During a time of budget cuts and job loss, taking things away seems to have become the norm, but two University students are stepping up to revive the concept of giving back.
Sreeram Yalamanchili, biology senior, and Arman Naraghi-Pour, international studies and political science senior, have recently started a UNICEF student organization at LSU.
UNICEF is a global organization committed to influencing countries to enact initiatives that help better education, health and children’s safety.
“It’s not controversial, and everyone can get behind it,” Naraghi-Pour said.
He said the University’s large student body working together can make a visible difference. Because UNICEF reaches such a broad group of participants, everyone from humanities to sciences can get involved.
Members can help manage organizational funding, do community service or spread the word through awareness and advocacy, Yalamanchili said.
Steven Kuo, vice president of the UNICEF chapter and biology senior, said there are 300,000 children in Somalia who are plagued with malnutrition.
Taking a couple minutes out of the day to help them receive the same opportunities and amenities we have is a small but important commitment, Kuo said.  
The organization is engaging the local community with the Water Tap project, one of the first of its initiatives. Baton Rouge restaurants who participate will ask each server to provide any customer who orders water with the opportunity to donate $1.
This dollar helps a child in a developing country have fresh water for 40 days, Yalamanchili said.
UNICEF is also planning to reach Baton Rouge area schools by implementing a Kids Helping Kids program in which each child carries a donation box while trick-or-treating. The money each child collects will benefit UNICEF.
“That’s a great way to get the community involved,” Naraghi-Pour said about the program.
Members may also have the opportunity to travel to India with the organization this summer. The chapter hopes to work at an orphanage to teach Indian children to speak English.
Yalamanchili said many Indian children in rural areas are struggling in their studies because of a lack of teachers and resources. The goal is to interact with the children and their teachers in order to help develop their English skills and to leave a lasting lesson plan.
He said it gives these children a “structured lifestyle — something they don’t