leading on a Global Scale Lauren Manning & Joan DeGennaro By Kerry Bader, Upper School theology teacher
“a social awareness that impels to action,” is one of the five Goals and Criteria of a Sacred Heart education. Scores of alumnae dedicate themselves to making the world a better place. Here is one example. lauren Manning and Joan DeGennaro, friends from the Class of 2009, both graduated in 2013 from Northwestern university, and work in the fields of social justice and development. They credit Sacred Heart for inspiring faith in action and providing opportunities to develop organizational skills. In Gulu, uganda, lauren Manning ’09 works to protect children who fall prey to exploitation and abuse. a fellow in the Princeton in africa program, lauren is currently the communication officer for Invisible Children. although more than 4,000 miles from her home in Connecticut, uganda does not seem like a strange land to lauren because during her five years at Sacred Heart, she saw the School address the needs of ugandans, in particular the children attending our sister school. Her friend and classmate, Joan DeGennaro ’09, also finds herself immersed in using her organizational skills to help those in need. as a development associate at Catholic Charities in New York City,
Joan uses the skills she first honed at Sacred Heart to help Catholic Charities fund services that alleviate the pain, suffering and alienation felt by the poor and vulnerable in New York and its suburbs. Both women participated in community service while students at Sacred Heart. lauren traveled on a lourdes pilgrimage to help the sick and to New Orleans to build homes. “although the immediate community at CSH is small, one of the most important things I found is that Sacred Heart recognizes the power of our wider community, both locally and globally,” said lauren. Sacred Heart provided a catalyst to ignite her desire to work in global relief. The real-life experience lauren received as a member of CSH’s student-run philanthropy, the Barat Foundation, not only helped her gain a broader understanding of the needs of the domestic and international community, but it also provided an opportunity to learn how non-profits are funded and prioritize projects. “During my four years on the board, I learned a lot about measuring impact and how funding influences program structure,” she said. Now, when she sits in grant meetings, she recalls Barat board discussions. “It makes me consider what a committee might look for when deciding who to award funding to,” lauren said.
(top of page) Lauren Manning ’09, third from left, with Invisible Children staff Lauren Manning ’09, left, and Joan DeGennaro ’09
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HORIZONS spring/summer 2014
Lauren Manning ’09 in Uganda