Mexico Traveler Interview: Jennifer Kim
Meet Jennifer Kim: Impact Travel Alumni & Spark Ventures Board Member
How were you first introduced to Spark, and can you share a bit about why you chose to travel with Spark?
I first heard about Spark Ventures through my friend (and Spark board member), Kathy Wolf. We talked about her travels to the various Spark partners, and I immediately got excited about traveling as well. We bonded over our love of travel and service. I previously worked abroad as a community volunteer in Sri Lanka and Kenya, but hadn’t been able to participate in impact travel for years due to having young children and responsibilities at home. Spark has reignited this passion for me and allows me to share this love with my family. Since 2016 when I joined Spark Ventures’ board, my husband, two daughters and I have traveled to each of Spark’s partners in Zambia, Nicaragua and Mexico (and volunteered in Chicago).
Spark’s mission of investing in the sustainability of the communities and organizations we work with has always been really appealing to me. The trips are such a vivid way to see this work in action.
We have a trip to Mexico coming up in February. Can you tell us more about what traveling to visit Entreamigos was like?
Entreamigos is such an amazing community partner to visit in person – they have so much going on at their facility that it’s hard to gain a full understanding of their work without being there to see it all. When you walk into their vibrant community center (made in huge part with recycled materials) you might find kids getting homework help in the library, see cans, bottles and plastic from community bins being recycled out back, and a group of women entrepreneurs creating handmade treasures from the recycled materials you just saw being processed. In the front of the center, you’ll find a gallery where those artisan crafts are not only on display, but are helping to fund the whole operation. It is a very bustling community center and it was so energizing to see the diverse array of projects going on at once.
What was the highlight of your visit to San Pancho, Mexico?
Engaging with the Entreamigos community was certainly the most meaningful part of the trip. But another huge delight for me was the FOOD. One day we had a cooking class where we learned how to make our own tortillas before sitting down to a delicious home cooked meal. There was a high-end farm-to-table dinner with a tequila tasting, a ceviche lunch, and some of the best tacos I’ve ever had.
Tell us more about traveling with your family.
I can’t imagine a more powerful way to share the world with my kids than to join these trips as a family – in a very real and tangible way they have made deep cross-cultural connections and learned first-hand how to be responsible global citizens. And Spark trips are also just incredibly fun, well organized adventures – you get to experience the highlights of the place you’re going without having to do much logistics leg-work at all! As someone who normally does the vacation planning for a family trip, Spark Ventures taking that off my plate was a huge win for me.