Liz Volpe: “We want to educate a million disadvantaged youth by the year 2020”

Liz Volpe turned her hobby and passion of helping and educating young children into a flourishing NFP.

Volpe and her husband both are successful entrepreneurs and are now using their careers as a platform for helping disadvantaged youth.

After visiting Cambodia, Volpe said she was deeply moved by this experience and made it her mission to help those underprivileged youth she met whilst in Cambodia.

Volpe is the co-founder of Project Gen Z, a NFP that aims to educate a million (international) disadvantaged youth by the year 2020.

Third Sector spoke with Volpe to discuss her inspiration, entrepreneurs and what it is like to work so closely with her husband.

TS: What was your inspiration behind project Gen Z?

LV: With my main company called ‘Best Possibilities’, I worked with NFPS and big charities for about 10 years. In 2011 I got the opportunity to go over to Cambodia and visit Geraldine Cox’s Sunrise. I had never really known much about Cambodia but for some reason it massively impacted my life. [ Back in Australia] it was this nagging thing in the back of my head that I had to go back to Cambodia. After having a little boy and becoming a mom, these feelings became stronger. Last February I was sitting with my husband, I was going through a dip at work motivation wise and my husband said to me “your passion is Cambodia. Lets go there, lets do something.” We decided to use the skills we have and put some workshops together. That in a nutshell was my inspiration for everything.

TS: What are the most valuable skills that the entrepreneurs that work for you have?

LV: One of the most important things I look at is a type of attitude. A really positive attitude is important and someone who is diverse in their approach. Andrew Morello (winner of Australian Apprentice) is a great example of that. He comes from a working class family and worked very hard. He is a big passionate person and his passion is really about making a difference and that is what I feel is the most valuable.

TS: You have Andrew Morello working with you, is it important to have big names supporting your cause?

LV: Yes and no, as what we do on a basic level is all about the education so it isn’t just about them having a big profile. There is so much hidden talent in Australia. However, big names do help with fundraising and that is really important too.

TS: What is it like working so closely with your husband?

LV: We have been doing it for a few years now. We have got to know our strengths and weaknesses and we have a strict guideline so we don’t over step the mark with the decision-making. It is definitely a challenge for sure.

TS: How do you raise most your funds?

LV: For every single attendee that comes on the trip and is chosen, we ask to show commitment and raise a minimum of $6,000 themselves. Some of them run workshops to raise funds or make small events. We also run really big fundraisers on the side.

TS: What are your biggest struggles?

LV: Last year was really our trial [for Gen Z]  and we have been incredibly lucky with the start to our journey but I am sure there will be struggles to come. We have no direct competition, which is really great. In fact, I got emails from all across the world asking how to get involved. We are still at the beginning, so I am sure we will have plenty of competition to come. We have to make sure we partner with the right NFP projects in different countries. We are dealing with NFPs that have incredibly good reputations and know where the money is going to be spent and that is really important.

TS: What hopes do you have for the future of Project Gen Z?

LV: We want to educate a million disadvantaged youth by the year 2020 and it is now about putting together the models and resources to make it work. We want to donate $1,100 every time we visit overseas.