Jan 13, 2020
Today’s podcast guest, Nicole Lynn Lewis is truly a BRAVE GIRL living her purpose where she is reducing poverty one family at a time. In 2003, Nicole graduated from the College of William & Mary as a teen mother who had overcome homelessness and a drug-infested environment to achieve the impossible. She’s a nationally known author and speaker on topics such as teen pregnancy and parenting, youth development, goal achievement and self empowerment.
After several years in the workforce honing her skills in communications and nonprofit management and learning about the needs of teen parents across the country, Nicole founded Generation Hope in Washington, D.C. in 2010. The 501c3 provides mentoring, resources and services to teen parents to become college graduates and help their children enter kindergarten at higher levels of school readiness. It’s truly a two-generation solution to poverty.
Named a CNN Hero in 2014, Nicole has used her skills in social entrepreneurship to launch an organization that is making a real difference. Fewer than 2% of teen mothers earn a college degree before age 30, but since 2010, Generation Hope has helped almost 200 teen parents in college, provided more than $600,000 in tuition assistance, and celebrated 76 college degrees. Their Scholars’ graduation rate is almost double the graduation rate of low-income college students and almost nine times the graduation rate of single mothers nationwide. All of their 2018 graduates were living above the poverty line within six months of graduation. 92% were employed full-time and 30% were enrolled in graduate school. This is quite a legacy to say the least.
I know that you will enjoy hearing from Nicole about her work leading Generation Hope and how connected she is to the teen parents that she serves. I encourage you to check out her organization and consider how you can support her work either as a volunteer or donor.