HOOP’s top five charitable celebrities

When the rich and famous aren’t signing autographs and enjoying the life of luxury, many lend their voice and sizeable clout to humanitarian causes. At HOOP, we think the best celebrities understand that it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. So in this week’s blog, HOOPster Catherine gives her definitive list of celebrities famed for supporting good causes.

Angelina Jolie 

Angelina Jolie, is more than just an on-screen heroine. After filming for Tomb Raider in Cambodia back in 2001, the Hollywood A-lister says her eyes were opened to worldwide humanitarian issues. She has since volunteered in more than 20 countries, contributed towards over 29 different charities, and is a goodwill ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency UK (UNHCR). When taking part in humanitarian missions, Jolie is even known to share the working and living conditions of other volunteers in the field.

Elton John

It seems like British pop legend, Sir Elton John, is as good at helping others as he is at writing chart-topping hits. Year after year, he’s one of the biggest donators of personal wealth of any celebrity. After losing several friends to Aids, he also set up the Elton John Aids Foundation in 1992, which has raised more than $125 million to date. His glitzy annual ball and regular fundraisers attract the world’s biggest stars and raise huge sums of money for the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Emma Watson

Since graduating from the set of Harry Potter, Emma Watson has become a leading advocate for gender equality and was named the UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador in 2014. As well as being at the forefront of the UN ‘He For She’ campaign, the British movie star has helped launch the ‘IMPACT 10X10X10’ initiative that lobbies governments, corporations and universities to become more influential as advocates for women’s empowerment.

Richard Branson

The man who launched the first and only space tourism company has given away a massive $29 billion in his lifetime to different causes and charities. He has pledged a further 50% of his $3 billion wealth, and has committed $3 billion to the reduction of global warming over the next 10 years. He is also an advocate of the ‘Global Zero campaign’ for the elimination of nuclear weapons, and in 2014 joined WildAid for the ‘Say No’ campaign, aiming to bring public awareness to the issues of animal poaching and trafficking.

JK Rowling

The author behind the Harry Potter series was the first celebrity to knock herself off the billionaires list in 2012 by giving an estimated $160 million away to charity, including $10 million to charities supporting those with multiple sclerosis. In November 2013, Rowling handed over all earnings from the sale of “The Tales of Beedle the Bard”, totalling nearly £19 million. She is also president of the charity Gingerbread, which supports single parents, and has raised over $15.7 million by writing books for BBC Comic Relief.

Man vs School: Who’s winning?

They say if you want to make an omelette, you’ve got to break some eggs. For John Vecchio from upstate New York, this adage probably doesn’t do justice to the enormous demolition task he took on to make way for the construction of our new community centre.

In fact, John began the painstaking task of hammering the walls down back in December. He has since dedicated more than 125 hours of hard labour to this personal challenge to clear the way for our bigger, safer and more modern teaching space. I caught up with John to find out what it’s like to take on such a daunting task.

What inspired you to take on this demolition project?

“I got the idea speaking with HOOP’s Program Director, Ali. She mentioned that HOOP needed to get the school demolished to make way for construction on the new community centre, and they would need to find $2,500USD in their budget to get the job done. I couldn’t donate that kind of money, but I thought I'd be able to help if I demolished the school myself.”

How difficult were you expecting it to be?

 

“There were many unknowns going into this project. I told Ali the only thing I can promise is I'll work hard. My biggest worry was that the walls would be reinforced with steel bars, which would have made it almost impossible to knock down with just a sledgehammer. It would have meant more tools and a lot more effort. So I was very relieved the first day when I hit the concrete wall with the hammer to find it wasn’t reinforced, other than a few supporting columns in the corners.”

How much longer until you will be done?

“I hope to have it done in about 20 more hours, but it's difficult to predict because there have been some unfortunate surprises.”

Were there any times when you just wanted to give up?

“No, I never wanted to give up, but there have definitely been some frustrating times. I have a 5ft long metal bar, which I use like a lever to force up concrete from the floor. It works like this: I force the bar underneath the concrete and step on the bar to try to raise the concrete a little, because when the concrete is raised even slightly off the ground, it breaks much easier. Then, while still stepping on the bar, I swing at the concrete with a 20lb sledgehammer. This usually works pretty well, but when I had just one more area of floor to finish things got really tough. The concrete was so thick that when I stepped on the bar, instead of lifting the concrete, the bar began bending. The concrete wasn’t being raised at all so when I struck it with the hammer, all of the energy just got absorbed into the ground below. So it took me three days to finish just that one patch of floor.”

Is there any music that helps motivate you?

“I've been listening to a lot of Blue Mountain and Uncle Tupelo. Both bands mix country and folk elements with rock and punk. For more aggressive music, say for a day I'm breaking up a floor, I'll listen to Cows.”

Were there any memorable moments?

“If I knock down a wall and break up part of a floor, I could measure my day's work in square feet or square meters. To me, this feels more rewarding than mental labor, which I can measure by how many emails I send or how many pages of a report I write up. Mental labor can be rewarding and very tiring in its own way. Any day where I've done more than I expected feels good, and I have high expectations of myself. If I'm not exhausted and in bed by 7pm, I know I could have done more that day.”

What do the people of Flora Tristan make of all your hard work?

“They’re keen to see how I’m getting on. One of my main visitors is a HOOP student who would always be on my team when we would play basketball after English class. She'd constantly ask to be lifted up to dunk, which is actually quite tiring. One day I saw her and her family and waved to her from the bus. About an hour later, they were at the school wanting to see what's been going on.”

“There's also a black and white dog owned by one of the students' families that follows me from the bus to the school. If I let him into the school, he usually just eats some grass and falls asleep despite all the noise.”

Have you become fitter and stronger?

“Of course! I've noticed my stamina is better and I've adjusted to working at the high altitude.”

What do you prefer, teaching children English, or demolishing buildings?

“I like both! Maybe I could teach kids how to demolish buildings in English!”

Not only has John saved HOOP more than $2,500, he has also raised more than $700 through sponsorship making a total of more than $3,200!

If like us, you’re in awe of John’s strength, work ethic and generosity, you can sponsor him by donating on PayPal here (even if you don't have a PayPal account). Send your donation to volunteer@hoopperu.org and quote ‘Man vs School’ in the notes box.

1, 2, 3… Who's accounting?

If you read our last blog, you’ll know that finance is not the favourite job of our Program Director, Ali. So we were very grateful to have had an accounting super-brain on our team recently, belonging to Kate Emery (known to her fellow HOOPsters as ‘Kate from London’).

But what inspired Kate (who’s actually from Sussex) to pack her bags and fly half way round the world to help a small charity in Peru?: “I wanted to travel around South America ever since I spent a month in Mexico ten years ago. When I was made redundant, it was the perfect opportunity to have a break between jobs and tie in volunteering with some travel.”

A while before joining HOOP, Kate had stumbled across an organisation called Accounting for International Development (AfID). AfID matches accountants with small NGOs to help them with their budgeting, bookkeeping and financial reporting. It was the perfect opportunity for Kate to have an adventure (which you can read about in her blog), help a worthy cause (us!), and learn some Spanish (¡!).

So Kate jumped on a plane and brought her 15 years of accounting experience to HOOP, where she helped ensure we’re doing things as transparently and professionally possible. Kate said: “It was great to be able to use my experience to help non-experts as I know where to look for common mistakes. I guided Ali through the budget process by thinking strategically and then translating strategy into numbers.”

So what advice would Kate have for any fellow accountants thinking of taking a break between jobs?: “Volunteering is different for different people but I figured that someone in my industry can have a really positive impact. You can actually pass on important technical knowledge within the charity and hopefully leave them with more confidence to carry it on. And I've got something different on my CV now so if I decide to look at accounting jobs in the charity sector, then AfID placements are really well respected.”

So overall, did Kate enjoy placement at HOOP?: “I had a great time. I was still using my brain but doing it in completely different surroundings and making new friends, as well as being able to travel around at weekends. It was also nice to be in one place for a while and really get to know it - repacking and moving on every other day gets exhausting after a while. That said I'm doing pure travel now and loving it!”

So it sounds like Kate had a good time here, and HOOP saw huge benefits too. So, since we were such a perfect match, we just wanted to say…

Happy Valentine’s Day, Kate!

Words and images by Tom Hornbrook

Meet the business brain behind HOOP

Alison Schmierer, HOOP Program Director

It’s not all fun, games and English classes at HOOP. In fact, it takes a lot of work and planning to keep things running smoothly. As part of our focus on business this month, we caught up with our diligent Program Director, Alison, to ask how she manages to keep everything on track.

What’s your average day like?

It varies a lot. I can be visiting families in Flora Tristan, Skyping potential volunteers or talking to businesses and universities about possible partnerships. At the moment, I’m making sure the construction of our new community center runs smoothly and organizing our programs and teacher training so we’re ready to start as soon as it’s built.

What has been your biggest achievement at HOOP?

One day I basically told the moms that if they don't tell us their needs, then as far as we’re concerned they don't have any, and there is no reason we should be in Flora Tristan. After this blunt comment, everyone was silent and terrified that HOOP would close its doors. I thought I had made HUGE mistake by making such a direct yet obvious comment. After a loooong minute, one mom spoke up and then another. Soon lots of moms had opinions and were eager to share how HOOP could improve.

This frank and honest remark started a conversation that developed into establishing a parents’ board. We also started a program to create clearer communication and a real partnership between HOOP and the community. It has been amazing to see how the moms feel more comfortable speaking out. They know we listen to their ideas and it’s wonderful to see them find their voice.

What is your biggest challenge?

I’m always trying to make sure the kids’ attendance is good, which means preparing our volunteers well so they give great classes. Then when a volunteer finished their placement here, I make sure there is good continuity between teachers – otherwise we’ve seen attendance can drop, which impacts the effectiveness of the program.

What’s the best part of your job? 

The moms! They’re incredible and have been through a lot but always have a smile on their face when you talk to them about their kids and a great sense of humor.

What’s the worst part of your job?

Finances!! I hate accounting and it talks a lot of time, but it’s an important part of running a transparent NGO.

What impact have you had at HOOP and on the Flora Tristan community? 

When I first started I made a list of weaknesses in the program. Last year my main goal was improving our English education program, starting our health program and creating English and business classes for the moms. The parents and kids told us they’ve seen a big improvement in the quality of our classes and the amount of support they receive from HOOP like medical and dental check ups. So it has been a successful year but there’s always room to improve.

What skills do you need to run an NGO? 

Flexibility and the ability to think outside the box because things never seem to go the way you want and there are limited resources and funding. It’s also important to be professional, especially as I’m closely involved with the families, but not too involved personally - this is a difficult line to walk. Of course you need good management and people skills since you’re working with volunteers from all over the world along with the local community so there are a lot of personalities to manage.

What advice do you have for someone looking to run an NGO? 

Take lots of management and finance classes! Surround yourself with good people, and always work with the community and allow them to decide what their needs are – use their wisdom and insights to build your programs.

Running an NGO takes a lot of work and responsibility, long days and it can be stressful at times, but it’s very rewarding!