A student-initiated nonprofit committed to assisting Ugandan orphans has earned Berry College national recognition through the Jenzabar Foundation’s Student Leadership Awards.

According to a press release, Berry joins Brigham Young University, the University of Southern California and seven other institutions of higher learning on the list of 2010 award winners.

The Jenzabar program recognizes student groups and their respective leaders who have demonstrated a commitment to making a difference through community service and/or humanitarian endeavors in the United States and worldwide. Honorees receive a $5,000 grant to support their future efforts.

Berry was honored for a grant proposal drafted by a trio of students in support of The African SOUP – Sponsorship of Orphans in Uganda Project. This new nonprofit was founded by student Brin Enterkin in response to the tremendous need she witnessed while teaching microfinance to rural Ugandan women in 2009. Working in collaboration with Experiential Learning International (ELI), Enterkin and her fellow students are undertaking various initiatives to raise funds that can be wired directly to Uganda to support the country’s nearly 2 million orphans.

The successful grant proposal was prepared by Enterkin with assistance from fellow students Brenna Conley and Morgan West.

“The grant money will be used to cover costs of necessities and education for children in the orphanages of Iganga, Uganda,” Enterkin stated. “And construction has already begun for a safer and more sustainable orphanage [the Capital Building Project].”

Enterkin is no stranger to community service. While still in high school, the Fayetteville, Ga., native helped raise funds to build a school in Cambodia. After arriving at Berry, she earned a grant to teach microfinance to women in a rural Ugandan village. It was that experience that ignited her passion for Ugandan orphans and led to the founding of SOUP.

In addition to her work with SOUP, Enterkin lends her time and talents to the Berry Enterprises Student Team (BEST), a student-led consulting group that provides expertise and assistance for student-operated enterprises on the Berry campus. She also serves as CEO of Berry Nonprofit Strategic Services, a student-operated enterprise that provides strategic planning and business planning services to community nonprofit organizations at various levels of development. This summer, she is in Washington, D.C., working as a policy writing intern for the American Friends Service Committee.

“Brin Enterkin is the consummate Berry student – smart, always smiling, driven to make a difference in the world,” said Provost Katherine Whatley. “She sees a need, is moved by it and then finds a way to help. She meets challenges head-on and keeps on finding ways to solve problems as they crop up, without getting discouraged. Brin is an embodiment of the Berry mission.”