As the CEO of Children’s HopeChest, I am honored to announce our new campaign, “Fueling the Future: Investing in Today’s Youth, Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders.”
Any parent knows how quickly children grow up, maturing and achieving so much in such a short amount of time. Even as a HopeChest Friend, you’ve watched your sponsored child grow and mature. Similarly, at Children’s HopeChest, we take immense pride in the progress and accomplishments of the children in our program. The average age of children in our program is 14 years old, and we believe it’s time to rally behind the next generation of leaders and invest in their development, especially during their pivotal teenage and young adult years.
As supporters of HopeChest, you may have questions about the longevity of your sponsorship and how your sponsored child will be supported in the next phase of their life such as college or entrepreneurship or trade school. This series will address these concerns and provide a fresh perspective on how we empower young adults through our program.
Through “Fueling the Future,” we are challenging the traditional child sponsorship model by shining a light on the importance of sponsoring teens and young adults in CarePoint communities. This campaign is near and dear to my heart because I firmly believe that investing in teens and young adults is one of the most critical investments we can make in breaking the cycle of poverty. At Children’s HopeChest, we recognize the pivotal role that teens and young adults play in their communities. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to invest in this age group – not only through sponsorship, but through our leadership programs, entrepreneurship training, and discipleship. By supporting teens and young adults in an empowering way, we can help break the cycle of poverty and create a brighter future for generations to come.
Throughout this series of blogs and podcasts, we will share inspiring stories from a variety of perspectives including some of the young adults in our program, sponsors, and HopeChest staff members. Through these interesting and powerful stories, we aim to showcase the transformative impact of investing in teens and young adults. We want to inspire new sponsors to join us in this mission while keeping current sponsors engaged and invested in the lives of the young people they support.
Our work around the world in highly impoverished communities has revealed, first hand, the tremendous impact that investing in young adults can have. This is a critical time in their lives when they are developing their passions, exploring their potential, and discovering who they are meant to be. By investing in them during this crucial period, we can help shape their future and create positive change in their communities.
However, our focus on teens and young adults isn’t only about helping them achieve their full potential. It’s also about empowering them to become leaders and agents of hope and transformation in their communities and breaking cycles of poverty that has kept their families and communities trapped for generations. By investing in young adults, we are investing in the future of their communities and creating a ripple effect of positive change. I invite you to join us in this mission to make a lasting impact in the lives of the young people in our CarePoint communities.
I hope you’ll subscribe to this blog during our “Fueling the Future” campaign and blog series so that you too can hear stories of impact from remarkable youth in very challenging circumstances. Thank you for your support and for believing in the power of investing in young people.
Ken Sparks, Children’s HopeChest President and CEO, is a graduate of Indiana University-Bloomington, where he majored in political science with a minor in business and a certificate from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Although Ken’s “official” workspace is at his desk at the organization’s U.S. headquarters in Colorado Springs, he works anywhere there is anyone willing to listen about what God is doing through HopeChest.
