I have always had a special place in my heart for children. Perhaps it’s because they are so vulnerable, perhaps because they have a way of communicating with the world that shifts our focus and a way of seeing the world that gives us hope—perhaps because we know that we need them as much as they need us.

Children are not just our future leaders, they are the most precious piece of our Now. Over the past 15 years of international development and disaster relief work, I have learned more from the people I’ve met than I could ever learn in school and the more places I have traveled, the more I see how connected we all really are.

Service has been the privilege of my life.

—

Lauren Lombard
Executive Director, Mentor