AGLN Blog

Corner of Love: Shared by Tanya Amador, Central American Leadership Initiative Fellow
From Tanya: "Six million people are moving throughout Central and South America in search of food, medicine, and safety. Many fled Nicaragua and Venezuela, or left Cuba in search of a better life. Corner of Love operates in Latin America, meeting these and other displaced families needs in border cities like Cucuta, Colombia, Guasaule, Honduras, and Peñas Blancas. At the latter, which is the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border, Corner of Love operates a Relief Center where refugees receive hot meals, emergency supplies, transportation help, and the loving care of volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists, and eye-care workers.

In the wake of the Nicaraguan presidential election in November 2021 that resulted in the international community largely not recognizing Daniel Ortega’s 5th term as president, Corner of Love is experiencing an influx of as many as five times the usual rate of incoming people from Nicaragua. Pharmacy and emergency food pantry items are routinely depleted and help is needed to meet the needs of the thousands of new families arriving. If you’d like to volunteer at Corner of Love’s Relief Center contact me at tanya.amador@corneroflove.org. To donate toward medicine, food, and supplies go to: www.corneroflove.org/donate." Learn more and support.

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Giving Tuesday: Shared by Laurence Belfer, Henry Crown Fellow
From Laurence: "Giving Tuesday is a global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity year-round. The movement is powered by an interconnected global ecosystem of hundreds of leaders in more than 80 countries driving change in their communities, unified by a shared vision: a more generous world. The annual Giving Tuesday celebration will take place on November 30 this year, bringing together organizations, brands, small businesses, communities, and individuals around the world to create a wave of generosity.

To learn more and find ways to be involved, visit givingtuesday.org. GivingTuesday is also a nonprofit organization on whose board I am proud to serve that was originally created and incubated at the 92Y Belfer Center for Innovation and Social Impact before becoming an independent entity. The organization supports the global movement year round, and relies on philanthropic support. To donate to them directly, visit givingtuesday.org/invest."

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Him For Her: Shared by Jocelyn Mangan, Henry Crown Fellow
From Joceyln: "When Tonya Hinch encouraged me to find something I was passionate about for my venture, I chose to focus on women at work. It's a broad category, and I honed in on the boardroom because I knew it was the most important room in business. I saw it was largely occupied by men, so I interviewed 90+ men to learn more. I learned they all wanted to help, but also learned that they found board members through personal networks. Thus, Him For Her was born.

Him For Her is a social impact venture aimed at accelerating diversity on corporate boards. To bridge the network gap responsible for the sparsity of women in the boardroom, Him For Her engages business luminaries to connect the world’s most talented “Hers” to board service. Since its founding in 2018, we’ve built a referral-only talent network of 3800+ board-ready women, more than a third of whom are women of color, and provided free board referrals to 800+ companies ranging from start-ups to S&P 100. A 501c3 corporation, Him For Her provides its services free of charge thanks to supporters like Brad Feld & Amy Batchelor, Reid Hoffman, Jeff Weiner, Nasdaq and others." Learn more and support.

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Learner-Centered Collaborative: Shared by Devin Vodicka, Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow
From Devin: "As the son of immigrant parents who often felt like a cultural and academic outlier, I recognized at a young age the need for an education system that could nurture children as individuals. Determined to realize a more learner-centered approach to education, my 25 year career in education—as a teacher, principal, and superintendent—has been committed to ensuring that every learner gets a whole-child, personalized education experience that helps them achieve their highest potential. Building on decades of experiencing first-hand what works, what’s challenging, and what’s possible in education

I co-founded the national non-profit, Learner-Centered Collaborative. We envision education ecosystems that empower all learners to know who they are, thrive in community, and actively engage in the world as their best selves. Guided by the enduring truth that a learner-centered approach is the foundation for a successful, thriving learning community, we partner with educators, schools, districts, and states to define whole-learner outcomes, design meaningful learning experiences, and create the enabling conditions for success on their unique journey to inclusive and equitable learner-centered education." Learn more and support.

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Project Alianza: Shared by Kristin Van Busum, Central America Leadership Initiative
From Kristin: "In 2015, I was a Fulbright Scholar in Nicaragua living on a coffee farm when I met a 12-year-old Ana, who I began teaching how to read. Soon dozens of children around the village started attending our morning reading sessions which is how I became motivated to found Project Alianza.

At Project Alianza, we are reshaping rural education at grassroots and policy levels to help lift marginalized youth out of poverty. We achieve this through a well-coordinated, community-based model that trains rural women as community educators to improve learning outcomes in primary school and mentor girls transitioning to secondary school. We also provide technical assistance and infrastructure support to rural government schools. Since joining AGLN, we have doubled our impact, supporting 19K+ children across 40 Nicaraguan communities and expanded to Guatemala and El Salvador during the COVID-19 pandemic." Learn more and support.

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Rekindle: Shared by Matthew Fieldman, Civil Society Fellow
From Matthew: "By rekindling the strong relationships and collaborative action between the Black and Jewish communities that were built during the Civil Rights Movement, we can accelerate our collective impact and increase equity throughout the United States. I founded Rekindle, my Civil Society Fellowship Venture Project, with the mission to create meaningful social change through bringing leaders from the African-American and Jewish communities together.

Beginning in Cleveland, Ohio, we’re gathering leaders for meaningful and challenging dialogue that breaks down barriers and builds new relationships. The first two cohorts of 26 Fellows have been extremely successful, with the third cohort fully recruited and a waiting list of applicants. In addition, three communities have shown interest in replicating Rekindle and opening their own local Chapters. Gifts of any size support the scaling up of Rekindle to serve more communities and create a national network of Black and Jewish Fellows devoted to social justice." Learn more and support.

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United Way Worldwide: Shared by Angela Williams, Henry Crown Fellow
From Angela: "As the world’s largest privately-funded nonprofit, United Way is building stronger, more equitable communities in 95% of the United States and 40+ countries and territories. Pairing global reach with hyper-local focus, United Way invests in local solutions and helps people drive change—through charitable giving, volunteerism, and advocacy—to improve the health, education, and financial stability of every person in every community.  

With the wide-ranging effects of a global pandemic and ensuing economic crisis still impacting millions, United Way’s work has never been more important. And damage to vulnerable communities won’t be reversed quickly. That’s why United Way is going beyond responding to immediate needs—by helping people recover, reimagining more equitable communities, and rebuilding them to be places where everyone can thrive.   With the help of 1.5 million volunteers and 6.8 million donors, United Way’s global network has the stability needed to be here for the long haul, and the agility to send help where it is needed most." Learn more and support.

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