I'm in the younger kids' house, just having seen Sandra. The Director of the young children's project and one of the three executive members of the organization, the first time I met her I sensed a distance from her and what I perceived to be...
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Our Director of Partnerships, Lucy, is heading to León, Nicaragua to visit our new partner organization, Las Tías!We introduced Las Tías to the Spark community at our Fall Event in November. Need a refresher? Las Tías was started by 8 women merchants to serve vulnerable...
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The February Groupon trip is over, but I can’t resist sharing at least one more highlight…Our youngest traveler on this trip was 13. As a seventh grader among adults ranging from mid 20s to mid 50s, Sydney impressed our travelers...
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Our February Groupon trip ended in a whirlwind of activity, with packed days and little time to document all the many exciting things that happened. By today, all our travelers have left Zambia for their next adventures… whether that involved...
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One year ago this month, we at Spark Ventures began discussions with Groupon about a unique partnership that would introduce an international volunteer trip as a Groupon Getaway offering. Patty Huber Morrissey, the leader of Groupon Grassroots, and Spark’s Board...
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Head Teacher Ngoma shows new textbooks to the children at Hope SchoolToday I was thinking about where I would be without the teachers in my life.There was Mrs. Williams, who welcomed me into her 3rd grade class when, mid-school year, I moved from California to Illinois....
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I am in Zambia for the first time, and though I knew it would be an amazing experience, I was unprepared for just how incredible my time here would be. I knew I would fall in love with the kids...
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1 – Innovative and powerful grassroots Zambian organization that our travelers will get to know during the coming week3 – Excited Spark staff members ready to share the impact of our work (two are along for the whole ride, and...
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There’s no disguising it. Traveling from Chicago to Zambia is not a short journey!But the long journey made the arrival even sweeter. I stepped off the plane into the open arms of Zambian hospitality – unbelievably excited about the start...
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