Email
PrintE4p Tackles Poverty
One organization strives to help people near and far.
E4p project partners in Blantyre, Malawi host a business development seminar to nurture start-up businesses and encourage entrepreneurial efforts.
In Morgantown and beyond, people are working to change the way nonprofits do business.
Called E4p, the organization was first established in Schenectady, New York, in January 2010. Co-founders David Dussault and Pamela Mandsager both brought something different to the table. David was a small business owner in Schenectady with strong entrepreneurial skills, and Pamela was heavily involved with nonprofits. In July 2011, the organization was able to expand and opened a second chapter in Morgantown.
“E4p believes that people in poverty wish to escape it, but often times what they lack are opportunities, skills, and knowledge,” says Morgantown Chapter Director Natalie Committee.
The organization encourages people to use their individual skills and resources to bring about opportunities for themselves and their communities. E4p makes this possible by investing in local and worldwide projects while focusing on the group’s four Es—education, economic value, environmental sustainability, and energy independence. Specifically, E4p helps provide education to the poor by supplying items such as textbooks, uniforms, school supplies, farming training, and teacher training. They also focus on school upgrades and provide scholarships.
The Morgantown chapter works with a local partner, Bartlett House, and a global partner, People Development Fund Africa, of Blantyre, Malawi. The group’s main goal with Bartlett House is to reduce the rate of recidivism, or the number of people who return after having been there previously. “Recently, we have seen that more and more people at Bartlett House are experiencing what is known as situational poverty. This can occur due to a variety of difficult and unexpected circumstances, such as the loss of a job, medical expenses, or divorce,” Natalie says.
E4p is also creating the Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation program. Through this program, E4p will teach residents at Bartlett House job-readiness training, life-skills training, addictive behaviors awareness, financial responsibility training, and provide mentorship.
E4p also provides emotional resources, Natalie says. “For most people in poverty, there is a lack of support systems, such as friends or family who are able to offer assistance. When times are tough, they are left with no other options. E4p and Bartlett House seek to create support systems through a Mentorship and Outreach program that will help residents make a successful transition to self-sufficiency.”
Anyone interested in helping E4p may contact Natalie at nataliec@e4poverty.org
