Just over 150 years ago, John Alvord—a minister and abolitionist—celebrated when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. But he knew that a change in legal status—finally recognizing our shared humanity—was only the beginning. As men and women began to rebuild their lives in post-slavery America, he understood that it would be essential for former...
Ending Poverty: Three Hopeful Signs
Could we see the end of extreme poverty in our lifetime? Just two hundred years ago, almost the entire world’s population lived in extreme poverty. Today, less than 10 percent do. (In the past forty years alone, the percent of people living in extreme poverty has dropped by over 30 percentage points.) In my...
Supporting Entrepreneurship in the USA
The last few months, I’ve had a number of conversations with friends who wonder how the principles that drive HOPE could be applied domestically. It’s an important question, and although HOPE has decided to remain focused internationally, I strongly believe we need more organizations working to help restore dignity through the gift of employment...