What is the organization are you partnered with?
Global Potential, the flagship project of Globalhood, Inc. based in New York.
Why were you interested in this request?
I think because the work they do is similar to an experience I had in high school. I had an opportunity in my junior year to go abroad with my church on a mission trip to Puerto Rico. It literally changed the path of my life. At Global Potential they do a one and one half year-long training with the kids and as part of that, they go into a 6 to 8 week immersion in the Dominican Republic or Nicaragua. They work on community development projects and live with host families. Their work has such potential to make a difference with lives of the youth they work with who are all inner city kids and most are new immigrants. These kids will be able to make a difference in their country of origin as well as in their new home.
What is their organization’s mission?
Global Potential is a project of Globalhood that works to provide low-income, urban youth between the ages of 15 to 25 with the skills to effect positive change in their lives, communities, and the global community. They do this through leadership training, social entrepreneurship, international cultural exchange and service-learning. Their primary goals are increased educational attainment, increased community involvement, and increased global awareness. Global Potential started in 2007 and has trained more than 120 youth and provided international experiences in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Haiti for 76 inner-city youth from Brooklyn, Bronx, Boston, and Baltimore.
The organization is 100% volunteer driven including their 15 staff members. The youth they serve come from low-income families and many face language barriers, cultural barriers, economic barriers, and few social support systems. Participants have demonstrated improved educational outcomes (including scholarships) and expressed increases in their leadership skills, physical health, and their ability to self-reflect, and make positive decisions.
What issues did they need assistance with?
They are a three year old program, growing from a start-up to a more established non-profit. They were looking for professional expertise to better formulate strategies and procedures that their volunteers could follow. I started working with them in March of 2010. We discussed their need for some refining of their instruments and dissemination planning. We discussed how they make sure they are gathering the info they need to accurately assess the impact on their kids and learn what outcomes they achieve. Then we will plan to disseminate this data in a way that will attract donors and get their message out there.
What are the beginning approaches or tools you are using to help?
We will start the main work in the beginning of November. I met with Global Potential staff on a recent trip to New York City. There I met with Frank Cohn, Co-Founder and Executive Director. I also met staff members and saw the survey tool they were using. A special treat for me was being able to observe a group of kids as they learned about Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They were getting general information on countries they were going to visit.
Next steps for this pro bono partnership?
The next step is to set up a phone meeting to revisit the strategic plan I wrote up in March to see if it is still working for the project and if anything has changed. Then we will look at the tools they are already using to tweak them to help them gather needed information.
Final thoughts or comments?
I am very excited to be working on this project. I think this is a group that would otherwise have not been able to secure our services as they are entirely volunteer-based.
To learn more about Global Potential click here.
Global Potential, the flagship project of Globalhood, Inc. based in New York.
Why were you interested in this request?
I think because the work they do is similar to an experience I had in high school. I had an opportunity in my junior year to go abroad with my church on a mission trip to Puerto Rico. It literally changed the path of my life. At Global Potential they do a one and one half year-long training with the kids and as part of that, they go into a 6 to 8 week immersion in the Dominican Republic or Nicaragua. They work on community development projects and live with host families. Their work has such potential to make a difference with lives of the youth they work with who are all inner city kids and most are new immigrants. These kids will be able to make a difference in their country of origin as well as in their new home.
What is their organization’s mission?
Global Potential is a project of Globalhood that works to provide low-income, urban youth between the ages of 15 to 25 with the skills to effect positive change in their lives, communities, and the global community. They do this through leadership training, social entrepreneurship, international cultural exchange and service-learning. Their primary goals are increased educational attainment, increased community involvement, and increased global awareness. Global Potential started in 2007 and has trained more than 120 youth and provided international experiences in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Haiti for 76 inner-city youth from Brooklyn, Bronx, Boston, and Baltimore.
The organization is 100% volunteer driven including their 15 staff members. The youth they serve come from low-income families and many face language barriers, cultural barriers, economic barriers, and few social support systems. Participants have demonstrated improved educational outcomes (including scholarships) and expressed increases in their leadership skills, physical health, and their ability to self-reflect, and make positive decisions.
What issues did they need assistance with?
They are a three year old program, growing from a start-up to a more established non-profit. They were looking for professional expertise to better formulate strategies and procedures that their volunteers could follow. I started working with them in March of 2010. We discussed their need for some refining of their instruments and dissemination planning. We discussed how they make sure they are gathering the info they need to accurately assess the impact on their kids and learn what outcomes they achieve. Then we will plan to disseminate this data in a way that will attract donors and get their message out there.
What are the beginning approaches or tools you are using to help?
We will start the main work in the beginning of November. I met with Global Potential staff on a recent trip to New York City. There I met with Frank Cohn, Co-Founder and Executive Director. I also met staff members and saw the survey tool they were using. A special treat for me was being able to observe a group of kids as they learned about Haiti and the Dominican Republic. They were getting general information on countries they were going to visit.
Next steps for this pro bono partnership?
The next step is to set up a phone meeting to revisit the strategic plan I wrote up in March to see if it is still working for the project and if anything has changed. Then we will look at the tools they are already using to tweak them to help them gather needed information.
Final thoughts or comments?
I am very excited to be working on this project. I think this is a group that would otherwise have not been able to secure our services as they are entirely volunteer-based.
To learn more about Global Potential click here.