It is really meaningful for an organization (or an individual) to understand their role in the web of others trying to work on the same issues. To add to that, Pipeline Worldwide also mentions that they want to create chances for people to use their strengths and expertise to serve a variety of needs. Yes!
I first heard about Pipeline Worldwide from Gaurav Parekh, an entrepreneur and triathlete that currently lives in the Phoenix area. He answered the following questions over email:
1. Who are you and why did you get involved with Pipeline Worldwide?
My name is Gaurav Parekh. I am a partner in a few of companies (www.parsus.com, www.nspirenow.com, www.snapathon.com). You can find more information about me on my blog at http://tryath.blogspot.com and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/gauravparekh.
After years and years of living a self-centered existence, it was time to give back. I started my involvement with charities back in 2010 by participating in The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program. This allowed me to combine my love of running with giving back by raising money for LLS. I was also passively involved in making financial contributions to a host of international charities like World Wildlife Fund, Habitat for Humanity, UNICEF, and The Nature Conservancy. I realized that I was merely doing this to diminish my guilt for leading a somewhat affluent lifestyle; it was time to get involved personally.
Last year, the founder of The Pipeline Worldwide (Jamie Nollette) approached me to join their board. The timing was perfect. I could contribute monetarily and do some hands-on work with causes I believed in. Pipeline Worldwide supports clean water initiatives and kids’ causes in Africa and India. These causes spoke to my heart. I had no choice but to get involved!
2. What part of your organization’s mission do you connect with the most personally?
I grew up in India. I came to the U.S. when I was 20. Growing up in India, I have seen extreme poverty, disease, illiteracy, hunger, and suffering. Pipeline Worldwide’s mission of supporting clean water projects and providing education, boarding, lodging, and emotional support to kids aligns closely with my own.
My mother is actively involved in an NGO that supports underprivileged kids in India. Pipeline Worldwide has actively started supporting this NGO.
3. What is one thing people might find surprising about Pipeline Worldwide?
Pipeline is a small charity. The impact we have made on so many lives in Uganda, Rwanda, Ghana, India, and here in Arizona is remarkable; especially considering how small we are and how limited our spending budget is. Basically, we are a group of kind-hearted folks who want to do good in the world.
4. What is your greatest challenge and/or motivation working with Pipeline Worldwide?
The greatest challenge is finding more time to devote to Pipeline. No matter how much time one devotes, there is always more to do. Sometimes it feels like the impact we make is a mere drop in the ocean, but we are happy that we are contributing in the smallest of ways. It has changed hundreds of lives on three different continents. That is motivation enough!
5. What is one thing you’ve learned?
People are generally good. A lot of people living in first-world nations simply need to be exposed to what goes on in other parts of the world to have them get involved. Once they see the difference they can make with very little effort, they will have no choice but to contribute time, money—whatever it takes.
6. Why should young adults get involved?
Young adults are the future citizens and leaders of the world. With the world getting smaller and smaller, culture-connections will play an important role in harmonious living in the world. Young adults can teach adults how to connect with their counterparts on all continents. Young adults will think of innovative and technologically savvy ways of making the world a better place to live.
7. What is the best way for people to work with your organization (donate money, volunteer, etc.) How can they find out more information about doing this?
Come to one of our events. Better yet, come join us on a trip to Africa or India. These trips are inexpensive and a great way to see the difference we make in lives in foreign lands. Once you attend an event or are on a trip with us, just follow your heart; some people make monetary donations, some volunteer time, some may even do something we have not thought of yet!
8. Is there anything else you think people should know about Pipeline Worldwide?
Pipeline Worldwide transcends age, religion, gender, race, ethnicity, language, and location. Pipeline Worldwide is about clean water, betterment of life for kids, and making a difference in remote parts of the world. Pipeline Worldwide is run by a small group of people with heart. We organize fund-raising events a few times a year. All dollars raised go directly to projects we support in Africa and India.
You can visit http://www.pipelineworldwide.org to find out more.
