Bio
Hey I'm Tara! I founded H.O.P.E. (Helping Orphans Pursue Education) at the age of 13 in order to provide children at orphanages in India and Sudan with the opportunity to reach their full potential. H.O.P.E. has raised over $20,000 for education and construction at the orphanages. My best youth service moment was when I re-visited Balagurukulam in 2006 (I volunteered there during the summer of 2005) to see the impact that H.O.P.E. has made upon the children's lives. Thanks to H.O.P.E.'s efforts, the children now live in a proper dormitory - prior to this, they lived under a thatched roof that was often blown away by storms. Seeing the children slowly gaining access to the opportunities many of us take for granted gave me a feeling of elation that the English language could never describe. In addition, I have have written a novel about sex trafficking in India which I am now working on publishing. H.O.P.E. has received different honors, including the Nestle Very Best in Youth Award, CosmoGirl! of the Year, and Bentley Tomorrow25.
HOPE has now become an initiative of a larger, umbrella organization that I founded, called Turn Your World Around. Turn Your World Around both implements social change initiatives and provides youth with the tools to become changemakers. We launched www.turnyourworldaround.org, a social change portal that provides teens with the opportunity to turn their passions into action, or to get involved in one of our existing programs. Visit www.turnyourworldaround.org to get started!
Goals
- I have started a venture and want to share insights
Interests
Children, Civic Engagement and Voting, Cultural Awareness, Education, Health, HIV Prevention, Human Rights, International Issues, Literacy, Peace and Non-Violence, Poverty, School Community Development, Youth Empowerment
