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AFH Staff Highlight: Kenya Warren-Hollins

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AFH Staff Highlight: Kenya Warren-Hollins

Posted: Updated: by Brooke McMillan

A lot goes on behind the scenes at Athletes for Hope to ensure every athlete, team and charity have a fulfilling connection experience. Our teammate on the ground in Louisiana, Kenya Warren-Hollins, is a great example of how all the moving parts of connections can come together. Kenya has worked on the AFH University program for the last 3 years in Baton Rouge connecting students at LSU and Southern University to charitable opportunities in the community. She also works with the incredible organization City Year in Baton Rouge. We sat down with Kenya to ask her why she works with AFH and what motivates her in her career.

“The full cycle of the AFH U program is a rewarding experience. From helping student athletes get excited about service and identifying causes their passionate about, connecting them to local non-profits and schools, to seeing the joy on the faces of the individuals they visit. My favorite thing is the impact it makes on student athletes and the community in which I love. My career is a depiction of my passion for service and expertise in relationship development.”

One of Kenya’s favorite AFH moments was the service that took place in the aftermath of the historic flood in 2016. Student athletes from Southern and LSU mobilized the city of Baton Rouge through service and came together for a great cause. When asked why she enjoys her job Kenya replied, “It excites me to know AFH is truly making a difference and making lasting impacts on the communities we serve. We’re only getting better!”

AFH University Celebrates Most Impactful Year Ever

Posted: by Brooke McMillan

During the 2017-2018 school year, we saw tremendous progress in our AFH University (AFH U) program due to a significant investment of time and resources in measurement and evaluation, leveraging technology more efficiently, expanding our curriculum, working closely with on-the-ground program managers, and hiring an AFH U National Director to lead this program. While we initiated the process of developing and establishing AFH communities in new markets, we simultaneously worked to deepen relationships with existing universities, community partners and student leaders.

This past year, AFH U facilitated 20 workshops and had over 223 connections with over 1191 college athletes. We saw nearly a 100% increase in the amount of volunteer hours (4,456) that AFH U athletes put towards their charitable involvement, which signifies an increased commitment from AFH U athletes to the community causes they care about.

We also continue to deepen relationships with team leads and liaisons to better understand program needs. We met with various Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) groups to seek input and develop a more robust strategic plan for AFH U. We are excited to build momentum in the 2018-2019 school year as we expand and deepen our program impact at existing universities while we strategically grow AFH U in new communities. For more information on program impact, see infographic below.