Spark*Blog

“Before we talk about all that you have done, and Teach For America, and what its importance is, look at education, Kindergarten through twelve, and tell me, why isn’t it better?” Charlie Rose posed this and many similarly challenging questions to 1991 Echoing Green Fellow and Teach For America (TFA) founder Wendy Kopp in an interview that aired Wednesday night on his show.

In partnership with Green Chimneys, a housing program for homeless LGBT youth, the Reciprocity Foundation hosted a “Design Your Future” career workshop series that began in May and has helped twenty young New Yorkers sharpen their networking and soft skills.  2007 Echoing Green Fellows Taz Tagore and Adam Bucko began the Reciprocity Foundation to help youth at risk of homelessness develop into creative professionals.

The 2008 Echoing Green summer interns have hit the ground running here at our offices on Manhattan's west side. They've quickly grown accustomed to Echoing Green's unique culture, where City Year's Michael Brown or One Acre Fund's Andrew Youn might stop by at some unexpected moment. They bring a fresh vibe to the office space, and have told me that it means a lot to be supporting so many amazing social entrepreneurs.

Recently, the I Do Foundation, started by 2002 Echoing Green Fellows Bethany Robertson and Lawrence Miller, caught the attention of Modern Bride magazine.  Modern Bride has asked them to partner with the magazine on an exciting campaign, “I’m a Modern Bride,” which features celebrity brides. The magazine is donating $5,000 in honor of each of five bridal celebrities profiled in their latest issue.

Echoing Green was honored to host a presentation for our staff by Leisure Education Specialist, Alison Link this week.  Alison is an adjunct professor, international presenter, consultant and specialist in leisure education. Her organization “The Leisure Link” helps individuals and organizations plan their leisure lives as they plan other aspects of their lives in order to get the most out of both leisure and life.

The content in this article on the tension between various definitions of career success, which came out in Sunday's New York Times, is part of the reason why we wrote Be Bold. Be sure to check it out!

Welcome to the third installment of True Life of Social Entrepreneurs! We’re here to present you with the nitty-gritty details and day-to-day triumphs of our amazing Echoing Green Fellows as they take on the feat of carving out their own paths to social change. Our 2007 fellows have reported back with their progress over the last few months, and we’re thrilled to present their updates to you!

Shreen Abdul Saroor, Sohini Chakraborty, Vuslat Dogan Sabanci, and Betty Makoni all have something in common: they are all reaching into and empowering communities to speak out against violence towards women.  Last week's Washington Post profiled the activists as they reflected on women and young girls they’ve encountered with little legal protection against the sexual and other violence they face in their countries. All of this comes in light of the International Viole

Echoing Green's 2008 Fellows

After much anticipation, we are proud to announce the 2008 Echoing Green Fellows! This year’s class of twenty-seven social entrepreneurs is not only one of the youngest in recent history, with nine fellows under twenty-six years old, but it is also one of our largest. The group currently represents nineteen start-up organizations targeting social issues around the world in the areas of community improvement, economic development, education, the environment, health, human rights, and legal advocacy.

Echoing Green staff and Idealist celebrities Anthony Showalter, Lara Galinsky, and Maritza Martinez were recently featured among twenty or so representatives from U.S.-based nonprofit organizations. They appear in the following promotional video to publicize Idealist's free job postings in June. Idealist, a Be Bold partner and best friend to the ambitious and unemployed, has been widely recognized for its easy-to-use career search engine.