Father's Day is around the corner, and we're taking today to thank one of the most inspiring dads we know - Charles Mumba. He is father to his own large family - with 7 children and 9 grandchildren of his own! But past that, over...
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The staff serving Hope Community School's preschool classrooms is an incredibly dedicated bunch. Recently, Hope welcomed a new teacher to the team. When Ms. Patricia Mpambanya joined the teaching staff last month, she shared this personal account of what brought her to teaching at Hope, and...
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One of the most powerful experiences for those who take the journey to meet our partners and see our work in action is the opportunity to visit the homes of children like Rebecca, a student at Hope Community School in Zambia. This provides a first-hand glimpse...
Read MoreIn the past few months, there have been a number of exciting projects in Zambia that have received support from generous members of our community. Here are a few highlights! Hope School Farm & Hope Community School Sewing Center We are thrilled and honored that an anonymous...
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As we near the end of Spark Ventures' 10th Anniversary Year, we share the remarks our Cofounder, Rich Johnson made at our big, 10th Anniversary Celebration. His remarks here serve as a "thank you" to the Spark Ventures community who have helped us get to...
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We are thrilled to welcome our new Managing Director, Kristin Schrepferman. She joined the team in early October and has hit the ground running, working closely with Spark's Cofounder Rich Johnson and the board to provide leadership for the organization. Kristin has a background in both marketing...
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If you have been to Zambia to see our work in-person, you met Teacher Judy - we're sure you haven't forgotten her. Judy's welcoming and outgoing personality helps make anyone who visits Hope Community School feel right at home. We had the honor to welcome...
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Thanks to your partnership with us, Spark Ventures has reached its ten-year milestone. Together, we’ve had significant impact and it is with gratitude and anticipation that we share some exciting news about the future. Our leadership team and board of directors have outlined a strategy that...
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Summer may only be halfway through but we're already thinking about 2018 travel. We've added a NEW trip date to our line-up - a Women's Leadership Trip in February. As we planned those dates, we checked back in with one of the women who was...
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We are so thrilled to introduce two new Spark Ventures board members - Lisa Madonia and Doak Elliott. Check out this interview to learn more about what they're most passionate about. What drew you to Spark Ventures and our work? What motivated you to get involved? Lisa:...
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Over the last year, our leadership engaged in a strategy initiative to prepare for the next decade. Spark supporters have been uniquely drawn to our organization for its partnerships and focus on business driven philanthropy. Will anything about these two important aspects change? Our Marketing...
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From chairing our Board of Directors to managing our grassroots, community partner organizations, women are in key decision-making roles and will continue to lead the charge as we move into our second decade of impact. We are excited to feature a few of these incredible...
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One of the key pillars of a Spark Ventures impact travel experience is the opportunity to give back. Many times we get questions about what this looks like, and we thought we could unpack it a bit here. Let's start with what we believe is...
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New textbooks!! Thanks to our partnership with Lincoln Park Preschool & Kindergarten, Hope School has brand new textbooks and teaching resources. The books arrived in April and were immediately put to use - this was a huge need and the teachers and students are thrilled. ...
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We sat down with one of our most recent Impact Travel alumni, Lesley Brindle, to capture some of her immediate reflections on our recent March trip to Nicaragua. Check out our interview with her here, and consider joining us on one of our upcoming Impact...
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We've collaborated before with the intrepid ladies over at Wanderful where their goal is to empower women travelers to explore the world and to connect with each other. We're all about experiential travel and making powerful, personal connections. So, we were thrilled when they reached...
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In 2010, Shankar Iyer and his family donated the funds to name the newly built classroom building in Zambia in memory of their niece, Shelby Goldstein, who passed away at the age of four. Recently, Shankar and his family were able to visit the Shelby Goldstein...
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Sharon Kozek, Owner and Founder of Lincoln Park Preschool and Kindergarten, along with members of her team have enthusiastically joined with Spark Ventures to help launch a new preschool in Zambia. Early childhood education is critical to any students' future success in the world, but...
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A bi-annual clinic is an incredibly critical piece of the work we support through our local partner in Zambia. Providing basic healthcare services to the students and staff at Hope Community School is part of our work to empower them with the resources and opportunity...
Read MoreAaron and Roxanna Anderson traveled to Zambia with Spark Ventures on our very first trip in collaboration with North Park University and later returned for longer portions of time to work directly with our local Zambian social impact partner. They returned from Zambia engaged and...
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