Krochet Kids International: Empowering Women to Rise Above Poverty

"An opportunity to flourish does not start with a handout, it starts with a job.” These words are spoken over the images of a young woman working at a sewing table inside a small workspace in Lima, Peru. The video above, hosted up on the Krochet Kids International website, serves as an introduction into an organization focused on empowering women to rise above poverty.

Krochet Kids International is a nonprofit organization founded by three men from Spokane, Washington with a vision to create sustainable economic development programs that support holistic growth of individuals and communities living in poverty. The charities’ three founders, Kohl Crecelius, Stewart Ramsey and Travis Hartanov started by crocheting ski hats for their friends and family.

“We were encouraged to teach people in developing countries how to crochet as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty,” Crecelius explains on the nonprofit's site. “At first, I thought the world needed something more drastic than crochet, something much more profound. That was until Stewart returned home after a summer spent in Uganda."

A fashion brand with a social mission

After witnessing extreme poverty in developing nations during volunteer trips, the trio decided to teach crocheting to people in impoverished countries. After traveling to Uganda to meet with a group of women to teach them how to crochet, the trio founded Krochet Kids International, which would sell the handcrafted hats to the United States and, in turn, use proceeds to provide fair wages, training and development courses to educate women.

Startup Spotlight: Boston's CoachUp and Grove Labs

The job hunt can be a daunting task when you’re unsure if a company is a good fit for you. Without any connections, it’s often hard to understand what the working culture is like on the inside.

Startup culture seems to hold a similar truth among young companies: people love where they work. Here’s a look at two Boston-based growing startups and an inside perspective on benefits and the company culture.

CoachUp, Connecting Athletes With Private Coaches

CoachUp connects more than 100,000 athletes with more than 13,000 private coaches for one-on-one and small group training to help those looking to develop skills and reach their goals. The startup trains in more than 30 sports, including baseball, diving, kickboxing, martial arts, triathlon, yoga and many more. 

Jordan Fliegel and Arian Radmand founded the company on their belief that private coaching is the secret to success for improvement and helping any person with an athletic goal reach their full potential.

Now, the nation's leading private coaching company, CoachUp's Athlete Advisory Council, which weighs in on business endeavors and program needs and services, includes New England Patriots' Julian Edelman, Boston Bruins President Cam Neely and Philadelphia 76ers' Nerlens Noel. 

Last year alone, CoachUp was recognized in Forbes' "30 under 30", Boston Business Journal's Healthiest Employer and Boston Innovation's "50 on Fire."

Teach For America, Peace Corps: Alternative Paths to Becoming a Teacher

In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, Monster interviewed two teachers who took an alternative route in education.

Dylan Manderlink, 23, teaches digital communications for Teach For America (TFA), a national teacher corps focused on raising student achievement in public schools and David Sinopoli, 25, who recently returned from aPeace Corps term in Burkina Faso (a landlocked country in West Africa) where he taught middle school math, science and English.

The typical route in education

To become a teacher you’ll need a degree in education (or master’s degree depending on where you want to teach), experience working with students and a certification or teaching credential for the state you want to work in. Specific requirements and testing varies by state, but in most you have to pass a content-knowledge test or complete specific college courses related to the subject you will teach. Prior to joining TFA, many corps members have not competed a traditional course of study in education, so most states will consider them nontraditional teachers. However, each state has different requirements and rules on earning credentials, sometimes referred to as alternative certificates or licenses.

“There are so many benefits to doing Teach For America,” Manderlink says. “Having the opportunity to uproot my life, move to a completely new region of the country, immerse myself in a new regional culture and community and meet students and teachers who inspire me everyday has been unforgettable.”

She's the First: Educating Girls Across the Globe

In honor of Women’s History month this March, Monster would like to highlight an organization run by women for women. She’s the First is a nonprofit organization that sponsors girls’ education in low-income countries, giving them the opportunity to become the first in their families to graduate from a secondary school. With 450 scholars in 10 countries, this organization hopes their student leaders and scholars will become agents of change in their communities to break the cycle of poverty and work toward transforming our world.