The Mosbacher Institute for Trade, Economics and Public Policy in the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University will present the annual Bank of America Program on Volunteerism on Monday, April 24. The featured speaker will be Lauren Bush Lauren, founder and CEO of FEED, whose mission is “Creating Good Products That Help FEED the World.”
Bush Lauren’s lecture is titled “Food for Thought: Building a Social Business to Change the World.” The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Annenberg Presidential Conference Center, beginning with a 5pm reception, followed by the lecture at 6pm. The Bush Museum Store will be offering select FEED products for sale before and after the program.
Bush Lauren founded FEED in 2007 after seeing firsthand the effects of hunger while traveling as a United Nations World Food Program student spokesperson. Every product (mostly handbags and accessories) sold by FEED has a donation attached to it, and to date, the social business has provided nearly 95 million meals to children and families throughout the world in partnership with the WFP and Feeding America. FEED also supports nutrition programs around the world, providing more than 3.7 million children with vitamin A supplements.
Bush Lauren graduated from Princeton University and was a well-known model and designer before launching FEED. In 2013, she became the Advocacy Award recipient from the World of Children Awards in celebration of the significant work she and her organization, FEED Projects, have done for hungry children worldwide. For her work with FEED, Bush Lauren was named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs in 2009, one of Inc.’s 30 Under 30 in 2010, and one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Social Entrepreneurs in 2014.
The Bank of America endowed its Program on Volunteerism through the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation in 2000. Now administered by the Mosbacher Institute, the program is an effort to educate individuals and corporations on the importance of corporate citizenship and volunteer activities in today's society. Previous speakers in the series have included Bud Philbrook of Global Volunteers, Neal Keny-Guyer of Mercy Corps, and Jenna Bush Hager, speaking about Ana’s Story.
Seating is limited and registration is required by Thursday, April 20, at http://bush.tamu.edu/bushlauren or (979) 845-1927.
