Nia Nyamweya, left, and Rosemary Meister, of Rodgers Forge, students at Towson University, have started an online fundraising campaign for Asylee Women’s Enterprise, a program helping women seeking asylum that is based in Towson. (Baltimore Sun staff photo by Mary K. Tilghman)
When Towson University professors Sara Gunning and Zosha Stuckey assigned students Rosemary Meister and classmate Nia Nyamweya to complete a hands-on, real-world fundraising project, the two students learned something else as well: how good it feels to give back to their own communities.
Meister and Nyamweya chose Asylee Women’s Enterprise (AWE) as the group to benefit from their online fundraising campaign that began in their grant-writing class. AWE is a Towson-based program that helps women seeking asylum in the United States with housing, transportation and other everyday needs, and with the legal process toward asylum status. Nyamweya had interned and volunteered with the organization, and her enthusiasm for its mission won over her classmate – and fellow Rodgers Forge, Maryland, resident – Meister.
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“This class has made me more aware of the needs locally, right outside my front door,” said Meister, a mother of two. “I recognize it is so easy to give back. That’s been eye-opening to me.”
The pair launched their campaign to raise $10,000 for AWE on May 13 and received $600 in donations in the first week.
“AWE needs a lot of general operation funds,” said Nyamweya. “And we just love the organization.”
For more on the fundraising campaign for AWE, go to giveforward.com and type #AWE365 into the search engine.
