Thanks to all who made this summer such a great success! Stay tuned as we will be releasing our application for next year’s Fellowship in November. You are eligible to apply to the Hope Fund if you meet these criteria:
If you or someone you know meets these requirements please consider applying!
On August 9th, friends and family of the Hope Fund gathered at Rucola, a local Brooklyn restaurant that years ago had secured their liquor license with Hope’s help. We were there to celebrate the accomplishments of this year’s Hope Fellows at the end of their summer internships. We heard from each of the Fellows about their experiences, and were joined by many of their advisors, as well as family and friends, and members of the Hope Fund Advisory Board. Thank you to everyone who attended!
Chenisvel Nunez speaks about her time at Brooklyn Defender Services
Kareem Watson reflects on his summer at VOCAL-NY
Semhal Gessesse talks about what she learned while working for the Legal Aid Society
Arianna Flores Perez reflects on her powerful experiences helping immigrants apply for aid through the Immigration Law Project at Safe Horizons
Past and present Hope Fund Fellows gather at Rucola! From left to right: Benedict Joson (2012 Fellow), Semhal Gessesse (2015 Fellow), Ariel Estrella (2012 Fellow), Kareem Watson (2015 Fellow), Ellen Meyers, Arianna Flores Perez (2015 Fellow), Chenisvel Nunez (2015 Fellow), Ezra Lowrey (Program Manager), and Sadasia McCutchen (2014 Fellow)
We were blown away by these young leaders, and we look forward to staying connected with them and seeing the work they do! Stay tuned for more information on how to apply for next year’s Hope Reichbach Fund Fellowship!
Last summer, we added a program to our summer Fellowship where each Fellow would host a breakfast at their internship organization on a Friday morning. We found that this helped the Fellows bond with each other, get to know more about each other’s work, and have a greater sense of cohesion with the Hope Fund family. This summer one of the breakfasts fell on the date of Hope’s birthday, and the Fellows realized this and planned a surprise celebration for Ellen, with cake, flowers, and birthday cards.
2015 Fellows celebrate Hope’s birthday. From left to right: Semhal Gessesse, Kareem Watson, Rahilou Diallo, Arianna Flores Perez, and Chenisvel Nunez
The celebration, which was organized with the help of 2014 Fellow Christian Sanoguel, was a testament to Hope’s memory, and the impact she’s had on these Fellows who never knew her personally.
In keeping with a Hope Fund tradition, Council Member Stephen Levin hosted our Fellows for a day at New York City Hall. After lunch at the Councilman’s office and some wonderful conversation about social justice, politics, and our Fellow’s work and interests, we proceeded to City Hall to meet some of the Councilman’s colleagues and watch the proceedings. Among the legislation passed was a bill that one of our Fellows, Kareem Watson, had been pushing for with his host organization, VOCAL-NY.
2015 Hope Fund Fellows in front of City Hall. From left to right: Kareem Watson, Arianna Flores Perez, Chenisvel Nunez, Rahilou Diallo, and Semhal Gessesse
It was exciting to start to see some of the intersections between activism and policy-making, and the Fellows all had a great time.
Hope Fund Fellows and Family at the 2015 Orientation
The summer started off with an absolutely delightful and productive gathering. On the last Sunday in May, all of the new 2015 Fellows joined for the first time in the conference room at Brooklyn Defender Services, where they were greeted by past Hope Fund Fellows, supervisors from their host organizations, and members of the Hope Fund Advisory Board. After introductions and one-on-one meetings between the Fellows and their new supervisors, we were all treated to an exceptional workshop on Social Justice, led by three of the 2014 Hope Fund Fellows, Christian Sanoguel, Janet Ceron, and Sadasia McCutchen:
from left to right: 2015 Fellow Rahilou Diallo, and 2014 Fellows Sadasia McCutchen, Janet Ceron, and Christian Sanoguel. On the right whiteboard is a list we compiled together of things we feel are injustices. The 2014 Fellows then asked us to reflect on specific personal instances we have encountered these injustices, and then what we might do to change the injustice.
Next, we were joined by Didier Sylvain, a multidisciplinary artist and consultant, who led us on a workshop entitled Head + Heart = Hustle. He encouraged us to reflect on how we want to be seen by others, and to brainstorm what kinds of change we want to effect in the world. It was a very rich reflection and a great send-off for the Fellows on their way into ten weeks of important work.
Didier Sylvain leads his Head+Heart=Hustle workshop
Last but not least, Pedro Ventura, a member of the Hope Fund Advisory Board and an old friend of Hope’s from high school, led a workshop on professionalism in the workplace. The Fellows were glad to have some great practical advice on how to present themselves in a professional setting.
And of course, no Hope Fund Orientation would be complete without our beloved mascot, Wally:
Wally poses with 2015 Hope Fund Fellows Arianna Flores Perez, Rahilou Diallo, Chenisvel Nunez, Semhal Gessesse, and Kareem Watson (from left to right)
