Hope Collaborative - Blog

Stories of Hope and Courage: Workforce Investment Network at State Street is a major philanthropic initiative to help prepare youth for the workforce

11/8/2018

Congratulations to State Street Corporation for winning the Hope DWF 2018 Human Excellence Corporate Courage Award!

WATCH: State Street Corporation started as a small community bank in Boston, Massachusetts in the late 1700s, and is now one of the largest wealth stewards in the world. Company leaders have innovated human resource recruitment models that have had critical impact in urban environments to advance the economic needs of the poorest communities. Their Workforce Investment Network” is a multi million dollar philanthropic initiative to help prepare youth for the workforce in partnership with other major foundations. Intern programs for high-potential young leaders from under-resourced communities moving into the mainstream of corporate participation is an example of the kind of impact the bank is having in creating increased employment and roadmaps to connection.

Watch State Street

Watch Stories of Hope and Courage: Steve Stirling at Map International--Providing Life Saving Medicine to Poor Children Globally

11/1/2018

Meet Steve Stirling: "I Was a Throw Away" Kid who Grew Up to be CEO of a Global Organization Providing Life-Changing Medicines to Kids in Need.

We honored Steve Stirling at the 2018 Human Excellence Awards, because he is an inspiration to a new generation of social action youth leaders. Mr. Stirling sees the potential for greatness in every child, especially those with serious health needs who can easily be overlooked in societies without sufficient health care resources. He comes by the work naturally. Growing up in South Korea, he contracted Polio at the age of 2. Imagine contracting a disease that can now be prevented by modern vaccines that are cheap and now ubiquitous to the developed world. His family abandoned him in an orphanage where he lived until he was 11 years old, and then he was adopted by an American family.

Mr. Stirling grew up to be a successful and impactful leader in business and philanthropy. He graduated from Cornell University, and was later awarded a Masters in Management from Northwestern University. He would gain decades of experience in executive leadership, marketing, fundraising, and the management of multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations, including Heifer International, World Vision, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Presently, he serves as president and CEO of Map International, an organization that provides free medicines to people and youth living in poverty globally.

Map International's mission is to provide medicines and health supplies to ever person around the world in need, so that they might experience life to the fullest like Steve. His organization helps families gain access to vaccines, prenatal care, treatments, and disaster relief in times of need. Providing the highest quality medicine to those in need is MAP’s top priorities.

Watch Steve Stirling

Hope Dances Salsa!

11/1/2018

Hope Collaborative values the power of leadership culture. Participants drive leadership stories and identities by connecting to their family histories, communities, and countries of origin. Family Life Academy Charter School (FLACS), one of Hope's powerful education partners, is a life-changing charter school located in the Bronx, New York--a place with prominent Latino identity, learning, and culture.

Our partners at FLACS recently produced a heritage celebration, and featured their work with Hope as part of the day to outreach to parents in leadership. Facilitators at FLACS, and parents in Hope, encourage new parents to become a part of the Hope Collaborative initiative and network. And the salsa dance goes on-:)

Shown here: at the FLACS middle school, a teacher teaches Salsa dance to parents and students. Salsa dance and music is a vibrant and energetic medium that drives energy, excitement, and connection to the roots of the culture. This prominent dance style derives from a blend of Cuban Mambo and Latin Jazz ,accented by choreography from New York-based artists. Salsa has evolved in South and Central American countries in ways that transcend class and race, It is one epitome of Latin pride--and celebrated and performed throughout the world.
Tito Puente and Celia Cruz. Names that bring chills from their exciting and energetic Salsa demonstrations!

Hope Rises in Nigeria

11/1/2018

It was thrilling for us to watch this week as powerful aspiring leaders in Nigeria participate in the Hope Collaborative leadership development program. You can see example here of how they drive meaning and purpose in creating leadership art. In the program, young aspiring leaders describe their life as a thread of meaningful memories and assets that they are encouraged to always hold close in their journey to leadership self. Young people discover what it means for them to ascend to leadership on the strength of their life purpose, on the power of new leadership models, and the excitement of programming that moves from art to skill building--from stories of courage that become the foundation of storytelling in video production. These posters and artwork created under the supervision of our powerfully gifted partners at the Spiritan School represent the participants' capacity to map the meaning and substance of their lives from birth to now--and moving forward.

This young participant pictured above uses the metaphor of his life as a staircase from crucible to success--from challenge to mastery, as someone who can bring increasing self awareness, vision, and understanding to his school and community. Through self examination and reflection, Hope participants understand their place in the world, the potential they have for positive impact and social change, and their journey towards becoming youth leaders in a world who needs them now more than ever.

Stories of Hope and Courage: Nancy Lindborg, President of the United States Institute of Peace

10/25/2018

Congratulations to Nancy Lindborg, President of the United States Institute of Peace, for winning the Hope DWF 2018 Human Excellence Award!

WATCH: Nancy Lindborg is a champion for peace and innovative solutions to address some of the most conflict driven areas in the world.

Nancy has served since February, 2015, as President of the United States Institute of Peace, an independent institution founded by Congress to provide practical solutions for preventing and resolving violent conflict around the world. She has spent most of her career working in fragile and conflict affected regions around the world. Prior to joining USIP, she served as the assistant administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance (DCHA) at USAID. Ms. Lindborg led USAID teams focused on building resilience and democracy, managing and mitigating conflict and providing urgent humanitarian assistance. Ms. Lindborg led DCHA teams in response to the ongoing Syria Crisis, the droughts in Sahel and Horn of Africa, the Arab Spring, the Ebola response and numerous other global crises.

Stories of Hope and Courage: Watch Kevin Sheehan on the Power of High Level Leadership to Solve Poverty

10/18/2018

Hope's Executive Director Kevin Sheehan welcome address at the Hope-DWF 2018 Human Excellence Award celebrated and promoted the powerful leadership capacities of outstanding social entrepreneurs addressing mankind’s critical social mission issues globally. He described what it takes for legendary leaders deploying solutions for humanity's mission-critical problems to deliver on a promise--and serve poor communities.

Mr. Sheehan welcomed an audience of leaders whose spirit, energy, and service to humanity comes from meta levels of leadership capacity that he described as necessary ingredients in creating stable and fortified futures in partnership with all people.

Watch the video as he describes the magnitude of the problem--half the world's population unable to feed itself and without an ability to access the most basic of health care support. He suggests that it is critical to put in perspective the levels of resource that many of us enjoy, so that we can collectively start to overcome "the failure of imagination" that Paul Farmer, the founder of Partners in Health, described as the fundamental missing building block for the developed world to empathize with a world community in crisis--and start partnering on critical-path solutions.

Watch the Video

Hope Welcomes Our Partners In South America!

10/17/2018

Hope is launching in South America! We are thrilled to welcome our partners at Collegio de Valores Humanos in Columbia with 50 new youth participants and facilitators joining the program this fall! Stay tuned to learn about their exciting adventures in leadership storytelling, skill building, and discovery. We are together building new ways and channels of innovation for them to become thriving youth leaders in their neighborhoods.

Stories of Hope and Courage: Gravity Payments Pays all their Workers at least $70,000 a year!

10/16/2018

Congratulations to Gravity Payments for winning the Hope DWF 2018 Human Excellence Corporate Courage Award!

WATCH: Gravity Payments is an innovative digital payments processing company in Seattle Washington. Since its inception, company leaders have advanced groundbreaking approaches to business that include a $70,000 standard compensation package for employees, and unlimited vacation time to create a human-centered work environment. Productivity, performance, and a commitment to a shared culture of excellence and leadership quality have resulted, and are hallmarks of their work. Focus on innovative techniques for creating a new kind of company are capturing the imagination of observers and media representatives alike.

Stories of Hope and Courage: Driscoll's Mission to Support Farmers

10/4/2018

Congratulations to Driscoll's. for winning the Hope DWF 2018 Human Excellence Corporate Courage Award!

WATCH: Driscoll’s, Inc. was founded in the late 1800s by the Driscoll and Reiter families, and has since become the largest berry supplier in the United States. Central to Driscoll’s corporate mission has been the support of farmers and their local communities to expand and grow in prosperity. Shared innovation, best practices, and a vision for what is possible when companies and communities work together to create success has made exceptional progress happen.

4 Ways Hope Collaborative is Developing Youth Globally

9/27/2018

Clockwise: Sam Vaghar, Executive Director, Millennium Campus Network at a roundtable discussion, Mr. C. Sreenivas, Chairman of the Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospital speaks with a group of interested students; and Laura Stone, Founder of Purpose Stone conducts an educational workshop.

One: Hope Educates

Hope Collaborative provides our partners in the United States and internationally a 12-semester youth leadership development curriculum and program that is best in class, according to leading education institutions. We work hand in hand with our partners in impoverished areas to implement student-centered interactive learning approaches that allow young people to find their leadership voice across various talent sets. Primary to the work is skill building, arts integration, storytelling, and video production as a way to bring to life critical leadership topics such as Team Building, Self Awareness, andRelationship Skills. Research shows that leadership capacity positions young people to advance and achieve at impactful levels that set them up for long-term success. One Hope graduate told us: "The lessons of Hope will stay with me for the rest of my life."

Two: Hope Connects

Hope Collaborative's helps aspiring young leaders develop their powerful leadership capacities as well as find their impactful place in their communities. Overcoming poverty requires leadership, vision, innovation, and resources in large doses. Our annual Hope DWF Youth Leadership Development Conference at Harvard University introduces aspiring leaders to established social mission champions to bridge wisdom, skills, and experience from generation to generation. As examples, young leaders in June enjoyed roundtables and intimate conversations with inspirations such as Mr. C. Sreenivas, instrumental in setting up free hospitals for poor communities, Laura Stone, CEO of Purpose Stone, a global leadership development organization; and Sam Vaghar, CEO of Millennium Campus Network. This fall, we are providing free online, interactive workshops to continue and advance the relationships between generations, as well as the hope of the young participants to create powerful social change. We are starting to connect youth participants with corporate internships and youth organizations that drive social mission business building as a way to expand the network.

Three: Hope Broadcasts

Our partners produce videos of young people developing leadership skills and their leadership stories. We are creating a video library for kids to teach kids, and partners to guide partners, in creating a leadership culture globally. In addition, we are architecting a global broadcast network for capturing and sharing the stories of young people building--and making a difference--in their neighborhoods.

Four: Hope Convenes

We have produced cultural events at some of the top cultural showcases, including the House of Blues and Passim Cultural Center, to bring together and celebrate the achievements of Hope partners and participants. We are now bringing a community of learners online to convene and create ongoing and regular leadership development workshops among a global audience committed to driving human evolution and the power of youth making big change happen.

It is our privilege to work with all of you at the forefront of a new generation of Hope and change. Thanks for your belief, involvement, and commitment throughout the year!