Gratitude Network

FELLOW SPOTLIGHTS! 🌟

Happy November! To welcome in this month of Gratitude, our specialty, we are taking time to celebrate some of our incredible Fellows from the 2024 cohort! 🌎🌱

Gabriela de la Torre is the Director of Programa Adopte Un Talento, a civil association based in Mexico City, Mexico that seeks to promote, with equity and excellence, the talent for mathematics and science in children and young people. 👩‍🔬

Lana Rolfe is the Chief Operating Officer of the School of Hard Knocks SA in Cape Town, South Africa, which works to increase access to evidence-based mental and emotional wellbeing interventions through sport, with the intention of bringing about meaningful social change. ⛹️‍♀️❤

We are so proud of the growth we have already seen from Gabriela and Lana throughout the fellowship, and can’t wait to see their continued development as social nonprofit leaders as the fellowship progresses! 🚀

DID YOU KNOW? 📣

This year, we had over 1,500 applicants for the 2024 Fellowship! Out of this incredible number of inspiring change-makers from around the world, the 34 Fellows chosen for the 2024 cohort shine bright! 🌟

We are so excited to share the inspiring work of these non-profit leaders, changing lives from across the world - such as Francis Odihambo from Cheza Cheza, who uses the power of dance to create access to safe spaces for children in Kenya, or Jessica Love of Daring Girls, which partners locally across the world to empower girls with knowledge, tools, and mentorship to confidently design their own futures. ❤

Stay tuned for a post on Friday, which features the work of two amazing Fellows striving to create positive change in the world! 🌎🌱

Welcome Erica!

We are so incredibly excited to welcome Erica Jeffries to the Gratitude Network team as our Director of Impact & Engagement! 🌎

Erica has 15+ years of experience under her belt, working in community impact, youth development, social entrepreneurship, financial security and cultivating empowerment and change. Erica previously worked as the Chief of Operations at SuitUp, and has a wealth of experience working alongside communities to promote social entrepreneurship and change! She has a dynamic skill set, and we look forward to the incredible contributions she will make to the Gratitude Network! 🌟

Everyone give a warm welcome to Erica Jeffries! ❤️

It was so much fun welcoming new Executive Director, Lauren Reilly, to a group of our Bay Area supporters!

FORUM ANNOUNCEMENT!

🌟 Join us for the GRATITUDE NETWORK FORUM on November 19, a Zoom event celebrating the remarkable work of Gratitude Network Fellows & Alums. 🌟

📅 Date: November 19, 2024
⏰ Time: 8:00AM PT
🔗 Register: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcqfuyprTwjGNS1xGOp0FjmcH6FZQ4WAmTs #/registration

Next month, we will be hosting “FROM PLAY TO PROGRESS,” a forum featuring a panel of Gratitude Network alumni utilizing the power of sports to advance children’s education and encourage youth empowerment! The event will be moderated by Lauren Reilly, our Executive Director.

🌟 **SPEAKERS:**

💙 Enouce Ndeche
- CEO of Vijana Amani Pamoja in Kenya
- 2023 Gratitude Network Fellow

💙 Robert Malengreau
- Founder of UMRio/ONERio in Brazil
- 2022 Gratitude Network Fellow

💙 Kevin Kelley
- Founder & Executive Director of Oakland Lacrosse Club in SF Bay Area
- 2021 Gratitude Network Fellow

We look forward to seeing you there! Let's make a difference together! 🌍💪

We are so excited to share a collaboration between two of our incredible alumni! 🌟

🕊️ In honor of , 2021 Fellow Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza’s The African Education Program (AEP) partnered with 2020 Fellow Lindsay McClain Opiyo’s Generations For Peace to share GFP’s Peace Day Session Plan with students of AEP’s Read For Rose Special Education Hub at the Learning & Leadership Center in Kafue, Zambia! 🏫 🇿🇲

🌍 ❤️ What an amazing way to celebrate International Day of Peace – we love being a part of connections that cross borders, oceans, and languages. We are so proud of alumni Lindsay McClain and Julie-Anne Savarit-Cosenza for transforming the lives of children and youth in their communities & around the world!

🌟 10 YEARS: BEAT THE ODDS!

Did you know only 50% of nonprofits succeed after their first year? And 30% cease to exist after a decade? ❗

🚀 We are so proud of our 2014 Fellows who BEAT THE ODDS! Today we celebrate Tonee Ndungu’s Kytabu, which, one full decade since their fellowship with Gratitude Network, has not only survived, but thrived!

Kytabu began with a revolutionary concept: “an Android application for phones and tablets that enabled teachers and students to rent curriculum textbooks using mobile money,” a model that “created the opportunity for content distribution” where low-income communities across Kenya had the opportunity to access quality learning resources! In the past ten years, Kytabu has grown to now offer “a complete Education suite that includes a school management system tied to a teachers’, parents’ and students’ mobile application,” founded on principles of affordability, relevance, accessibility, and convenience! 💻 🇰🇪 📚

🤝 Kytabu has collaborated with incredible organizations, including backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Mastercard Foundation, as well as features on CNN and The Economist!

Congratulations, Tonee Ndungu and Kytabu! You beat the odds!

🌟 10 YEARS: BEAT THE ODDS! Zaya Learning Labs

Did you know only 50% of nonprofits succeed after their first year? And 30% cease to exist after a decade? ❗

🚀 We are so proud of our 2014 Fellows who BEAT THE ODDS! A full decade since their fellowship with Gratitude Network, and Neil D’Souza’s Zaya Learning Labs has not only survived, but thrived in the past ten years!

From “six years of developing cutting-edge educational products,” Zaya has evolved to an even broader impact: “empowering learning processes for teachers, students, companies, administrators and government bodies… [they] aim to make lasting improvements to existing systems of learning and continue to help children in remote regions access high-quality learning tools.” 💻 📚

Zaya's impact has provided learning tools and bridged the education gap for over 70 schools, 3,600 children, in 11 locations.

Congratulations, Neil D’Souza and Zaya! You beat the odds! 🌟

🌟 10 YEARS: BEAT THE ODDS!

Did you know only 50% of nonprofits succeed after their first year? And 30% cease to exist after a decade? ❗

🚀 We are so proud of our 2014 Fellows who have not only survived, but thrived this past decade! This week, we will be sharing their stories and impacts in the 10 years since first participating in the Gratitude Network fellowship.

Stay tuned to hear more about the 2014 Gratitude Network Fellows who ! 🎉

🌟 We are so thrilled that our Executive Director, Lauren Reilly, will be speaking at the virtual Risequity Summit next Tuesday, September 25th.

Purchase tickets to learn how you can build teams and ERGs that drive ROI to your business! https://www.risequity.co/event-details/2024-erg-summit 🚀

Welcoming Sandra Mahadwar! 🌟

We are so excited to welcome Sandra Mahadwar to the Gratitude Network Board of Directors.

🚀 Sandra Mahadwar is a seasoned business executive and a certified Board Professional Expert with extensive global experience in human capital, specializing in building robust operations and leading business transformations. She is currently the Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at KLA Corporation.

Welcome, Sandra! We are so excited to have you as part of our Network and our Board. 🌍

🌟We are so excited to welcome former Gratitude Network fellow (‘19) Lauren Reilly as our new Executive Director! 🌟

Lauren brings a wealth of experience and accolades in the non-profit sector, having dedicated the past 13 years to closing the opportunity gap for children in underserved communities. Before joining Gratitude, Lauren was the Chief Program Office at PRACTICE and for the past six years she has served as the CEO at SuitUp, growing the organization 26x during her tenure. Her impressive achievements include being recognized as an Obama White House Champion of Change, a SOCAP entrepreneur, a Goldman Sachs 10KSB alum, and more!

With a background as an educator in the South Bronx and Harlem, coupled with her extensive leadership in the non-profit sector, Lauren is poised to lead Gratitude into the next phase of growth. 🌱📚

🚀Please join us in congratulating Lauren and read the full press release here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1brCyLZD7yju9CbXBxxG1hIGNKdmQDN_f/view?usp=sharing

🌟 Team Member Spotlight!

Continuing this month’s theme: “INVESTING IN YOUNG MINDS,” Bridging the Gap Through Access to Early Education, we’re celebrating a special highlight for team member Joshua Skrzypzcak. 🎓

📰 This past week, Pleasanton Patch featured Josh as a Star Student, nominated by our Founder and Chief Purpose Officer Randy Haykin. Josh not only contributes to the Gratitude Network community as our development assistant – he is also the founder of his own non-profit, Light the Candle for Kids.org! ❤️

We are so proud of Josh’s recognition and his academic accomplishments as he continues his educational journey at UCLA this fall. 🐻 📚

Together, we can lead a future focused on !

❤️ Happy !

Today, we are highlighting 2021 Fellow Julie Garreau’s Cheyenne River Youth Project, following this month’s theme: “INVESTING IN YOUNG MINDS,” Bridging the Gap Through Access to Early Education and in honor of August 9: International Day of The World's Indigenous People! 🌎

The Cheyenne River Youth Project offers a wide variety of programming to “give the Lakota youth and families access to the culturally relevant, enriching, and enduring opportunities they need to build stronger, healthier communities and a more vibrant future together.” 🌟 🌱

The Main University from the Cheyenne River Youth Project opens doors for Lakota youth, offering children the benefit of learning from many different kinds of people from all over the U.S. and the world, and exposing young children to the vocabulary of higher education at a very young age to expand their learning and growth! 📚 🚀

“Main University is not just about education, it is also about setting reasonable goals for success that our children can be proud of when they achieve.” 👩‍🎓 💙

🚀Help us to create more stories and to help invest in community-members who develop their communities for lasting impact by LIKING 👍and SHARING 🔊this post!

Happy August! ☀️

As the summer comes to a close, we welcome this month’s theme: “INVESTING IN YOUNG MINDS,” Bridging the Gap Through Access to Early Education. 📚

❤️ Gratitude Network is proud to work with organizations from around the world that help connect underprivileged youth with the resources to nurture their early education, providing resources to help children thrive. 🌱🚀

We are excited to share several stories from our Fellows who have made a lasting impact in the world of early education, as well as a student highlight from our own team and an exciting announcement from Gratitude Network leadership! 🎓📖

With our focus on early education this month, we emphasize the importance of learning and growth – Gratitude Network is proud to always continue learning from its Fellows as much as we teach them! 🌟

Together, we can lead a future focused on !

Happy ! 🌍 🤝

As we close out this month’s theme of Investing in Community Development for Lasting Impact on Families, we would like to take this international holiday to celebrate the connections that make our work possible! 🌟

We are so thankful for every member of the Gratitude Network, from our Fellows, Alumni, Coaches, Facilitators, Staff, Board, and every single supporter – without you, we would not be the network that we are today! 🙌 💕

The UN describes this international observance: "The resolution places emphasis on involving young people, as future leaders, in community activities that include different cultures and promote international understanding and respect for diversity." ❤️🌈

🌱 We can't think of a better reason to celebrate -- we encourage you to celebrate this International Day of Friendship, and express your gratitude for the friends and community-members in your lives, today and every day!

🌟 Happy ! 🌟

Today, we bring lovely news from 2023 Fellow Enouce Ndeche and his organization, Vijana Amani Pamoja! 🌍

⚽ ❤️ Congratulations Enouce Ndeche and Vijana Amani Pamoja for their feature in BBC News People Fixing the World! This episode, titled Olympic-Sized Solutions, focuses on the positive impacts of sports on people’s lives around the world, describing the thousands of children and youth whose lives were positively changed with VAP’s football programs, integrating social and economic values through sports by creating a pro-active health environment. 🌱

Earlier this year, VAP also participated in Liverpool FC and Standard Chartered’s “Play On: Train the Trainer” program in Nairobi, Kenya. 🇰🇪 On the impact of such program partnerships, Enouce stated, “We believe in the power and the popularity of sports to act as a tool for social and economic change for the underprivileged in our society.” 🏆 🚀

🙌 Vijana Amani Pamoja utilizes the power and passion of football to bring together and develop communities across Kenya, incorporating programs that address HIV and Sexual Reproductive Health, entrepreneurship and employability, as well as libraries and literacy, showing that ! ❤️

🎥 Watch the BBC video featuring VAP and their incredible work here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0jcfjsq, and read the article on VAP’s participation in Play On here: https://www.sportanddev.org/latest/news/vap-participate-lfc-standard-chartereds-play-initiative.

🌍 NEWSLETTER UPDATE! 🌟

🗞 Haven’t signed up for our newsletter yet? No worries!

To stay up-to-date with Gratitude Network events and news, check out our Latest News section on our website, where we will be posting each Gratitude Quarterly Newsletter. 🚀

🔎 Check out the Latest News on Gratitude Network, and read our most recent Gratitude Quarterly Newsletter introducing our inspiring 2024 Fellow Cohort here! https://gratitude-network.org/latest-news/

🌍 Meet our 2024 Fellows! 🌟

These 36 changemakers are making a tremendous impact serving Children & Youth across the world ❤️ from designing sustainable developmental projects in India, empowering women in post-conflict countries globally, and harnessing the power of dance for social emotional learning to marginalized children across Kenya! 🙌

🚀 Did you know that on average, our Fellows increase the number of children served by 3X, after completing our fellowship? 💪 That's the power of their dedication, vision, and our Scaling-Up program!

Join us in welcoming our new 2024 Fellows by LIKING 👍 and SHARING 🔊 this post! Learn more about these incredible organizations on our website: https://gratitude-network.org/who-we-support/2024-organizations/

Together, we can create a brighter future for children worldwide. 🌟✨

Happy ! ❤️

Today we share an incredible story from 2020 Fellow ElsaMarie D'Silva’s Red Dot Foundation, our first for this month’s theme: “TOGETHER WE THRIVE,” Investing in Community Development for Lasting Impact on Families. 🌍

🌱🌟The Red Dot Foundation harnesses the collective power of communities, technology, and data to create safer public and private spaces, free of gender-based violence and fosters a culture of dignity, respect and equality! 📲

👩‍🎓 Shalini is a young girl who, alongside her friends, experienced harassment from men on their journey to school that was so bad the girls chose to drop out in fear for their safety. After connecting with Red Dot Foundation’s Safecity, the young girls learned they were not alone. They petitioned their parents for a safer means of transportation and successfully advocated for a girls-only minivan so they could continue their education and claim their right to a public space within their community! 🎓🚌

❤️ Shalini’s story is just one from around the world where the Red Dot Foundation and their Safecity programs helped communities develop in safety and protection for their future generations! 🤝

🚀Help us to create more stories and to help invest in community-members who develop their communities for lasting impact by LIKING 👍and SHARING 🔊this post!

🌟 Happy July! 🌟

This month, we introduce our theme focused on community development: “TOGETHER WE THRIVE,” 🤝 Investing in Community Development for Lasting Impact on Families. 🌍

❤️ Community is an essential part of our lives, not only for the organizations we work with, but for our own organization as well! This month, we will be sharing stories from our Fellow alumni whose organizations work to uplift and develop their communities, and introducing new members to our Gratitude Network community with our 2024 cohort announcement! 🎓

Throughout this month, and every month, we will engage with our Gratitude Network community and highlight the importance of our Fellows’ work around the world. 🌱

Remember: ! 🌟

🌟 THANK YOU! 🌟

Thank you, Gratitude Network community 🌍 for a wonderful 2024 Leadership Summit! ❤️

🌈🌱 We are so grateful for the overwhelming support and attendance for our annual summit that celebrated the work of our 2023 Fellows! An extra special thank you to Brian Johnson, our keynote speaker, and Radiance Talley, our special guest, as well as the 6 incredible Fellow presenters, Lisa Jamu, Dr. Nyeisha DeWitt, Eileen Tsai, Iana Dashkovska, Sindhuja Jeyabal, and Martha Lidia Oxi Chuy!

🎥 In case you missed it, be sure to check our website soon for a recording of the Summit -- and stay tuned for a special announcement on July 10! 🤫

🌟 SUMMIT TOMORROW! 🙌
The Gratitude Network Summit 2024 is one day away!

❤️ Celebrate and enjoy presentations from our top six p*er-selected Fellows on their organization’s vision, growth trajectory and how Gratitude Network has played a role! ✨

📅 Date: June 26
⏰ Time: 8:00AM PT - 10:00AM PT
📍 Location: ZOOM - FREE EVENT - REGISTER HERE: https://pulse.ly/doohfwdpjw
💪 Who: 2023 Fellows Martha Lidia Oxi Chuy, Eileen Tsai, Nyeisha DeWitt, Iana Dashkova, Lisa Jamu, Sindhuja Jeyabal, Keynote Speaker Brian Johnson, and Special Guest Radiance Talley

🌍 Our auction will close at 8:00pm tomorrow night, so be sure to check out fantastic items and adventures while supporting Fellow Scholars and millions of children around the world! Link: https://paybee.io/@1

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Support our Gratitude nonprofit Fellows with a Fellowship Scholarship! Visit our auction page https://bit.ly/3Rkgvav to travel, shop, meet a Fellow and donate any amount. 100% of net proceeds and donations fund our Fellowship Scholarships to help amazing nonprofit leaders empower children with better education, career opportunities, healthcare and more.

This online auction is a rare opportunity to make a difference AND enjoy a truly memorable item or experience! The auction is presented as part of our Leadership Summit June 26, 8-10 am PST (see: https://bit.ly/LeadershipEvent2024) and the auction will officially CLOSE June 26 at 8 pm PST. Items include:

* Beautiful vacation homes
* Overseas travel throughout the world
* Signed Taylor Swift guitar and sports gear
* Exclusive package for 4 to see a live taping of The Voice
* Exclusive travel gear
* ...and more

Thanks for checking out the page and supporting us!

Gratitude Network Online Auction - Donate Option Below We put Gratitude Into Action and help changemakers change the world! 100% of your tax deductible donation or auction bid (less any costs associated with the item) goes toward our Fellowship Scholarship. These scholarships provide 1 year of 1:1 leadership coaching, Scaling Up business curriculum, p*e...

🌟 FINAL SUMMIT PRESENTERS! 🌟

Today we announce our final two p*er-selected Fellows presenting at the 2024 Summit!

These two p*er-selected Fellows are:
❤️ Nyeisha DeWitt, Founder & CEO of Oakland Natives Give Back in the California Bay Area
❤️ Sindhuja Jeyabal, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer for Dost Education in India

🙌 We are so incredibly proud of each of our Fellows and cannot wait to celebrate all of their accomplishments at the Summit! Remember to register for the Summit on June 26, from 8:00AM PST - 10:00AM PST. 🚀

🌍 Don't forget to check out our silent auction -- you can bid on amazing experiences AND help support our fellowship! The auction closes June 26 at 8PM PST. Link: https://tinyurl.com/GratitudeAuction