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News Blog

Lessons from Mom

by Julia and Erin Smith

Julia and Erin Smith are both Young Ambassadors for Opportunity. They were introduced to Opportunity International by their mother, Governor Jill Smith. Erin is currently fundraising for Opportunity International at https://www.opportunity.org/give/fundraisers/erinandmichael It was Christmas morning and I was eager to open all of the presents to get to the final envelopes in the tree. In our family, we always save any envelopes in the tree for last… the envelopes are often our biggest gifts; they…

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It Was a Fortuitous, Fateful Introduction

by Natalie Hornsby

It was a fortuitous, fateful introduction. The kind of moment where you can trace things back in time and see how every decision you made along the way lead you to this perfect, precise place. The sort of moment that reaffirms that things really do happen for a reason. That’s how my mom and I felt when we shook hands with Opportunity. Years before, my mom and I had spoken about starting a foundation. We were sitting outside in Colorado by a fire, when someone started playing Blackbird by the Beatles…

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Hopes for my Baby Boy

by Mari Gottlieb

Mother’s Day may be over, but the stories of strong Moms continue. The following post is from Mari Gottlieb, a Young Ambassador for Opportunity and Co-Chair of YAO-San Diego. I am expecting my first child this summer, a baby boy named Hunter. As I await Hunter’s arrival, I spend hours each day thinking about the endless possibilities and my hopes and dreams for him. Will Hunter have my freckles? Will he share my husband’s passion for math? I hope that Hunter will be healthy, that he will have…

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Celebrating Women Helping Women

by Deborah Bowker

This weekend, we celebrate Mother’s Day and the women in our lives who love, nurture, and empower us to reach our full potential. At Opportunity International, we recognize the remarkable power of one woman to change the world. That’s why we founded the Women’s Opportunity Network, a community of dynamic trailblazers, corporate and government leaders, entrepreneurs and philanthropists committed to helping Opportunity International empower women to improve their lives, strengthen their families…

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Opportunity International’s Staff Celebrates Our Moms

by Ally Lynch

This Mother’s Day, Opportunity International’s staff is joining the Invest in One. Honor Mom. campaign to celebrate the important women in our lives. We’ve honored our mothers, sisters, wives, friends, and mentors – even our 4 legged friends joined in to create tributes patches! Here is a glimpse at Opportunity International’s Mother’s Day messages. To HopeDear human mom . . . I can’t thank you enough for all the wonderful things you do for me. Feed me – really good people food, walk…

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Why I am Living Below the Line

by Ashley Luse

Last week Young Ambassador for Opportunity member Ashley Luse participated in the Live Below the Line Challenge. She shares her motivation below: Consider this encouraging statistic: The share of people living in extreme poverty in the developing world has been halved in the last 2 decades (from 43 percent in 1990 to 21 percent in 2010). Truly exciting. But 1.4 billion people across the world still live in extreme poverty. To put that into perspective, 1.4 billion is nearly 5 times the population…

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Living Below the Line with My Family

by Opportunity International

“I’m going to send my grandchildren a food parcel.” – my mother “Can I give you a loan so you can buy more food? Very low interest rate, you can pay me back over the next month.” – my boss“Would you like to come over for dinner – is that allowed?” – my friend My well meaning friends have found it strange to think that we – Harry, me and our three kids aged 13, 11 and 6 – are about to embark on a week without food. I, too, thought it would be extremely difficult to live on…

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Why I’m Giving Up Choices for a Week

by Lauren Hawley

In a few weeks, I’m going to take the Live Below the Line challenge. For five days, I’ll spend just $1.50 each day on food to raise funds and awareness for the 1.4 billion people worldwide who have to live below the extreme poverty line every day. Living in suburban Chicago, it can be difficult to really grasp the effects of extreme poverty. I’ve traveled to parts of the world where hunger is a fact of life; however, in my everyday life here at home, I don’t always feel compelled by a sense…

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Clinton Global Initiative University 2010

by Opportunity International

Opportunity International and leaders from our Young Ambassadors for Opportunity (YAO)group will be at CGI-U this week participating in the conference. You can watch the live webcast here  

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Does the Shoe Fit?

by Lisa Leslie Henderson

Day 2: Opportunity International Philippines Insight Trip As I reflect on the experiences of the day, in the hopes of choosing one to highlight in this blog, my thoughts drift to Imelda Marcos – the wife of Former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. I’m thinking of her shoe fetish—she had over 3,000 pairs of shoes at one time, 765 of which today are on exhibit in the local Marikina Shoe Museum—and I think: how on earth did she choose which shoes to wear every morning? Renewed by the idea…

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