Harraseeket Foundation

I have donated to and volunteered for this wonderful organization. My wife and I focus on supporting charities that help underserved children and teens to visualize and achieve better lives for themselves and their families. Harraseeket Foundation is one of those charities. I participated in a high school career fair for teens that was organized by the Harraseeket Foundation. The career fair was well attended and hopefully helped the teens who participated to learn about many career opportunities that were available to them.

Despite it's funny sounding name, the Harraseeket Foundation is serious about it's mission to improve the lives of young people. Starting with a strong desire by it's founder to bring hope and inspiration through mentoring, this foundation has helped link vocational mentors and internship experiences with kids who might not otherwise have a way of envisioning their future outside of the life they know. I am happy to be a part of their growth as both a donor and advisor.

I have watched this nonprofit grow from the passion project of a few motivated people working through a local church, to a powerhouse team of dozens of motivated people supporting thousands of children in Fairfax County Public Schools. I support Harraseeket because the work they do is critical in helping young people--particularly kids in historically underserved communities--imagine what their lives could be, and then supporting them to achieve those goals--whether through 1-on-1 mentoring, resume-building, paid internships, and more.

I’ve supported Harraseeket’s work for years and strongly believe we need the kinds of programs they’ve provided to the community. Intergenerational connection and support for young people – particularly those who need a mentor and at-work opportunities, makes a difference in changing lives”

I've worked with this organization for the past year and I've been so impressed by their dedication to the students in their programs. The Harraseeket team goes above and beyond to provide valuable resources and mentorship to help young people succeed.

As a retired lawyer who now teaches, I regularly see the difference good mentors can make in young lives, helping them to make good decisions for the right reasons — decisions that lay foundations for successful, productive and satisfying lives. Working with schools, houses of worship of all faiths, and employers, the Harraseeket Foundation makes a difference to growing numbers of young people.

Incredibly dedicated leadership with decades of experience in the mentoring and career-development space. Each person I've encountered is genuine in their passion for serving others and has been a joy to work with.

I led a large-scale evaluation funded by the US Department of Education of a statewide project designed to increase community college completion of HS graduates unable to pass Florida's college placement test.
The study revealed that the project was a failure because it focused on improving academic performance on the placement test that was insufficient for these students to obtain academic degrees, but these students could obtain career-oriented credentials, if they got help developing viable plans for the future.
I, therefore, attempted to get educational leaders where I live to improve planning, but made little progress, until I started working with HSF. I am happy to report that we have made a great deal of progress in developing and implementing a program, Imagining Your Future (IYF), that has the potential to be of enormous help to students too often left behind by ensuring they have viable plans leading to much improved college and career outcomes.
Thus, HSF is almost alone in filling a need that is certain to improve the lives of many students.

As a teenager, I didn't really understand the value of a mentorship. Harraseeket was my first introduction to this kind of relationship and it was invaluable. My mentors were there at such a crucial time for me, as I was nearing the transition from high school to college and figuring out how to become an adult and find a career. I was able to learn about stuff I didn't even know about and get really useful answers to my questions that came from their years of experience. I now know the importance of mentors thanks to my first experience with Harraseeket.

I have been involved with the imagine Your Future program at Harraseeket .I have been very impressed with the outcome driven engagement by the Harraseeket team .They are never fazed with any hurdles and plough along to build the best opportunities for the children at Herndon High.

I've had the privilege of serving with more than 30 mentoring organizations as a recruiter, trainer, evaluator, and in direct service as a mentor. I elected to volunteer with Harraseeket because of their focus on youth who are challenged to imagine and pursue a future that aligns with their interests, abilities, and potential. At a time when students can feel pressured to fit into a predefined mold follow a path designed for others, Harraseeket offers mentoring and career guidance for a broad range of diverse opportunities. The future is brighter because of Harraseeket.

We're about to start working with students at two Northern Virginia high schools who will be compensated through funding from Harraseeket, which has strong connections to schools, community groups and businesses. That, in turn, will bolster the journalism and social media training our nonprofit offers. Youthcast Media Group, which I founded, greatly appreciates the connections, mentorship expertise and mission of Harraseeket, which is helping us help more diverse youth from under-resourced communities get valuable pre-college and career training! All young people benefit from direction and advice from people who aren't their parents. We so appreciate that Harraseeket's passion and focus on helping more youth get it!

My name is Ryan, and I worked on the team in charge of re-designing various tools used in Harraseeket’s mission to engage young people in the bold task of imagining their future. The leadership of this foundation is in exactly the right place to carry out this ambitious mission. Students are at the absolute forefront of the foundation’s focus— and nothing is done without their future success, happiness and purpose in mind. Loved working for this great organization— and I know their cause is needed for all young people today as they continue to strive to lead lives of meaning and purpose, and positively impact those around them.

I feel so lucky to have had the pleasure of working with the Harraseeket Foundation. The entire experience was inspiring on so many different levels. From the very beginning, it was clear that this organization was focused on all of the right things. Above all else, their goal to help students imagine their future was authentic and impactful!

I volunteered with Harraseeket in a few of their workshops that focused on career development and mentoring for youth. They are such an incredible Foundation helping to bring mentoring and real world experience / work opportunities to students by partnering with organizations in the public and private sector.

Working with the Harraseeket Foundation was an amazing experience. Harraseeket truly values community, connection, and creativity as it strives to help students imagine their future through exploration and experiential learning!

I have observed the great success of the Harraseeket Foundation in mentoring our young people in the Northern Virginia area. The programs have proven to be a valuable resource for those entering the workforce. The internships provided have enabled students to better understand the opportunities available as they chart their career paths. Our community is fortunate to have this unique organization, which is so dedicated to helping these young people choose their careers.

Harraseeket is one of the partners supporting my mentoring program. He has been a tremendous asset; contributing to our growth by recruiting mentors, and enriching our program with innovative ideas. We look forward to continuing our work with Harraseeket!

I served in a mentoring role for a high-school senior. I partnered with a recent college grad. The three of us met on a regular basis throughout the senior's last high school year. As with so many mentoring experiences, I felt I learned as much as the folks earlier in their careers. Harraseeket leadership did an exceptional job of identifying and sharing thought-provoking materials. They struck the right balance of guiding us toward content and conversations in line with their mission with letting us create the schedule, agendas, and structure that worked best for our team. I've encourage my own children to participate, having seen the great conversations, growth, and connections made through this program.

The Harraseeket Foundation tirelessly works to provide mentorships and paid internship opportunities to young students.

It has been a privilege to watch and participate in the development of this program. My daughter was in a three-level school to college to adult mentoring relationship which was rewarding for all involved. The passion of the organizers has been admirable and fun to see.

I have had the opportunity to know and appreciate the vision, mission, people, programs and initiatives of the Harraseeket Foundation. It is a great organization doing great things to empower heretofore underserved communities by helping people imagine and influence their futures.. I wholeheartedly recommend the Harraseeket Foundation to any and all with passion for, interest in and or willingness to support and advance this most worthy endeavor.

Harraseeket Foundation has provided me with a lifelong network of inspiring, brilliant, and welcoming professionals who have given me direction in my career and an exciting path forward. I am forever grateful for this extraordinary organization.

I have had the pleasure of being on both sides of Harraseeket. In high school I was a mentee in the Pathways program and now in college I have worked on funding the Pathways Internship Fund. Both of these experiences demonstrated that Harraseeket is an organization full of great people with a strong mission. The mentorship program creates intergenerational connections that are rare to find. The newer internship fund will provide important connections that low-resource high school students may not have access to and play an important role in promoting equal opportunities. I urge you to get involved in any way you can!

I was introduced to the Harraseeket Foundation several months ago in my capacity as co-founder of a new non-profit organization called "Undaunted Futures." that has a similar mandate aimed at mentoring at-risk teenagers. One of the co-founders of Harraseeket, Steve Parker, has provided Undaunted Futures with invaluable support and advice during our start-up phase. His laser-like focus on helping young people and facilitating learning and work experiences for them has been nothing short of truly impressive. Our two organizations are now in the process of complementing each other's mandates in our service offerings. An easy "five stars" for Harraseeket!

I have served as a mentor/guide for youth and young adults with Harraseeket in addition to supporting the growth of the program. I have thought time and again how important it is for EVERY young person to have a supportive environment to have deep, no pressure self discovery conversations. It is often too late in our lives that we realize we don't have to run the same "race" as everyone else in life, but can be happier if we are intentional about the path we chose for ourselves. Harraseeket helps bring that conversation forward in the lives of young people and allow them to arrive at their own conclusions informed by open ended questions and discussions with mentors who are at different phases of that journey themselves.

A Fantastic Intergenerational Mutual Learning Experience: As a mentor with Immanuel Presbyterian Church's Pathways program, I found the experience of teaming up with a young adult to be "guides" to a high school student rewarding on many levels. Learning to listen deeply and draw out the student into "hearing himself speak" (as Parker Palmer says) was a challenging and beautiful process, while also teaming with someone about the age of my own son as my fellow guide. We three shared our individual challenges and guided each other, while still focusing on the student, and the mutual respect and trust that we had was very precious. The tools the Pathways team provided gave us the jumping off point that enabled us to build that trust fairly quickly and we met weekly for an entire school year.

I was an early participant in the Pathways program at our church, Immanuel Presbyterian Church in McLean. I understood the need immediately--"at certain times in life it is essential to have a guiding hand from a caring adult". What was not clear until after my experience with mentoring was that I was also blessed in the process. We need to give of ourselves in meaningful ways to make life meaningful; and mentoring is a great way to bless and be blessed. Give it a try!

Harraseeket Foundation has provided such meaningful programs at our church (Immanuel Presbyterian Church in McLean, Virginia). Their Pathways program in particular has been such an invaluable resources for young adults in their discernment about vocation, meaningful work, and what it means to live a life of meaning. I am so excited to see the Undaunted Futures program moving forward-- jump in and join this movement to mentor through Harraseeket if you are able!

Communities In Schools of NOVA has partnered with Harraseeket Foundation for the past three years to provide underserved students with paid internship assignments during high school. Paid internships allow students to gain experience, new skills and discover career interests. Harraseeket shares our mission to help students succeed!