Six years ago, Julie Rosenthal, the program management specialist for Asian studies, wanted to teach her daughter about helping others. Rather than encouraging her daughter to volunteer, Rosenthal took it farther: she founded Food on the 15th, a program through which students deliver food to the elderly.

“We want the children to have firsthand experience delivering the food to the people so that they can get that feeling of really making a difference in somebody’s life, a positive difference,” Rosenthal said.

The program was recently profiled by Voices of America, which provides news, information, and cultural programming worldwide through the Internet, mobile and social media, radio, and television.  VOA is funded by the U.S. Government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

The piece, “Students Learn Lesson in Power of Giving,” appeared on the VOA website on April 13.  The story will be translated and shown around the world.

Food on the 15th will come to UMBC later this semester, with the Asian Studies Program as the lead partner. The program will be collecting non-perishable food items from students as they move out of the dorms at the end of the semester. Rosenthal hopes that the organization can have a consistent presence at UMBC.