What we love about working at illuminAid
Matt York - Executive Director
If you don't live in the top ten or twenty percent of the world's population, electronics technology has almost no impact on your life. Simple conveniences like running water or electricity are unheard-of luxuries. Video is not even a concept. You and your family likely live on less than a dollar a day and your way of life is probably not that different from your ancestors’ who lived a few hundred years ago.
We know that technology has the power to bring powerful positive change to these areas. The evolution of technology has wildly benefited the advancement of education--the one thing that can empower the world’s poorest to lift themselves out of poverty.
Those who live in impoverished regions have never benefited from past and current technologies such as radio, film, television and the internet. They will most likely not benefit from future technologies that will continue to accelerate education unless something changes.
And that's where we come in; we help bring education to those who cannot educate themselves.
Kristin Henderson - Program Manager
Working at illuminAid has changed my life. I have always been passionate about helping those less fortunate, and for many years, I have felt an unequivocal pull to the enchanting continent of Africa.
I am fortunate to have traveled to Africa twice now with illuminAid and, with each visit, my admiration for the African people has grown. In both cases, we worked to create videos to benefit those living in poverty. As we worked in third-world conditions, what stood out to me most was how warmhearted and resilient the people are. They handle problems with grace, laugh with joy, and are generous in every sense of the word. They are amazing!
Their openness has made me want to bring help to all 54 incredible African countries, and, through working at illuminAid, that’s actually a possibility. I love illuminAid because it has the capacity to work in any place where there are people in need, regardless of access to electricity. If people are suffering, illuminAid can find a way to help them.
Laurie Kaplan - PROGRAM & COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE
illuminAid is an organization that asks me to look beyond my own worldview and scope of reference. It’s encouraged me to love harder, work smarter, and walk in the shoes of courageous compassion. One day, I might be WhatsApping with somebody who’s hand-pumping water for his family’s home in West Africa. The next, I’ll be watching a testimonial from a mother in The Gambia who has just learned how to protect her child from malaria. Another, I’ll be here at our office in Chico building projector kits, editing videos, or testing solar panels. illuminAid has grown my heart for humanity and empowered me with skills to help bring technology to a world that needs it now more than ever before. Getting out of bed every morning is a breeze, because I get to learn something new and help people every single day! If that’s not a dream job, I don’t know what is!
Robin Cripe - Grants and Development
I’ve always loved writing. From a young age I knew that, whatever I did, I would be writing. And so, all these years later, the opportunity to be able to use that passion to help the world’s least fortunate has been an incredibly fulfilling experience. At our weekly illuminAid staff meetings, we always take the first few minutes to thank a coworker for something they did the last week. That’s a level of introspection you don’t see in most workplaces. The passion, the support, the camaraderie—those are just a few of the things that make this place so special.
Carli Parisi - Program Intern
There are so many things that I love about working at illuminAid. I love being able to see the positive change that simple technology and innovation can bring when used by committed and capable hands. I love being able to connect with people in the most remote areas all over the world, to share culture, ideas and hope. I love that our work gives people a medium of communication that they never would have had access to before, one that has the power to positively influence their communities and their lives. To round it all out, I enjoy being part of a team of dedicated people working to bring more light and hope into the world.
