IAWA is fueled by the kindness of our donors and the solid support of our partners.

Thanks to the generosity of several key partners, we can provide unique opportunities for our youth.

This post is dedicated to 5 recent partnerships we can’t stop smiling about.

Why Are Partnerships for IAWA So Important?

At IAWA, we are always searching for additional programming resources to better serve our participants and their families. It’s no secret that we are better prepared to enhance our services when we come into partnership with other entities whose mission complements our own.

According to NonProfit Pro, partnering with other companies can increase our media coverage, better connect us to our bicontinental community members, and attract more in-kind donations, volunteers, and board members. We couldn’t agree more!

# 1 & # 2 - Open Parachute & New Wave Foundation

Mental health support is a critical component of all of our programming activities. We strive to create competencies that ensure our youth have effective modules for exploration of self-awareness, self-management, and self-efficacy. We use youth mental wellbeing videos from Open Parachute to help develop each of our participants’ skills, attitudes, and values.

The mandatory licensing fee to use Open Parachute was donated by New Wave Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is focused on inspiring the next generation of dreamers by creating opportunities for educational equality.

(Did somebody say TEAMWORK makes the DREAM WORK?)

# 2 - Special Olympics South Africa

Special Olympics South Africa recently received financial support (via The Jobs Fund) to provide internship opportunities for 4000 youth athletes and partners across South Africa. They graciously offered 10 of these coveted internship opportunities to IAWA! (Yes, we are still jumping up and down over this one!)

At the beginning of last month, eight IAWA youth began their paid internships with Special Olympics South Africa and have completed 64 hours thus far. The interns will be trained to implement the SO Fit Program, an 8-week health curriculum focused on improving fitness and health for our athletes.

“I hope we learn new and improved skills from this experience,” Lead Coordinator for the IAWA intern opportunity and Alumni Ambassador, Betty Ntate said. “I’m hoping that it will also provide me with new connections, a great sense of professionalism, and more confidence in my career direction.”

Special Olympics South Africa was founded and accredited by Special Olympics, International in 1991. Special Olympics is a global organization that serves athletes with intellectual disabilities working with hundreds of thousands of volunteers and coaches each year.

# 3 - Nando’s

A very special thanks goes to Nando’s in Laurel, Maryland (USA) for donating 40% of their fundraising proceeds to IAWA on May 19, 2022! We raised $121 in only four hours!

Nando’s is home of the legendary South African flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken and sauces.

Be sure to download the Nando’s app to earn rewards, access special offers and other cool stuff!

# 4 - Story Tapestries

We were honored to have been chosen to be the beneficiary of the recent Story Tapestries 50/50 raffle!

On June 9, 2022, patrons at the Story Tapestries Tee Up at Topgolf in Germantown, Maryland (USA) purchased 50/50 raffle tickets in support of IAWA.

When it was all said and done, Story Tapestries donated $290 back to IAWA because the person who received the raffle ticket funds donated their money back to us too!

And this is why we’re grinning from ear to ear!

Story Tapestries uses the arts as a powerful tool to create accessible, open spaces and opportunities for individuals to reach their highest potential and to work together for a more inclusive community.

# 5 - WorldofMoney

WorldofMoney was founded in 2005 and is a New York City based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to empower youth with a sound financial education. Their immersive curriculum equips children with five tenets for a financially responsible and philanthropic life: learn, earn, save, invest and donate.

IAWA licenses the WorldofMoney curriculum and we are going to integrate select modules into our entrepreneurial mindset curriculum.

“The WorldofMoney curriculum is a fun, easy-to-learn curriculum that includes young people talking about their actual experiences,”

IAWA Founder and Chief Executive of Hope Meisha Lerato Robinson explained.

“You don’t have to be well versed in finance, economics, psychology or any other subject to understand the material so it’s user-friendly enough for our Youth Facilitators to deliver it to our participants. They even include additional learning materials for parents to be able to continue the conversation with their kids at home. It’s just a win-win for everybody!”

“Thank you” will never quite be enough.

There are countless people and partners who have helped IAWA. Our list of appreciation most certainly does not end here.

Every interaction with the partners we listed here today and so many others have helped build IAWA into who we are today.

And guess what? It’s only up from here.

What other businesses or nonprofits do you think could help our youth at IAWA?

Type their names in the comment box down below!

Five IAWA Partners We Can’t Stop Smiling About