Health

Fundraising for the cause

Neonatal_Tetanus

Alumna Cristina Bacor, the senior director at CSS Fundraising, is reaching out to students to work with her in fundraising and promoting awareness of tetanus internationally. | Courtesy of Cristina Bacor

A 2006 alumna is seeking to hire Cougars interested in her nonprofit-fundraising firm to provide worldwide awareness of tetanus and support.

Alumna Cristina Bacor is the senior director at Community Counselling Service Co., a global consulting and management firm that provides fundraising, development services and strategic consulting to nonprofit organizations worldwide, according to its website.

CCS has partnered with UNICEF and Kiwanis to raise $110 million for The Eliminate Project, a campaign already in progress to provide tetanus immunizations to at-risk mothers and newborn babies in more than 50 countries around the world.

Since the campaign, 34 countries have eliminated tetanus. However, 25 countries remain heavily afflicted, including Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Sudan, according to The Eliminate Project’s website.

“A pregnant woman in an afflicted country can receive an inoculation for about the cost of $1.80,” Bacor said. “Think about that kind of lifesaving change. That’s less than the price of a coffee.”

Tetanus is a serious medical condition derived from bacteria in the soil and spurred by unsanitary medical procedures. Those infected by the disease suffer intense muscle spasms, lockjaw and eventually death.

“I would fully support vaccine globalization,” said political science junior Miroslava Mendiola. “And if I were an elected representative, I would endorse the project politically.”

With offices around the country and around the world, CCS is looking to expand its reach in the Southwest. To do this effectively, it will need its own homegrown team, which is why Bacor wants Cougars in particular to help kick-start future projects.

“Homegrown consultants will know the culture unlike anyone else. There is real advantage there,” Bacor said. “And as an UH alum, I think it is important for students to know that Coogs can make a difference — worldwide.”

The Eliminate Project intends to vaccinate more than 61 million women and babies globally during the campaign.

“I commend the efforts,” said sophomore chemical engineering major Jamie Summey-Rice, “but I don’t know if it is something that would fit with my career. Perhaps public relations majors and business majors would be better suited for the task.”

Bacor stresses that hiring is open to all majors.

“We’re always looking for good people,” Bacor said. “A beginning-level hire starts as an associate director, and each are paired with an executive director to teach them the ins and outs of the philanthropy industry. It could also prove advantageous in brushing up one’s professional etiquette.”

Cougars interested in fundraising for nonprofits should contact Bacor via her Linkedin page at linkedin.com/in/cristinabacor.

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