The time has come for our July impact travel trip to Zambia! Rich and Arnold have already left for Zambia, and our travelers will be arriving Sunday, July 12. With 16 adventurers in this group it is one of the largest group we've taken to...
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Our Director of Social Impact Investments, Lucy Jodlowska, also happens to be our in-house photographer extraordinaire. Thanks to her incredible skills, you are able to see our work in action in vivid detail - and since she's in the field so frequently, we get lots...
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We are happy to announce our newest summer team members, Katherine Heckel and Kaley Shannon! We asked them a few questions on their first day to help us introduce them to you. Where are you currently going to school and what are you studying? Katherine: I attend...
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Thirty hives on Nicaragua farm undergo first honey extraction harvest *Updated May 2020. Please note that the most recent information regarding our farm initiative in Nicaragua can be found here. We're thrilled to announce the launch of honey production on our farm investment in Nicaragua. With a...
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Our social impact partner's poultry farm in Zambia, like any business, benefits from economy of scale. As the farm grows, the profit margins on their production increase - leading to more net revenue and more funds that can be transferred to support the operations of...
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Over the last seven years, Spark has developed a world-class impact travel program, hosting over 300 participants on trips to Nicaragua and Zambia. What do we mean by "Impact Travel"? 1. A first hand look at Spark's international impact investing via our business driven philanthropy model 2. Volunteering...
Read MoreWhen people ask us about Spark Ventures' business driven philanthropy model or the impact this model has on hundreds of children in Nicaragua and Zambia, we often find ourselves saying at some point in the conversation: "Come and see for yourself!" Last week we had...
Read MoreWe are thrilled to announce the newest member of our team, Arnold Duijzer! To help you (and us!) get to know Arnold a little better, we had a little Q&A session with him. Where are you from and what did you study? I was born and raised in a...
Read MoreWhat's better than traveling with Spark to engage with our partner organizations? Traveling with us twice! It seems that some Spark supporters have been bitten by a very specific travel bug...
Read MoreParticipants on our Nicaragua partnership trip do more than just see the sights--they interact with our partner organization, Las Tías, and the children the organization serves. In doing so they are able to gain an appreciation for the impact of programming for children of all...
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The partnership trip to Nicaragua may be over, but the memories have stuck with our travelers! Some of the most fun and rewarding experiences during the trip come when we get to interact with the children of Las Tías through games and activities. The travelers started...
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Amy Jackman serving lunch to a hungry studentDuring a Q & A with some of the students served by Las Tias, one of our travelers asked a heartfelt question to the kids: "What is it that you love most about Associacion Las Tias?" The question...
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Our November partnership trip kicked off Monday without a hitch. Ten travelers, a few familiar faces and some fresh ones, arrived in Managua ready to embark upon the week’s adventures. To start the trip off, a scenic drive to León gave them a little taste of...
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Exciting things are happening at Spark--both for our team and for our partner organization, Hope Ministries! Three of our friends from Zambia have come to visit us in the U.S. for a unique cultural exchange. We invest in our partners on multiple levels, not just...
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Karin Scott is the Program Manager at Allowance for Good. She recently returned from traveling with Spark Ventures and Allowance for Good youth to Nicaragua on our August Partnership Trip. Karen wrote these reflections on day 3 of the trip, and agreed to share them...
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The students from Allowance for Good and other youth who joined us for our August Partnership Trip to Nicaragua are leaving a powerful impact on the lives of the children they met at Las Tías. The trip, as with all Spark Ventures Partnership Trips, incorporated lots...
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Another favorite activity on our Partnership Trips to Nicaragua is the traditional Nicaraguan meal the Las Tías team prepares for our travelers. Tía Corina (the matriarch of the Las Tías family) and the other incredible founding "tías" (which means "aunts" in Spanish) who started Las...
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Our Partnership Trip to Nicaragua this August is unique - in addition to travelers who have been part of the Spark Ventures community for years, we're also traveling with 10+ travelers from Allowance for Good, a fabulous Evanston-based non-profit we have formed a powerful partnership...
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After spending 5 days in Ndola at Hope Ministries, our partnership trip travelers headed south to Lusaka, the capital and largest city in Zambia, to visit the poultry farm. The poultry farm was established in collaboration between Spark and Hope Ministries to serve as a...
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