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Donor Spotlight: Learn What Connects Reena to Rise Against Hunger’s Mission!

on  September 27, 2021

Reena Joshi is a Global Influence Society member, a member of our Corporate Council and a member of our New York Community Engagement Board! We interviewed Reena about her history with Rise Against Hunger and her newfound passion for our work. Learn what drives Reena to stay so involved!Q: How did you initially get involved with Rise Against Hunger?I was working in the corporate sector but have always had a passion for philanthropy. Initially, I spent my free time leveraging my influence within this network towards fundraising and volunteer opportunities. This gave me a strong sense of fulfillment”¦until it didn’t. The turning point was when I no longer felt that I was giving enough outside of work and I wanted to do more. In 2019, I made the difficult decision to leave corporate America and dedicate all of my time towards philanthropy.My original objective was to ensure my partnerships had an international reach and more specifically, focused on human rights. Although Rise Against Hunger was not an obvious fit due to its focus on hunger, I decided to keep an open mind and met with the New York team. And the rest is history! Q: You support us through multiple channels. Can you share more about all the different ways you are involved and why you choose to make an impact through Rise Against Hunger?As a donor, you are used to writing checks and not quite knowing where the money goes. Like most donors, we vet the organizations we are contributing to but it’s an added benefit to experience the activities on a grassroots level as well as the consistency of the strategic direction from the top-down.From assisting with meal packing events (even hand washing equipment!) to joining the New York Community Engagement Board and Corporate Council, I’ve had the opportunity to partner at multiple touchpoints ranging from internal operations to an advisory capacity. Through these varying experiences, I have witnessed first-hand the credibility of the organization. I have confidence in the value of Rise Against Hunger’s work and the impact we make globally! Q: You are a member of Rise Against Hunger’s new Global Influence Society. How has that changed your level of engagement? What inspires you to give?The Global Influence Society has helped me connect even deeper with Rise Against Hunger! As donors supporting multiple organizations, COVID forced us to reassess our priorities – how and where should we expand our impact? Should we shift our contribution if the future of an organization is in question? How will this change my involvement? All of these concerns were top of my mind but quickly assuaged by Rise Against Hunger’s leadership team, who outlined a multi-faceted approach toward a COVID resilience plan while continuing to support our partners globally. This gave us the assurance & security we needed in our decision to expand our contribution, knowing there was a thoughtful, intentional plan in place. To learn more, check out Rise Against Hunger’s plans to continue empowering communities through sustainable agriculture projects while providing grants for local food procurement. Q: How would you encourage others to engage?I would encourage others to find that personal connection. At first, engaging with a hunger nonprofit wasn’t at the top of my list, and that is okay! Everyone has a different priority. Rise Against Hunger does so many things. If you care about education, Rise Against Hunger is working in education. Is there a specific country or region that you care about? Are you passionate about sustainable agriculture or climate change? Rise Against Hunger’s community-focused approach impacts all of these issues. It is important for supporters to know that the work we are doing is helping to create bright futures for so many children and families across the globe.

About the Author

Taylor is an intern at Rise Against Hunger. A junior at Elon University, Taylor is majoring in Human service studies and minoring in leadership development.

More Posts by Taylor McCluney

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Strength, Stability And Hope

The gift that filled Nelly’s table.

“We were yielding very little, and the crops could not sustain us the whole year,” Nelly remembers. As a mother of seven and a farmer with two decades of experience, the stress of inconsistent yields was all-consuming. A poor harvest not only strained her family financially, but also limited their own meals to just two a day. Their story reflects that of many in their fishing and farming village near a lake in the Karonga district of northern Malawi. Here, heavy rainfall makes conventional farming methods nearly impossible. The entire village is, quite literally, saturated in food insecurity — a reality that leaves families struggling to survive season after season without a dependable source of nourishment.

In 2019, Nelly began participating in Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience, a sustainable agriculture project implemented by Rise Against Hunger in partnership with the Foundation for Community Support Services (FOCUS). The project works with 3,100 smallholder farmers in Malawi’s Karonga and Mzimba districts to strengthen food and nutrition security by improving production methods, nutrition practices and household income.

Just one year later, Nelly was ready to expand the variety of crops on her farm. What land once only produced maize began to flourish with sesame, cowpeas, rice and groundnuts during the rainy season (summer), as well as maize and vegetables during the dry season (winter). Through climate-smart agriculture training, she learned new techniques like manure making, pit planting and mulching, crop rotation and intercropping. Equipped with these tools, Nelly’s farm began to thrive.

After the 2023–2024 growing season, she sold enough produce to purchase an ox cart. Her harvests in 2024-2025 season yielded over 500 pounds of crops, including 22 bags of groundnuts, seven bags of maize, 12 tins of sesame and three bags of rice. With this surplus, she was able to invest in a motorbike, which she now uses to transport African doughnuts (mandasi) that she cooks and sells — creating yet another source of income for her family.

The transformation reaches far beyond her finances. Nelly now has the stability to provide for her husband and children. “I am able to eat different food types, pay school fees for my children and fulfill the visions that I have made with my family,” she beams. “I am now sleeping peacefully without any fears of food or paying school fees for the children.”

Her leadership has also grown. Today, Nelly serves as a leader in the Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience project, teaching other farmers in her district to adopt climate-resilient, labor-saving practices. By sharing her knowledge, she is multiplying her impact — empowering her neighbors to experience the same transformation she has achieved.

Across Nelly’s community, food and economic security are on the rise. Lombani, a government extension officer for the region, explains, “I can see the community is being transformed in the sense that in the area, there is food, income and nutrition security. Development is also happening at the household level.”

Nelly reflects on what it means to invest in holistic programs that address the root causes of hunger: “We are now healthy people. Children are going to school after eating their breakfast, having high yields and different types of crops due to conservation agriculture practices. With the support from the project, we have food, and we can access other food items from the market after selling our produce.”

This is the gift that fills: a future full of stability, strength and hope. It fills tables with food, families with security and communities with the resources to thrive. It’s an investment in futures rooted in resilience and hope.