Community Involvement in NYC

Hatua Likoni

Mission: Hatua end generational poverty by preparing promising youth from low-income families to thrive in Kenya's modern economy.

Vision: A future in which every young person, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, has equal access to opportunity. 

Story: In 2006, Peter Kwame and Gabrielle Fondiller carried out a research project on government policies affecting street vendors in Likoni, Mombasa. Realizing the widespread barriers to education faced by low income families in Likoni, Kwame and Gabi began raising funds to pay school fees for students who would otherwise drop out of school. By the following year they had founded the Likoni Scholarship Fund and were helping 7 students to continue their education. Read more.

Now in 2020, Hatua Network is directly helping 564 youth, 245 students in Secondary School, 221 in College and University, and 98 alumni who have successfully graduated from our program ready to contribute to and benefit from Kenya's growing economy.

I Want To Mow Your Lawn™

Mission Statement:  To preserve dignity, enable independence and build community by providing eco-friendly essential lawn care for the elderly, veterans and others in need.

Summary
Founded in 2020, at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, I Want To Mow Your Lawn™ provides 100% free lawn-mowing to people over 65, military veterans, disabled, and under-resourced individuals / families — with green initiatives in mind. For I Want To Mow Your Lawn™ founder, Brian Schwartz, laid off from a digital-advertising job, it was something to do, some way to help, at a time when everything in the world seemed upside down.
 
In time, demand grew — and other volunteers joined Brian. Currently, over 175 volunteers enlisted across 37 states have helped clean-up over 500 yards. For the people that I Want To Mow Your Lawn™ is helping, the grass may not always be greener but it is cut, kempt, edged, and raked.
 
Media coverage of the organization across the globe to date has resulted in six times more volunteer enlistments for the 2022 spring-summer season. The organization’s goal? 1,500 yards mowed in all 50 states with at least 500 background-screened volunteers registered by year-end 2022 and 20% growth annually, thereafter. As the organization continues its #MOWmentum , we intend to encourage use of battery-powered electric equipment — in an effort to contribute towards a cleaner earth.