We are Jane and Isabel and in November 2013 we cofounded an organization called Sparkes of Hope to help support Youth Upliftment International. When we met Kate Bateman, founder of Youth Upliftment International, we were truly inspired by her mission. We decided to help her school.
We began by offering our hand made dishcloths for a donation and we returned bottles and cans. Soon, we had moved onto bigger fundraising goals and ideas…. We sold our Sparkes of Hope t-shirts and stickers, we ran sponsorships programs for summer camp and throughout the school year. We receive donations from amazing supporters and we organize fundraising events for Youth Upliftment International. In June 2015 and May 2016 we held our biggest events yet. We held a Drive Change Forward Family Fun Day sponsored by Circuit Ford Lincoln. We have officially been able to award 4 of Youth Upliftment International’s female graduates with scholarships to continue their education into high school.
Our Sparkes of Hope family extends from Montreal, Toronto and San Francisco to Puerto Plata, DR. Our family includes our volunteers, our supporters, our corporate sponsors and most importantly our students and teachers. We focus on bringing the Haitian students and teachers of Collège Amelioration Jeunesse into a more active role in planning and decision making with Sparkes of Hope. We value their input as it is vital to our success.
We are dedicated to sharing our message that ‘kids can create change’. We reach out to youth at schools, teams and community events. Our goal is to inspire kids to get involved and to create change in the world. We are always honoured to have the opportunity to share our journey so contact us to visit your school or youth group.
Our greatest accomplishments are what we have learned and who we can call our friends. We have learned that the world is bigger than just us. We have learned to conquer our fears as so many children face fears much greater than ours. We have learned about the hatred of racism and found love in unfamiliar places. We have learned Haitian history and to speak a little Haitian creole. We have learned to be grateful. We have learned to turn gratitude into action.
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