All around the world there are people being neglected, suffering and not having basic needs such as food, water and shelter fulfilled. While people
see the need to help the unfortunate, they do not necessarily know how to get started.
With the large number of non-profit organizations in the world, a lot of them working towards the same goal, people aren’t sure which ones to get involved in.
This is where sophomore Madison Mikhail and her sisters begin to contribute. Mikhail and her sisters have been working for the past eight years to turn their dream of ONELIFE into a reality.
ONELIFE is a non-profit organization by and for young people that seeks to serve as a bridge between the public and reliable nonprofit organizations addressing critical needs. The mission of ONELIFE can be described in their tagline, See | Help | Tell.
“We provide information that helps people see the world and how it is hurting. We supply ways for people to help by supporting solutions for the issues they care about most passionately. And we encourage people to tell others to do the same,” Mikhail said.
The organization provides the tools for people to find a cause and a non-profit they are passionate about. ONELIFE will be showcasing reliable organizations on their website that will be launched mid this year, categorized by different world needs such as orphans, HIV, clean water and cancer.
“We think it is important for the individual to choose from the topics given what they care about. We want to give them the resources and the encouragement to follow their passion,” Mikhail said.
Supporting a non-profit can be a very life-enriching experience and give a person purpose.
Freshman Stephanie Garrison is involved with two organizations, Pura Vida and the Not For Sale Campaign, and vouches how it has changed her life.
“I think it’s beneficial for students to be involved in something that is helping other people and is bigger than themselves. Pura Vida bracelets, when sold, support a full time job for someone who makes them in Costa Rica. It’s awesome knowing I’m helping to make a difference in the life of someone I’ve never even met,” Garrison said.
While ONELIFE is helping students and people find purpose in their own lives and helping them make a change, the founders are also making a direct change themselves.
Mikhail and her sisters also have partnered with VisionTrust for a project involving selling bracelets. Each of the four Mikhail sisters designed a bracelet for sale.
The youngest, Sheridan, voiced that she wanted the proceeds from her bracelet to benefit orphans and help pay for their needs, such as food, health and education costs.
These underprivileged orphans live in places such as Mexico, Zimbabwe and the Dominican Republic. The rest of the bracelets’ proceeds will go towards keeping the organization running.
In the minds of ONELIFE’s founders, the formal launch of the organization has not yet happened and there is still a lot of work to be done. While Mikhail believes the organization is not yet a true reality, she is excited for the future.
“I started thinking of the idea of ONELIFE in early middle school and I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I know we are all anxious of the steps to come in the next couple months, but we know you have to jump before you fly,” Mikhail said.
ONELIFE has a presence on various college campuses such as Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Miami University and Cedarville University. A chapter will hopefully be starting officially at Capital University in the near future.
“We haven’t become a recognized organization on campus through the Student Involvement Office just yet. We are working out the different obstacles such as filling positions, creating our own personalized mission and what exactly we plan to do before we go further with it,” Angela Sattler, Vice President of the organization, said.
The current ONELIFE board at Capital University includes Sattler, Mikhail and two co-presidents, Chris Weisgarber and Joe Alecusan. The team is looking for more people to be involved so if one is interested they should contact Sattler at onelife_capital@yahoo.com or check out the Facebook page One Life at Capital University.
