Graduate project
facilitates formation of Delaware Anti-Hunger Coalition
To earn her UD graduate business degree,
Kelly Whitmarsh had to design and complete an in-depth
professional project. She chose to collaborate with the
Food Bank of Delaware,
and was instrumental in the formation of the Delaware
Anti-Hunger Coalition.
“I really liked the curriculum of the master
of science in Organizational Effectiveness, Development
and Change (OEDC), and I felt both the program and
the University were a good fit for my career and personal
interests,” explains Whitmarsh. When it was time to choose
a professional project, she thought about the Food Bank
of Delaware. “I had attended a charity event for the Food
Bank and was inspired by remarks made by Food Bank of
Delaware CEO Patricia Beebe. I met with her, and we discussed
several potential opportunities at the Food Bank.”
At the time, Food Bank of Delaware was already
discussing partnering strategies to better address hunger
issues in Delaware, and was pursuing a Delaware
Community Foundation grant to fund the formation of
a hunger coalition. Whitmarsh was able to act as a professional
organizational consultant assisting with this initiative.
Prof. John Sawyer is program director for
the OEDC program in UD’s Lerner
College of Business and Economics and was Whitmarsh’s
project adviser. “Students in this program are required
to conduct a professional project in a field setting,
the purpose of which is to apply what the student has
learned through his or her course work, managing the project
from beginning to end, and learning the nuances of practicing
their discipline in a real-life organizational setting.”
“In this instance, Kelly applied organizational
stakeholder analysis procedures and action research to
identify and involve diverse stakeholders in the coalition,”
Sawyer explained. “This provided recommendations for stakeholder
management and future stakeholder engagement. Kelly’s
project is an excellent example of applying tested theoretical
models to gain practical outcomes.”
“This project provided a great environment
in which to apply organizational development models and
principles from the program,” added Whitmarsh. “However,
it was also a great opportunity to learn and apply some
principles that existed in the literature and were not
taught in the classroom. The real world aspect of the
project reinforces the idea that not all lessons are learned
inside the classroom. You need to think outside of the
box and test some of the principles you learn to see how
they translate to real life scenarios.”
The Delaware Anti-Hunger Coalition is made
up of representatives from various sectors, including
business, industry, nonprofits, communities, churches,
government and education. As Whitmarsh explains, “It is
sometimes challenging to bring such diverse stakeholders
together, but when done in the right way it can help overcome
resistance and barriers to change. The stakeholder identification
and analysis got the coalition to think outside of the
normal advocates for hunger, and think of those we needed
to engage to accomplish difficult agendas. The Anti-Hunger
Coalition members were very enthusiastic to participate
and offer ideas.”
The formation of the
Delaware Anti-Hunger Coalition was funded by a 2009 grant
from the Delaware Community Foundation.
Whitmarsh added, “I feel fortunate that
Food Bank CEO Patricia Beebe and all the members of the
coalition were open to working with me and letting me
partner with them.”
Since the formation of the coalition, members
and sub-committees have worked on some of the following
initiatives and programs:
•
progress on a Universal School Breakfast
initiative in Delaware
•
establishing a school supplies warehouse within
the Food Bank for teachers to access
•
collaborating with the Delaware Department of Health
and Social Services to set up food closets in state
service centers
•
increasing food stamp amounts to those eligible
for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP)
“It’s been a great experience to be involved in the formation
of the Delaware Anti-Hunger Coalition,” said Whitmarsh.
“I never imagined having this opportunity to combine my
academic interests with a change initiative that made
a difference in the lives of those facing hunger in Delaware.
I’ve also been impressed with the number of people in
the state committed to tackling this very complex issue.”
“This partnership is an important example
of nonprofits, corporations, foundations and state government
all coming together to provide more services, even during
a tough economic climate,” said Food Bank of Delaware
President and CEO Patricia Beebe. “When we pull our resources
together we can accomplish much more. Kelly’s role as
facilitator assisted with the identification of collaborators
and lead to the establishment of the necessary partnerships
to identify and achieve the desired outcomes of the Anti-Hunger
Coalition.”
Whitmarsh is currently a physician recruitment
manager for Christiana Care Health System and added, “I
have been a full-time employee while completing this program.
It’s challenging, but I had specific goals I wanted to
achieve for my education. I looked at the program and
decided to take one class a semester to make it work for
me. The faculty were empathetic to the unique challenges
I faced as a full-time employee and mom of two. I found
them to be flexible when I needed it.”
