The inaugural Youth Giving Summit (YGS) spotlighted five Youth Giving Ambassadors, through the Transformation Talks Series, which took place throughout July and August 2022.
The Youth Giving Ambassadors are comprised of a dedicated group of social-impact driven youth, contributing their time, treasure, and talents to help make a more equitable world. These young leaders are inspiring, connecting, and activating their peers around the world, and amplifying the voices of like-minded change-makers.
Through the Transformation Talks Series, each of these speakers shared their own inspirational stories alongside practical advice for getting involved. The speakers highlighted the importance of building and leveraging an ecosystem, finding purpose, letting go of fear, and jumping to action. Together, this Youth Giving ecosystem can help to catalyze the impact of young people in today’s world.
Ambassadors: Dillon Carroll and Mark Kreynovich
Ambassadors Dillon Carroll and Mark Kreynovich are the co-founders of #MissionTo. This dynamic duo, inspired to take action by what was happening in Ukraine, and driven by a sense of duty, left their respective homes in New York in March of 2022, to work overseas helping Ukrainians.
Mark Kreynovich and Dillon Carroll have been best friends since they met at Cornell University. A week after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, they dropped everything and flew to Eastern Europe to help those affected by the catastrophic war. Mark is originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine, and Mark’s family and friends still live there today. To get started, Mark and Dillon created a crowdfunding page on Spotfund, which raised $10,000 in the first 24 hours, and today has over $260,000.
When asked about their inspiration, the pair spoke about being confronted with thousands of people who had lost everything, forced to flee with their remaining belongings in a single backpack. Seeing this hardship, and hearing firsthand from those who suffered, helped cement their purpose and drive, inspired them to work harder, and was above all, a humbling experience. According to Mark, it would have felt wrong to do nothing.
Mark and Dillon had the following advice and words of wisdom for those looking to get started:
- Find something you are passionate about and get out there
- Professional objectives are not mutually exclusive with passionate goals
- Share what is going on – this is very important
- Don’t let a linear perspective of how you think things should be, prevent you from doing good
The duo discussed helping people, letting go of fear, and getting comfortable relying on others for help and guidance. While they believe the power of human connection is boundless, they also stressed the importance of community, and having a reliable ecosystem, noting it takes a village.
Ambassador: Sam Ggomo
Sam Gqomo is the Director of Womandla Global Network, founder of the Womandla Foundation and co-founder of Grow My Business Africa. Sam is an increasingly influential leader in the Women’s Empowerment space. Her current responsibilities include building and maintaining stakeholder relations and implementing brand awareness campaigns.
Womandla Global Network is a marketing and communications consultancy for small and medium agencies and businesses, which aims to build sustainable communities for women and girls. This started as a blog when Sam was a student at Mandela University, and eventually grew into what it is today. The foundation amplifies women’s voices through storytelling.
In 2019, Sam was named a Cape Town Hero by the Cape Town Local Government, in recognition of her activities in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality and women’s empowerment). She has also been invited to the United Nations ESCAP and World Youth Forum in Egypt. She participated in the first US Embassy Academy of Women Entrepreneurs in South Africa, and she was listed as one of Glamour South Africa’s top women in 2020.
Sam shared advice for today’s youth, including the following:
- Be willing and open to learning new things
- Build relationships, and keep up to date with people
- Nurture your relationships to create an ecosystem, because “you can’t make it alone”
- It’s important to recognize that you don’t know everything
According to Sam, nobody can make an impact alone. Sam believes that empowering young women in Africa is an under-represented issue, and she has continued to do what she can to connect those in need with opportunity.
Ambassador: Wanjiru Ndegwa
Wanjiru Ndegwa is Youth Giving Ambassador and 16-year-old creative from Nairobi, Kenya. In this feature, Wanjiru shared what drove her to create the Art for Change Initiative – a series of workshops that expose students to photography, painting and art.
Since starting this initiative, Wanjiru has launched creative photography workshops, donated art supplies to schools with no existing art curriculum, and recently curated an event sponsored by Canon! Wanjiru is not shy about expressing her dedication to preserving the environment; she adds an eco-friendly component to all of her initiatives, such as planting trees, or spreading public awareness of the environment through photography, showing how we can leverage passion and purpose to create impact and also save our environment.
Wanjiru talked about how art can sometimes be considered less significant, when compared with other subjects like math and science. She encouraged young people to branch out and use their creative platforms to inspire big change in the world. Creative talents can make a difference, and she believes for that reason it is critical to develop one’s creativity.
Wanjiru shared the following guidance to other youth looking to get started:
- Connect with an ecosystem to make larger change – this is important
- Find a support system of friends and individuals who support the same cause
- Make sure your venture is something you love
- Develop your passions and look at how you can positively affect your community.
Wanjiru noted the benefit of starting small and staying consistent over time – small change can ultimately lead to much larger change.
Ambassador: Abigail Osei
Youth Giving Summit Ambassador, Abigail Osei, shared her story about writing the groundbreaking book, “Let’s Learn Twi.” Abigail is a global philanthropic leader and author, and a Ghanaian living in New York City.
After unsuccessfully attempting to find Twi-speaking toddler playmates for her two-year-old niece, in 2021 she decided to embark on a mission to bring Twi to children in the African diaspora. Abigail’s love for Twi and Ghanaian culture led her to create “Let’s Learn Twi” – it was the perfect start.
With over a decade of experience and expertise in private philanthropy and grants management, Abigail is currently the Assistant Vice President of The Starr Foundation, providing operational leadership in grants management technology, reporting, and external communications. Abigail also holds a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Lehman College and a bachelor’s degree in International Politics & Economics from Middlebury College.
Even when she leaves her busy day job, she continues to make an impact by supporting families in their journey and helping them embrace their heritage — specifically Ghanaian heritage. Abigail’s book “Let’s Learn Twi” provides an introduction to the Asante Twi alphabet. She proudly supports Ghanaian families in the diaspora through her writing in Twi and English, enabling them to share this culture with their children and respective communities.
Abigail provided the following advice for today’s youth:
- Everyone is unique, and everyone has a unique voice – get comfortable sharing your voice
- It’s about more than money; instead, ask what you can really do to change the world
- Step out of your comfort zone. Be present and “hands on
- It’s important to tap into community
According to Abigail, nobody should have to give up their culture in order to survive. She believes it is important for us to preserve our culture, especially our language.
Ambassador: Dr. Bernard Kivuma
Dr. Bernard Kivuma is a Medical Doctor, researcher, and GivingTuesday Starling Collective 2021 alumnus, working in sexual and reproductive health and rights, HIV/AIDS care, and mental health. He also manages a number of health programs and development projects in Tanzania. Dr. Kivuma has a particular focus offering services to key and vulnerable populations. In addition, he works as a program manager for Disability Repro-Light (NGO) an organization that promotes sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for persons with disabilities.
When asked what inspired his work, Dr. Kivuma spoke of being inspired by his family. When it comes to services and care for those without access to resources and education, he feels a responsibility to help solve these disparities, and to bridge the gap.
Dr. Kivuma has been deeply moved by the stories of the people he has encountered through his work. He believes that an ability to leverage storytelling as a tool is extremely important. Dr. Kivuma has also been inspired by the response to his work, notably the positive feedback from those he has been able to help.
Dr. Kivuma had the following advice for youth looking to get started:
- Recognize the importance of participating in a community
- Build and maintain a strong team or group around you
- Most importantly, start wherever you are – regardless of circumstances, just start somewhere
Dr. Kivuma believes that one big thing leads to another. The more you can be curious, open new doors and try new things, the more you will be able to grow, develop existing ideas, and invent new things!
Conclusion
The Youth Giving Summit shows the importance of creating an ecosystem and connecting with like-minded change-makers to deliver impact. These Youth Giving Ambassadors are inspirational, action-oriented young leaders, with similar themes that have helped contribute to their success.
The common ideas appearing throughout the Transformation Talks series include the importance of (1) building an ecosystem, team, or support system to sustain your initiatives, (2) addressing fear directly and stepping out of your comfort zone, (3) Being hyper-focused on action, starting small to build larger gains over time, and (4) finding your passion, and connecting your passion to a purpose.
Leveraging an ecosystem with a focus on youth giving has enabled these young individuals to take real, impactful steps towards their goals of helping people around the globe. The power of this ecosystem is clear, especially the ability to connect with other like-minded young leaders, to collaborate, and ultimately to deliver impact that can change the world.
Click Here to Watch the Transformation Talks
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