CAMBRIDGE, MA—On October 31, Belayneh Densamo Gugu of Cambridge will travel to Washington DC for the first time and return to a career in running he left eight years ago. Gugu will run the Marine Corps Marathon as part of a national fundraising effort for National Student Partnerships (NSP), a student-run nonprofit organization with local offices in Cambridge and Somerville, MA.

In his native Ethiopia, Gugu was a respected runner who won the Rotterdam Marathon in 1988 and held the world record for 10 years. In the spring of 2003, Gugu left behind a comfortable life as a coach of the Ethiopian national running team and Lieutenant Officer of the Police force to move to Cambridge. "I believe strongly in education and the school system in the Boston area is among the best in the world. I had the chance to give my children a better life. I could not turn that down," says Gugu. In the last year, while Gugu's three children have excelled in the Cambridge school system, Gugu struggled to find work coaching long distance running to support his family. He works at a local hotel and coached part time in Chelsea, MA, but finds the high housing costs a challenge and fears being forced out of Cambridge as a result.

Gugu was able to benefit directly from NSP's services, as student volunteers at NSP-Cambridge helped him create a resume and search for employment. It was this assistance that inspired Gugu to join "Team NSP" in the largest private fundraising effort in the organization's history. "The students helped me to learn a new country, and with my job search. I want to allow other students to continue this work to help other people the way they helped me," says Gugu.

Founded five years ago by students at Yale University, NSP works to bridge the gap between universities and communities to combat unemployment and homelessness. NSP operates 15 Local Offices where student volunteers work one-on-one with low-income community members to help them find housing, jobs and other social services. Locally, Harvard University students have assisted community members for over three years and have recently expanded to a new office staffed by Tufts University students in Somerville. Fifty members of the NSP community from across the country will run the Washington, DC Marine Corps Marathon in what they call a "run through the answers" focusing on the ability of individuals to utilize the positive resources in our country's neighborhoods. The event will raise funds to support services provided by the 15 NSP Local Offices.

NSP staff and volunteers are inspired by Gugu's contribution to the fundraising effort despite his own personal challenges. "I hope that the generosity Belanyeh has shown to NSP will be returned to him as we help him search for more meaningful employment and affordable housing for his family," says Megan Newman, Site Coordinator for the NSP-Cambridge Office.

NSP-Cambridge is currently soliciting donations to help Gugu in his fundraising efforts. To make a tax-deductible contribution, or for more information about National Student Partnerships, please contact Megan Newman at (617) 349-6342 or mnewman@nspnet.org.

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