“I no longer feel hopeless, my grades at school are up, and I am excited about possibly opportunities to further my education.”

-Kaydee, Participant (S.High Library) 2014

 

“I applied the pattern I learned in LeaderSpark’s program, and finally landed a job that will allow me to provide for my son.  I’m breaking the cycle of the un-fathered in my family.”

-Haikiem G, Participant (Re-entry program) 2014

 

“I hear people in my community complaining about how nobody helps them. But I thought, that’s how life goes, at the end of the day the only person who can make your life better, is you. But what LeaderSpark taught me is that you don’t have to do it alone.”

-Malik S, Participant (S. High Library) 2014

 

“I met Kay and a group of LeaderSpark participants whose lives, whose relationships, were centered around leadership development & service through LeaderSpark. For me, I wanted to invest and put some real work into the community I worked in. To make it more personal. LeaderSpark has been my vehicle for doing that.”

-Mark Jacob, Starbucks Regional Director

 

 

In Nepal, a land-locked country in South Asia, Bumal grows up on the family farm. Each day, wearing her school uniform, she takes a bus ride to classes with childhood friends. In Columbus, far across the globe, she lives in a crowded apartment. She has moved there with her father’s family, who she doesn’t know that well. She enrolls in Columbus Global Academy. School is the hardest part of her new life. No uniforms required.

 

English is not her first language.   She becomes self-conscious. She struggles with homework. She feels as if she is starting all over—from scratch. In eighth grade, Bumal hears about LeaderSpark through an organization named CRIS, she wants to apply but hesitates because of cost. Her father is working temp jobs. Bumal doesn’t want to add to family financial worries. But the strange land offers up miracles. Dad gets a permanent job. She receives a letter to attend the program at no charge and she starts attending LeaderSpark program every Wednesday after school.

 

She meets other students who are struggling just like her. The one-on-one attention offered freely by LeaderSpark facilitators makes an impact on her life. She gains enough confidence to talk in class. Her grades improve. Today she prepares to take the rigorous tests for acceptance to college where she hopes to study Business Operations and Management. Her time at LeaderSark gave her a new perspective to how she can create a better life.

“Whatever the challenge,” Bumal says, “I will put my mind to it.”  C.G.A, 2014

 

 

"Every child should have the opportunity to see that they are not alone in their struggles, and that even though not everyone will understand what they are going through, they will always have the love and support of those around them. That is the beauty of LeaderSpark."

-HARI, VOLUNTEER 2014

 

"As I drove the youth I carpool home from the LeaderSpark program, instead of hearing the usual gossip amongst my carpool kids, I heard a softness and empathy I had not heard before. They even spoke of shedding tears. That elicited a lengthy conversation, which was full of substance. I have no doubt that you will see a 'trickle-down effect' even to some of the parents. I reminded them that although they may falter, to remember the message of that day (as we all do), but that tolerance is an ongoing practice that we must all attempt to rise to each day."

 

-McKinzi, PARENT & Volunteer Facilitator 2014