Our History

Ripples of Hope was founded in 2009 by Kristen Atwood. As the daughter of a minister and from a big family, Kristen has always been committed to bringing people together for a common purpose and cause. As a young adult, she participated in a life-changing experience, Cross Roads Africa, where she developed a deep commitment -- at the height of Apartheid -- to the vision of a free and non-racial South Africa. She visited many times thereafter, even having herself surreptitiously brought into parts of South Africa where white people were not allowed to visit. In later years, together with her City Year colleague Jennifer Eplett Reilly, Kristen would play a critical role in the founding and building of City Year South Africa.

Upon hearing the vision for what would become the start up of City Year, a national youth service corps, at a conference at Brown University in 1988, Kristen joined the City Year team as a founding staff member, recruiting the first several years of diverse corps members for an organization that would become a leading model for the inspiration of AmeriCorps. Deeply committed to projects that unite people, build community and promote justice, Kristen founded Ripples of Hope, leading civically inspiring journeys to South Africa, Haiti and India, and service journeys here in the US in her hometown of Boston and in New Orleans following the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina.

In 2022, the Ripples of Hope International Fellowship was launched with young leaders from South Africa and the United States. In 2024, Ripples launched the Lekgotla Journey, bringing together established civic leaders from all sectors committed to building a more just and inclusive society to join and support the Fellows with their vision and work.

In 2024, Ripples of Hope announced that Cindy Laba, founder of Beacon Academy, joined the organization as its first Executive Director and that Jennifer Eplett Reilly, has joined the board of directors as Vice Chair.

Our Mission

Ripples of Hope is built to put into action the challenge presented by Robert Kennedy in South Africa in 1966: to stand up for an ideal, to act to improve the lot of others, and to strike out against injustice. By collaborating with individuals and organizations from all sectors – public, private, and nonprofit – we work to build a network of support and innovation that addresses the challenges facing our communities, nation and world.

Ripples of Hope is a non-profit organization which brings families, communities and leaders together with the understanding that we are more alike than we are different. We strive to inspire and support the next generation of leaders by helping young people discover their leadership potential while leading service teams. By identifying leaders, Ripples becomes a catalyst for propelling communities forward thus planting the seeds for greater change.

We maintain a philosophy of Philanthropy in Action by collaborating with local non-profits and community leaders who express a desire to build upon their existing strengths and are empowered to make a difference in their own communities.

Through partnerships, transformational and sustainable service projects are developed then completed by Ripples families working side-by-side with community residents and leaders. By building bridges between families and communities, we cultivate a foundation for continued partnership, discussion, action, and a lifetime of service.

art

We believe in the power of the arts as a way to engage communities, share cultures and create storytellers.

Education

Education should be a right not a privilege. Ripples is committed to working with our community partners to develop access to educational programming, personal development and creating scholarships to close the gap for vocational or higher education opportunities.

Service

We uphold a philosophy of philanthropy in action through transformative service. Our work is rooted in the community where service becomes the common ground for mutual understanding and shared humanity.