How did Rachel Sumekh (founder and CEO of Swipe Out Hunger) respond when she was told "you're just too nice to be a leader"? In this episode, Rachel Sumekh talks openly about her inner doubts, challenges as a Persian-American social entrepreneur, how she responded to opposition from campus administrators. Swipe Out Hunger is a nonprofit organization that is working to end hunger by activating college students to donate their unused meal points. Since Swipe Out Hunger began in 2009 as a college pet project, the NGO has served 1.3 million meals. Rachel Sumekh was recently awarded Champion of Change by The White House and named in the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Social Entrepreneurship. This episode is sponsored by the Tikker, the death watch that counts down your life (and tells the time). Use the promo code SHIN at the checkout to get a 10% discount on your purchase. Memorable Quotes: “When you have opposition, you grow stronger.” “Every college student is insecure. We believe that food shouldn’t be one of the things they are insecure about.” “I didn’t go on a single date in a year. In L.A..” “How do I progress this conversation or better understand the other person?” “Have people who will keep you accountable for a BIG vision.” Rachel Sumekh Reading List The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky Rachel Sumekh Show Notes Students were accumulating hundreds of dollars of meal credits by the end of each semester and they were expiring Instead of letting the meal dollars expire, Rachel convinced her classmates to buy food to-go at the end of the semester using the leftover meal credits and gave them out to the hungry in the city Before Swipeout Hunger, students were using the extra dollars to buy a bunch of water bottles they didn’t need “When you have opposition, you grow stronger.” The administration didn’t like the initiative at first, due to liability issues and losing control Instead of giving up, Swipe Out Hunger got the SGA and key faculty members involved Swipe Out Hunger provides food closets for students who are hungry and are at risk of dropping out Many students that Swipe Out Hunger serves are homeless Swipe Out Hunger gives out dining vouchers to students and also supplies food pantries on 400 campuses Swipe Out Hunger is operating chapters in 26 universities Sometimes they work with the universities to get them to buy and donate food to a local homeless shelter or food bank. Universities get bulk prices Swipe Out Hunger relies on the honor code, given the fact that students can abuse the system and take more food than they need “Every college student is insecure. We believe that food shouldn’t be one of the things they are insecure about.” 14% of students in community colleges are homeless. In California, 1 in 10 students are homeless in the state school system. 33% of college students skip meals because of finances These students were likely getting free or subsidized breakfasts/lunches during grade school Many of the beneficiaries are former foster youth, undocumented students, immigrants, students who don’t have access to financial aid When Rachel Sumekh graduated in 2012, she felt like she wanted to change the world She spent a year working in the trenches with the homeless through AmeriCorps At nighttime, she worked on Swipe Out Hunger “What gets you excited? What gives you energy in life?” Because Rachel is Persian-American, everyone in her ethnic community asked her what the heck she was doing as they expected her to become a doctor, lawyer, or get married Minority or immigrant communities usually don’t see social entrep