Family history inspires giving for Melchiorre family

This story is written by Johnathan McGinty

Altruism runs deep in the Melchiorre family.

Motivated by their own personal experiences and inspired by the charitable passions of their loved ones, Paul and Nicole Melchiorre are seeking to open more opportunities for University of Georgia students for decades to come. As a young man, Paul, the first in his family to graduate college, watched as his mother maintained a series of scholarships for single mothers to help supplement school fees that were not covered by federal or other financial aid.

Today, that spirit of giving back lives on as the Melchiorres are actively engaged in a variety of philanthropic endeavors at UGA. For instance, after seeing the effects that school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic had on college students impacted by food insecurity, they opted to get more involved with programs, like Let All The Big Dawgs Eat, to provide meals plans to students in need.

Let All The Big Dawgs Eat is a need-based food scholarship initiative that awards meal plans to UGA students. Offering examples of students whose college tuition was paid for but had to choose between food and medicine outside of their studies, the couple noted they wanted to ease pressures for students. Through their efforts, five different students received meal plans during this year.

“Those are choices that folks are faced with all the time. If we can help take away that hurdle and provide them with that, we just thought that was kind of a no brainer,” Nicole added. “Education isn’t just about what you learn in the classroom, but it’s also the experiences outside of the classroom.”

It’s one of just many ways the couple gives back.

As members of the Parents Leadership Council (PLC), Paul and Nicole are part of a group of highly engaged parents who are eager to be involved on campus and make a direct impact on undergraduate student life.

“I really loved how they’re giving back,” Nicole said of the PLC. “We’ve been fortunate, and I’d love to pay it forward and help someone else with their education. PLC seems like a nice way to be able to do that.”

As parents, Paul and Nicole have strived to stay involved in their children’s schools, using it as an avenue to better know their neighbors, friends, teachers and communities as the children progressed in their studies at every level. Similarly, with the couple living in Philadelphia, they see PLC as a way to stay involved with UGA, despite the distance separating them.

“We’ll never know everything UGA is doing, but it’s nice to hear what they are working on,” Nicole said. “With the parents that are involved, it helps make that big college feel a bit smaller, where you kind of have your own group. The folks that I’ve met have been lovely.”

In 2014 their daughter, Kristen, graduated from UGA’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, while another daughter, Alexis, is in her junior year pursuing a management information systems (MIS) degree from the Terry College of Business. Alongside these connection points, PLC meetings have enabled the family to see a wide ranging cross section of the academic endeavors across campus, many of which parallel some of the conversations Nicole has had with her daughter’s own interests.

“Students have fantastic ideas,” she said. “What has been the most appealing to me is when I’ve attended a meeting, listening to the students speak about what they’re getting out of it, how the parent community has supported them and the different initiatives they are pushing forward with. I like encouraging students to think outside the box, take that initiative to present in front of people, to talk about their passions and to know folks are listening.”

With contributions from the Melchiorres and others, dozens of students are being impacted by PLC members. Care is found at the core of Paul and Nicole Melchiorre, and they hope to give future students the positive experience their children have felt in the Classic City.

“We’ve been very fortunate that our family has had great experiences and met wonderful people,” Nicole said. “At the end of the day, you want your children to be happy and healthy, and they’re definitely very happy and healthy down in Georgia.”

Want to know how you can get involved? Consider being a part of parent philanthropy at UGA by joining the Parents Leadership Council or learning about ways your family can make an impact by contacting parents@uga.edu.