2021 Network Fellows Celebrate A Year of Leadership and Organizational Growth
At the end of the 2021 Hello Neighbor Network Fellowship, we look back on all that the Fellows have accomplished this year in their communities.
A couple weeks ago, we honored the fourteen 2021 Network Fellows who successfully completed the Network’s 10-month leadership intensive. We celebrated our time together and all of the energy and love our Fellows put into their communities from across the country.
What a Year
Over the course of the Fellowship year, in addition to completing independent projects, the Network:
- reached over 250 people across the country through our annual Convening
- held 10 professional development sessions for members
- 8 coffee hours
- distributed $87,000 in regrant funding and
- created countless interpersonal connections and resource-sharing opportunities among members that one member described as “life-giving.”
Members shared with us some of the ways the experience has been valuable for them including:
“Meeting other founders and leaders in the refugee space has been such a gift. Knowing that there are wonderful people out there doing the hard work too is of great benefit.”
“I am so grateful for the space to know that I’m not alone, and for the knowledge gained.”
“Not only did I gain valuable information, I also realized that I had the resources to operate well in my current environment which resulted in increased self-efficacy.”
Independent Projects
During the celebration event, Fellows shared the results of their independent projects over the past ten months. From creating an online training platform to a CSA bushel box, many Network members said the independent project element of the Fellowship was “the push we needed to get this project done.” Fellows were organized into project accountability groups based on theme and worked together throughout the program towards their goals.
One member shared this about working on the project with their accountability group:
“The encouragement to focus on the work, and be inspired by others doing similar work, was incredibly important. This project will be the foundation of our long-term success as an organization.”
Human Resource Group
Dr. Suzy Ismail, from Cornerstone Marriage and Family Intervention, created an online training platform to learn all about Communication Intervention strategies and how to better connect with families youth, and communities. The trainings are available for purchase here.
Christy Anderson, from Claremont Canopy, created a volunteer manual and process for onboarding volunteers. She said “it helped reduce my anxiety to know I have a volunteer who has read through this whole document and is committed.”
Andrea Cramer, from Neighbor to Neighbor, created two paid internship opportunities through the support of the Hello Neighbor Network and Walmart Foundation capacity-building regrant earlier in the year. One intern focused on the legal needs of clients and the other on volunteer relations.
Funding Group
Lydia Yousief, from Elmahaba Center, worked on finding a home for her organizing in Nashville where all people would be welcomed. She found a dynamic space including areas for private conversation in an area of the city that is home for many newcomer immigrants.
Betsy Bonilla Jimenez Hurst, from HOLA Lakeway, worked on establishing a one-stop shop for the community in conjunction with HOLA on the MOVE which provides transportation to families who need it. This has allowed them to reach over 5,000 people so far this year.
Fereshteh Ganjavi, from Elena’s Light, focused on an online program to increase Afghan women’s health literacy. This included two COVID-19 vaccination clinics and a conference presentation so others could learn from her work.
Strategy Group
Laura Erickson, of Ladies Let’s Talk, used the Walmart Foundation and Hello Neighbor Network capacity-building regrant to refine the organization’s mission and vision and develop a strategic plan which included: focus groups with learners and volunteers, engaging a consultant, and a visioning and planning session with the full board.
Shana Wills, of Refugee Education and Adventure Challenge (REACH), had a goal to build REACH’s brand in the world of equity and inclusion outdoors and had multifaceted components to her project including creating a website that better represents what they do and who they are and creating a video series of peer mentors in their program.
Food Group
Ann McGlynn, of Tapestry Farms, piloted a social enterprise program with half bushel boxes of produce (half going to lower income households and half paid in full). They had three, paid seasonal staff members from their community and worked in neighborhoods experiencing food apartheid to distribute over 80 boxes.
Jin-Ya Huang, of Break Bread, Break Borders, used the Walmart Foundation and Hello Neighbor Network capacity-building regrant to create a consumer packaged good model for their program called “food for good.” The funds were used to train more women and invest in their culinary education with 8 more women trained as a result, bringing the total to 22 women since they started.
Transitions Group
Kirsta Benedetti, of Riverview International Center, and Leah Hargrove, of Global Neighbors, focused their projects on the successful transitions of new Executive Directors or Interim Directors for their organizations.
Congratulations!
We closed our annual celebration with a poetry reading by Danielle Obisie-Orlu, Nigerian-American student, actress, poet, and Youth Poet Laureate of Allegheny County.
We are so proud of the 2021 Hello Neighbor Network Fellows and all they have accomplished in a challenging year. We are very glad that so many are planning to remain members of the Network in the coming year as we look ahead to welcome our 2022 Fellows in January.
Learn more about the Hello Neighbor Network. The Hello Neighbor Network accepts applications for Fellows every fall. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know when applications open.
