What do you want most in the world? Maybe it’s changed since yesterday because of something left under the Christmas tree, but chances are that changing the answer to that question isn’t so easy. For a small boy begging on the streets of India, the answer was pretty simple. A pencil. Adam Braun is a guy who gave a kid a pencil, a smile, and a promise of a better future. Adam Braun continued backpacking across the world, and giving out pens and pencils—thousands of them. Eventually his idea turned into a non-profit organization called Pencils of Promise. They’re based in New York City, and they now build schools for the 75 million children in the world who don’t even have access to a pre-school education. As important as schools are, the pencils and backpacks still play a huge role in what Pencils of Promise does.

Show Some Promise

The best way to get a feel for Pencils of Promise is to watch this 99-second video. It will give you a quick rundown of who they are and what they’re doing (e-mail readers need to click through).

After the video you may want to read the Pencils of Promise story and look at their current, upcoming, and completed projects. They’re making a difference one village at a time, and the pace at which they’re doing it is impressive. If you’re move by Pencils of Promise’s success, then you should consider a job with them. They seem to post everything on Idealist, and right now they’re looking for a Creative Technologist. It looks like a really cool position for a tech savvy grad, so check it out. They also have a number of volunteer opportunities and a Nicaragua Coordinator Fellowship.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• PencilsOfPromise.org
• Jobs at Pencils of Promise (Idealist)
• About Pencils of Promise
• Pencils of Promise’s Team
• Pencils of Promise’s Blog
• Pencils of Promise’s Story
• Pencils of Promise’s Approach
• Pencils of Promise’s Projects

Have you ever given anyone a pencil?

We've identified Pencils of Promise as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• design
• education
• fellowship programs
• international
• international development
• New York
• Nicaragua
• non-profit
• outreach
• software development
• user experience
• web development

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One response to “Pencils of Promise”

1. Nalak says:

   May 24, 2011 at 2:43 pm

   i love your organization! keep up the good work guys :) <3

   Reply