Preston Brasch ‘09
Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado
Yearlong Fellow

Why did you want to become a PIFP Fellow?

Starting at a young age, I was always involved in service. I remember visiting a soup kitchen as a kid, and not understanding exactly what it was or who the clients were. In high school, I became aware that I wanted to help the world in some way. At CC, I didn’t get involved in service until my senior year, but having that connection inspired me to apply for PIFP. I knew the experience would shift my values, enrich my perspective, and give me a work experience impossible to attain most other places.

Please give a brief description of your job/role in your host organization:

Since I am the first fellow at Care and Share, they have put a lot of effort into creating a detailed job description and projects that will both engage and challenge me. I am the project leader for a 5-year “Gap Analysis.” The report will help Care and Share better understand the needs in their 31 service counties and how to best meet those needs. Among other things, I will be planning campaign events, giving board presentations, visiting Feeding America Chicago (C&S’s umbrella organization), facilitating round table discussions, and helping our CFO with some projects.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned about your host organization so far?

I’ve learned how big the organization is and how much it takes to run it. With such a large service area and so many clients and member agencies, Care and Share has built a structured system to reach as many people as efficiently and effectively as possible. They have adopted business models and strategic plans, and set target dates for the number of people they hope to feed and the amount of food they hope to send out. At first I was surprised to see such a simple concept (feeding people) turned into such a complex system. Those number figures, however, are not dollars and cents to be earned, but instead human beings to be fed. They all have their stories and reasons for needing help, and I have been amazed at Care and Share’s ability to keep those stories and people’s needs at the forefront of all they do.

What activities do you enjoy?

Watching films; reading books, newspapers, and the occasional magazine; listening to podcasts and NPR; cooking; swimming; jogging; and hiking.

What is something most people would be surprised to know about you?

I have never been to a zoo or circus in my life.