Closing Reception for 2014 Hope Fund Fellows

Posted on October 2, 2014 by admin

To celebrate their achievements over the summer, Hope Fund Fellows, Members, internship supervisors, family, friends, community leaders, and other guests came together August 10th for a wonderful reception. Each Hope Fund Fellow gave a short speech about their triumphs and challenges from the Summer, and received certificates of achievement and a lovely “Pay Your Interns” Tote Bag. Congratulations to our 2014 Hope Fund Fellows, Janet Ceron, Christian Sanoguel, Daniel Aiken, Fatima Sacko, and Sadasia McCutchen, for an amazing summer!

Left to right: Christian Sanoguel, Sadasia McCutchen, Daniel Aiken, Janet Ceron, Fatima Sacko

Art Activist Dinner

Posted on October 1, 2014 by admin

Art Activists working at the intersection of art and social justice, Betty Yu, Mark Strandquist and Courtney Bowles, joined our 5 Fellows and Hope Fund Members for dinner on a lovely Summer night.

Betty Yu’s “The Garment Worker” is an interactive media installation piece that focuses on the daily life of a garment worker and the hardships she/he encounters working in a sweatshop. Through the integration of a sewing machine, video and audio, “The Garment Worker” provides a rare look into garment working conditions that Chinese immigrants face in New York City through the personal story of the artist…The project was dedicated to the artists’ family, who has worked in the garment industry for over three decades and in particularly to her sister, who was a Chinatown labor activist and passed away in 2010.

Mark Strandquist and Courtney Bowles’ new project “The People’s Library and Paper Collective” will work with a multitude of individuals and community partners to start a People’s Library storefront on the Germantown Business Corridor that will serve as (1) a command center for expungement workshops, legal clinics and other interventions that engage collectively with the causes, effects, and alternatives to social justice issues in North Philadelphia; and (2) a start-up creative business and workforce- development program where re-entry adults and youth create hand-made fine papers and books from discarded paper-based material, author community histories, host open-mic spoken word and poetry readings, and lead weekly writing clubs that encourage dialogue with incarcerated friends and family.

2014 Culminating Ceremony

Posted on July 30, 2014 by admin

We invite friends of the Hope Fund, donors, family, and our extended community to join us Sunday August 10th to celebrate the accomplishments of our 5 amazing 2014 Summer Fellows. We hope to see you there.

Day at City Hall

Posted on July 30, 2014 by admin

Council Member Stephen Levin hosted our 2014 Summer Fellows for a day at City Hall.

Photographed left to right: Christian Sanoguel, Daniel Aiken, Council Member Stephen Levin, Fatima Sacko, Sadasia McCutchen, and Janet Ceron.

Photographed left to right: Janet Ceron, Christian Sanoguel, Daniel Aiken, Council Member Ritchie Torres, Fatima Sacko, Sadasia McCutchen, Council Member Carlos Menchaca, and Council Member Stephen Levin.

2014 Fellowship Orientation

Posted on July 30, 2014 by admin

We all gathered together in June to welcome the new group of Fellows into the Hope Fund Community. It was a learning experience for us all. Fellows met their Supervisors, and many of us met the Summer Fellows for the first time.

Christian Sanoguel, one of the five 2014 Summer Fellows, writes that “Knowledge is what matters” during one of our ice breaker exercises. Dena Adriance (Girl Be Heard) listens in.

2014 Summer Fellow Sadasia McCutchen writes, “Compassion is what matters.” Edgar Monasterio (Legal Aid Society), Benedict Joson (Summer 2012 Fellow), and Ellen Meyers (Hope Fund) listen in.

2014 Summer Fellows Fatima Sacko and Daniel Aiken (left to right).

2014 Summer Fellow Janet Ceron.

Ellen Meyers (Hope Fund) and Benedict Joson (Summer 2012 Fellow) helped us understand Civic Engagement and Social Justice on a deeper level.

Photographed left to right: Sadasia McCutchen, Christian Sanoguel, Daniel Aiken, Kristina Reintamm (Brooklyn Community Services), Fatima Sacko, Dena Adriance (Girl Be Heard), Janet Ceron, and Edgar Monasterio (Legal Aid Society)

And no Hope Fund gathering is complete without our mascot Wally.