Spotlight on Kendra & PJ Hyett, Honorary Hosts of Spark’s Holiday Bash

Holiday Bash Honorary Hosts: Kendra & PJ Hyett

Spark loves Millennials who are committed to philanthropy and actively making our world a more equitable place for all. Holiday Bash Honorary Hosts and Spark Members, Kendra & PJ Hyett epitomize our ideals. Kendra’s journey is one that encompasses all types of social impact, from volunteer to major philanthropist. Her husband PJ, Co-Founder of GitHub, is a role model philanthropist and ally for women and minority groups in the tech community. As an inspiration to us and the next generation of philanthropists, we wanted to learn more. We sat down with Kendra & PJ to learn more about their journey, passions, and Harry Potter floo powder.

What has led you on this journey of philanthropy and social impact? 

Both of our families have always been very dedicated to volunteering and giving back, so we were both instilled with the desire to give back how we could to our communities and the world around us. Once Kendra had the opportunity in her career path to shift to nonprofit work focused on grantwriting and grantmaking, we had the opportunity to apply that new knowledge of the nonprofit landscape plus new skills to more strategically plan our giving and desired social impact each year.

What causes are you most passionate about and why?

Women & girls empowerment, leadership training & access to quality education both locally and globally; access to quality healthcare; global human rights advocacy; tech training for underserved youth; entrepreneurship training; and animal adoption.

These causes are the near to our hearts due to either opportunities afforded to us, or issues we are passionate about and understand need development to provide steps towards deserved equality for underserved people (and animals who need homes like our own two dear rescue dogs).

What are next steps for you and PJ’s philanthropy? 

Expand our giving around leadership and tech training, economic empowerment, and access to reproductive healthcare in this crucial time for women, girls, and minority groups.

Where do you see yourselves in 5 years?

We recently had our first child, so life has, and will be, changing a lot! In reflection of that, we want the world to continue to grow into a more compassionate, equal, and beautiful place for our baby girl and more kids to come. We plan to stay closely tuned to the needs of our community and the nonprofits in it doing such important work, and focus our giving and volunteering where we see the strongest needs, and the strongest potential for meaningful and lasting impact.

What advice do you have for other millennials interested in making social impact? 

Find organizations like SparkSF, GiveWell, or giving circles that resonate with your areas of interest to help guide your philanthropy and social impact choices. Making informed, strategic decisions takes more time and research, but it’s well worth it to focus your impact and get to feel connected with it.

What do you both love about Spark? 

We both love the amazing learning and leadership opportunities Spark provides to young professionals. The membership fee and opportunities fit so well into the busy lives of young professionals who care about being involved in making the world around them a better place, as well as improving their own skills, and meeting like-minded people in a city full of transplants.

What talent (or superpower!) would you like to have?

PJ – Teleportation

Kendra – Harry Potter floo powder… so basically, also teleportation.

What is the quality you most like in a fellow human being?

PJ – Sense of humor

Kendra – Compassion

Who are your heroes in real life?

PJ – My parents

Kendra – My parents, Gloria Steinem, Malala Yousafzai

Spark News Digest: Millennials, Politics, & The Man Who Wore a Sanitary Pad

Obama on the State of Women, The Man Who Wore a Sanitary Pad, A Historic Defense Bill and Millennial Voices in Politics. This is your Spark News Digest.

By Spark Fellow: Stefanie Lee

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GENDER EQUALITY: #UnitedStateofWomen. Today, we will change tomorrow

The first ever United State of Women Summit was a huge celebration of the progress that women have made and the collective focus towards the future, together to achieve true gender equality. “It’s really encouraging to hear young women find their voice and be able to advocate for themselves knowing that they’re not alone.” – Valerie Jarrett. During the summit, POTUS highlighted authors of our history, women who shaped their destiny, VP Joe Biden spoke about his proud accomplishment, writing the Violence Against Women Act and Michelle Obama & Opera Winfrey shared the progress they’ve seen women achieve and encouragement to young women to take action so that that progress continues for generations to come.

WATCH THE VIDEOS:
POTUS
VICE PRESIDENT – JOE BIDEN
FLOTUS & OPERA WINFREY

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WOMEN’S HEALTH: The Man Who Wore a Sanitary Pad

Staggering statistics in India show millions of women still don’t use sanitary napkins out of ignorance and poverty. Nearly 70% of Indian women use old rags, increasing the risk of reproductive diseases. And, it is not just Indian women who believe that periods are a taboo subject, but most Indian men find buying sanitary napkins more embarrassing than buying condoms. Despite these taboos, there are a handful of men who are committed to fighting these stereotypes and working to improve the menstrual hygiene in India. “I became the man who wore a sanitary pad” – Arunachalam Muruganantham. Kudos to these men for standing up for girls. Find out why these men are norm shifting

READ THE STORY

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GENDER EQUALITY – Women Required to Register for the Draft

The Senate made history on June 14th by passing a $602 billion defense bill that crucially includes an amendment requiring women to register for the draft. “Whether in this debate or through the courts. It just seems that now that you have women allowed to serve in any position in the military, there is no logical basis to say women should not be drafted.” – Nora Bensahel, a military policy analyst at American University’s School of International Service. This article shares perspectives from both military representatives and politicians on the bill and the future of women in the military.

READ THE STORY

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POLITICS: Millennials & Women During An Election Year

This year, the Millennial Impact Report is focusing on how millennials’ behaviors may change during an election year. Some of the noteworthy trends listed in the report were: millennials are most interested in education, healthcare and the economy, they only somewhat believe that they are activists, and most millennials believe people like them can have an impact in the U.S. “It is likely that during an election year, causes and organizations that are politically aligned or part of a candidate’s agenda could see an increase in participation from this generation.” There’s a natural opportunity for companies to build momentum towards the November elections by promoting corporate volunteering to continue to engage Millennial employees. In addition to the impact that millennials are having from a political perspective, women are also making strides in changing the countries’ political landscape, from their stance on women’s rights and consideration of public opinion.

READ THE STORIES
Huffington Post – Millennial Report
Women in Politics

 

#PinTheCreep: India Combats Street Harassment with Technology

New Grantee: Safecity (registered under Red Dot Foundation)

By Spark Member Crystal Huber 

848 women are harassed, raped or killed in India every day. Women’s rights have been heavily debated in the past few years and Navi Pillay, UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, called upon India to make a profound change to end violence against women.

That’s exactly what Spark’s newest grantee, Safecity (under Red Dot Foundation), and its co-founders are aiming to do: empower girls and women to break their silence and take a stand for their personal safety by using data and technology to make public spaces safer and more accessible. Safecity is a platform to document personal experiences of sexual harassment and abuse in public spaces. The crowdsourced reports are aggregated on Google Maps to show trends that prioritize locations where action needs to taken: increase community awareness, engage with local government and change infrastructure including installation of streetlights at crime-ridden intersections or modification of police patrol hours to increase presence during high-crime times. Since Dec 2012, Safecity has collected over 4,000 reports in 50 cities in India and Nepal, and educated over 1,500 people spanning the ages of 9 to 60 years of age. Safecity’s co-founders ElsaMarie, Saloni and Surya compose a dynamic, qualified and balanced team. They are launching this social change that will impact policy, infrastructure and gender equality. Safecity helps females break the silence. But the organization is doing so much more. They are engaging local communities and educating the next generation about equality and human rights. Safecity is also including men in this conversation, using easily accessible technology (Tweet #pinthecreep) and eliminating the vulnerability of allowing women’s voices to be heard by shifting the focus from the individual to the local level. A Spark grant will cover:

• 500 children, 500 youth and 500 parents to be educated on issues of sexual harassment through approximately 60 workshops of 25 participants. Each workshop costs under $90 including materials, printing and trainer allowance. The programming has been collaborative and validated with the help of US- and India-based organizations with counselors trained through the UN’s Child Exploitation & Online Protection Centre.

Pro bono needs:

• Graphic design / Data visualization: represent the data in a more appealing and usable way. Create info graphics.
• Data analysis: build tools to analyze the qualitative data.
• Strategy: understand what other layers of data to add and how to reach as many people as possible.
• Marketing support: create awareness about Safecity to the right audiences.

Email programs@sparksf.org for specific details on these opportunities. We are impressed by Safecity’s efforts but are even more enthusiastic about the deep-rooted changes this organization will make at a local and national level. The team at Safecity has embraced technology to fight a social change that we hope you’ll join too. If you are inspired by these efforts, you can help in several ways. You can support Spark’s fundraising efforts for Safecity by donating here. You can also spread the word about what a fantastic organization Safecity on social media. For more information about Safecity, visit: safecity.in.

5 Reasons To Be Grateful

Authored By Spark Member: Larkin Callaghan

With the onslaught of Christmas carols, blowout sales on every corner, and impending sense of personal debt, all the telltale signs are here – the holidays have arrived. So, how do you stay sane during times of consumer craziness? One of the best ways to counter the ‘buy buy buy’ mentality is to focus on how grateful we are for what we already have. And with Thanksgiving coming up in just over a week, this is the perfect time for us to reflect on some of those things we can be grateful for:

1) Community – I know, I know. This is pretty par for the course around the Thanksgiving-gratitude-roundtable. But a strong community is what started Spark and communities dedicated to their development and growth are what Spark supports – creating one global community of folks constantly on the lookout for one another. We can be grateful that we live in a space that allows us to facilitate the work we love and are dedicated to.

2) Freedom to move beyond boundaries – the holidays are often when we regroup with our families and friends – which usually means getting on planes, getting in cars, and climbing onto trains. Sometimes prohibitive cost prevents this – but usually infrastructure, political and social instability and unrest, or in the currently devastating case of the Philippines, natural disasters, are not preventing this – as is the case for many of the organizations that we at Spark support.

3) Innovation – Living in San Francisco, it’s easy to take advantage of the remarkable developments being made in technology – and they certainly aren’t perfect (oh, the Facebook mistakes we’ve all made…). But the incredible gains that have been made in the global development space due to innovation in the last decade especially can’t be understated – everything from being able to support a microloan to the exact person or organization that speaks to you the most, to sharing news and updates via social media, to being able to facilitate healthcare in resource-poor settings thanks to mobile tech, to creating political movements via Twitter – to being able to become a member of democratic organizations like Spark with a few clicks of a keyboard! – it’s pretty amazing what’s happened and we’re pretty grateful for it.

4) Social movements work – Spark members know this already, but last year, when a collected effort was made to encourage folks around the country to participate in Giving Tuesday (the Tuesday after Black Friday, dedicated to giving back to non-profit and charitable organizations), over 50 million people pushed the agenda of charitable giving – resulting in millions of dollars of donations to non-profit organizations. So we’re thankful you’re involved.

5) Science backs up the importance of gratitude – studies have shown that being thankful and expressing it leads to a happier and healthier you – being thankful for how gratitude improves our well-being is a little meta, but we like it!

This year, Giving Tuesday is December 3, 2013 – and it’s a great way to give back after the onslaught of Black Friday and Cyber Monday purchasing craziness! A day dedicated to recognizing and celebrating non-profit and charitable organizations, Giving Tuesday allows you to show your thanks to Spark and other groups that work to serve vulnerable populations all over the globe – those who may not have the same resources we’re so lucky to have. Make a contribution of your own, or gift one for someone else – a Spark membership makes a great holiday present!

SparkNYC Member Profile: Kanwal Jehan

Kanwal Jehan works as a Litigation Paralegal at Cooley LLP – an international law firm that represents clients across a number of industry sectors including technology, life sciences, clean tech, real estate, financial services, retail, and energy. Kanwal graduated from St. John’s University in 2011 with a Bachelors degree in Legal Studies and a minor in Criminal Justice.

She serves on the Investment Committee for SparkNYC and Advisory Board for Turning Point for Women and Families. In her free time, she enjoys attending Zumba classes and reading fiction books. She talks to us about how she got involved with Spark, Europe and time travel.

Kanwal’s Spark Story:
My former officemate introduced me to SparkNYC and invited me to their Cocktails for a Cause event. After having a great time at the event, I met with one of the board members to learn more about Spark’s history and mission. Since then, I have fallen in love with the organization. Spark has given me the opportunity to grow as a leader and connect with amazing people. I love being a part of an organization that truly wants to help bring change for women in United States and around the world.

Who is your favorite grantee?
Women LEAD, the first and only leadership development organization for young women in Nepal.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A happy family.

What talent (or superpower!) would you like to have?
If I could time travel, that would be great. I would love to go back in time to see my childhood and spend more time with my Dad.

What is your most marked characteristic?
Determination. No matter how difficult it gets, I never give up and keep moving forward.

If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A cure for all diseases.

What is the quality you most like in a fellow human being?
Patience.

What is your favorite journey?
In 2009, I studied abroad for a semester in Paris, Dublin and Rome. I had never been to Europe and this was the first time I had ever traveled on my own. I am grateful that I was able to make this trip; it taught me important life lessons that I wouldn’t have otherwise learned.

Who are your heroes in real life?
My Dad, Mom and Aunts, Martin Luther King, Hillary Clinton and Paulo Coelho.

Millennials, Women, and Impact: Spark News Digest

Next gen donors, a girl’s battle at home, and contraceptive prowess. This is your Spark News Digest.

Read, Discuss, Share.

PHILANTHROPY: Next Generation Donors And Their Plan For Greater Impact

Next generation donors, Gen Xers and Millennials are shaking up the state of philanthropy. A new report on our understudied generation states that next generation donors  “perceive their parents and grandparents as driven by obligation, recognition, and tradition, [and] they see themselves as driven by strategy and impact.” Once criticized for being cynical and entitled, next generation donors are proving their worth by pushing philanthropic strategy to be more effective.

Read the full story

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INTERNATIONAL: Girl Soldiers Face Tougher Battle On Return To Civilian Life

40% of child soldiers around the world are girls, and while programs are in place to help soldiers reintegrate into society, these programs are not addressing the needs of girl soldiers. This articles discusses the alarmingly low enrollment rate of girls into disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) programs.

Read the full story 

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EDUCATION: Women – The World’s Best Investment

Who runs the world…GIRLS! Although research links the success of women with increased GDP,  women in developing nations face limited access to education and economic advancement. Programs’s like Gap Inc.’s P.A.C.E. (Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement) help narrow this gap by teaching women factory workers in developing countries technical and life skills.

Read the full story

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INTERNATIONAL: Justice Is Blind, But Not In The Case of Gender Violence

Famous South African paralympian sprinter Oscar Pistorius was charged with premeditated murder of his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day. Similar to the gang-rape in India, this case has rightly attracted massive public attention and may be a catalyst for fighting violence against women in South Africa.

Read the full story 

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GLOBAL: Sexularism and The Female Body

Should there be compromises in contraceptive governess? In her opinion piece, feminine theorist, Zillah Eisentein discusses the blurred lines between public and private; political and religion; church and state; and secular and religious divides and what we can do as a worldwide community to stand for a women’s rights to her own body.

Read the full story 

Good Advice?

By SHANNON FARLEY, Spark Executive Director

Early this morning I received a call from a college student in Alabama. For her safety, I will call her Ana. She is spearheading an effort to bring her fellow students to Savannah, Georgia in June to participate in a SlutWalk. SlutWalk was founded earlier this year in Toronto after a local police officer told a crowd of students at Osgoode Hall Law School, “I’m not supposed to say this [but to prevent being sexually assaulted] avoid dressing like sluts.” Two months later, over 3,000 outraged young people took to the streets to protest victim-blaming rhetoric and policies. Since April, Slutwalks have been organized all over the world. This response to sexual violence is resonating with a large community of young people. It is also controversial.

Photo Credit: Pamela Westoby

Ana wasn’t calling about the controversy. She was calling for advice. The Savannah SlutWalk has been postponed—possibly indefinitely—because the young women organizing the event received death threats for their participation. Ana called Spark because she and her fellow organizers still planned to protest and wanted to know how to go about it.

I advised against it. I told Ana that her safety and that of her peers was paramount. If the organizers believed that there was a credible threat, there probably was and it is not worth the sacrifice. I suggested that Ana organize a service day at local rape crisis centers and women’s shelters. She and her peers should pamphlet campus, informing students about SlutWalk, the death threats and their non-violent response. I told her that the threat of violence should not stop the political action but it should shift the strategy. I hung up the phone feeling pretty good.

Then, I got a Google alert about Freedom Riders, a documentary featuring the students who fought to desegregate bus lines in the Southeastern,United States in the summer of 1961. It is premièring tonight on PBS. It is a stunning film—a story that is not well known that happened not long ago. 400 courageous and tenacious young people were vilified, tortured and imprisoned for sitting on a bus. One of the arcs of the film chronicles civil rights leaders begging the students to postpone the second phase of the rides. Robert F. Kennedy sent his staffer John Seigenthaler to convince the riders that certain martyrdom would not achieve racial equality. The students rode the bus anyway. The Freedom Riders were fed up. They would not permit the injustice of Jim Crow to continue. So, they rode the bus. 400 young people changed the face of the country for the better.

This morning I told Ana to think of herself first and the cause second. There is plenty of important work to be done to stop violence against women that won’t compromise her safety. I believe the advice I gave Ana was good, but I don’t know if it was right.

What do you think?

D.I.Y Inspiration by Jenn Wilcox

On November 24, Nick Kristof published a powerful article about “Do it Yourself” philatnthropists in the New York Times Magazine. Kristof profiles courageous women who have given up lives of comfort in the US to develop low-cost sanitary pads in Rwanda, fundraise for women in Congo by running races, and run a school for Nepalese children.

Elizabeth Scharpf – Founder of She: Sustainable Health Enterprises

This article and the stories shared about the women serve as an important reminder why grassroots organizations make a difference. Biology shouldn’t be destiny—we all have the capacity to try and make the world a better place.

At Spark, we often discuss how some of the women’s greatest barriers to education or employment are often issues you don’t think about – transportation, meals away from home, sanitary supplies during menstruation. By brining a fresh perspective to many of the daunting issues facing women around the world, young entrepreneurs are able to enact real change that breaks the mold of what traditional aid workers envisioned.

While change and progress often take three steps forward and two steps back, this article serves as an important reminder of how simply engaging in these issues is both noble and adds to the greater good. As Kristof writes, “anybody wrestling with poverty at home or abroad learns that good intentions and hard work aren’t enough. Helping people is hard.” But any progress, even incremental, is exciting and deserves to be celebrated.

Today, my spark is Elizabeth Scharpf – a 33 year old entrepreneur working to create a low-cost sanitary napkin solution that may help keep Rwandan women in school and at work. She may not succeed, but her business-based approach to tackling gender inequality and working to enhance productivity in the developing world is truly admirable.

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Jenn Wilcox is a founding member of Spark NYC.

Let’s Hear it for the Boys

Hanna Rosin’s article “The End of Men” in this month’s Atlantic Monthly points to troubling statistics.

• Three-quarters of the 8 million jobs lost during this recession were lost by men.
• The worst-hit industries were overwhelmingly male: construction, manufacturing and high finance.
• Men earn only 40% of bachelor degrees and 40% of graduate degrees.

The trend of male underachievement is bleak but not new.  Policy wonks have been talking about this phenomenon for a decade.  What is most troubling to me and others like Anne Friedman is Rosin’s stereotypical treatment of men.  For Rosin, men are brutes.  She claims that they lack emotional intelligence and communication skills.  They are unfit for emerging economic trends.  Their masculinity is threatened and they are angry about it.