Hugh Obrian Youth Leadership

HOBY IS A LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE ORGANIZATION. WE DEVELOP AND INSPIRE YOUTH AND VOLUNTEERS TO HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE WORLD AROUND THEM. HOBY PROGRAMS ARE CONDUCTED ANNUALLY THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES, SERVING BOTH DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL / SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS.

HOBY STATE LEADERSHIP SEMINARS: OUR 3 TO 4-DAY LEADERSHIP SUMMITS FOR HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORES ARE CONDUCTED ACROSS ALL US STATES AND SERVE TO ENABLE STUDENTS TO DISCOVER THEIR FULL IMPACT POTENTIAL. THIS YEAR, 66 SEMINARS WERE CONDUCTED REACHING NEARLY 6,000 STUDENTS FROM 4,022 SCHOOLS. OF THOSE ATTENDEES, 204 STUDENTS RECEIVED SCHOLARSHIPS ENSURING BOTH DIVERSE AND REPRESENTATIVE SEMINARS. OUR PROGRAMS BRING STUDENTS TOGETHER FROM DIVERSE COMMUNITIES, UPBRINGINGS, AND ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES TO DIALOGUE, EXPAND AWARENESS, AND DISCOVER OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE THE WORLD AROUND THEM. HOBY'S LEADERSHIP CURRICULUM IS ROOTED IN THE SOCIAL CHANGE MODEL OF LEADERSHIP FOCUSING ON EMPOWERING STUDENTS TO DEVELOP AND UNDERSTAND THEIR PERSONAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND VALUES AND HOW THOSE SKILLS CONTRIBUTE TO GROUP AND COMMUNITY IMPACT. OUR PROGRAMMING ALSO LEVERAGES THE UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS TO PROVIDE STUDENTS WITH THE FRAMEWORK TO MAKE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THEIR COMMUNITIES AND THE COMMUNITIES OF THEIR PEERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND AROUND THE WORLD. AS AN IMMEDIATE WAY TO PUT OUR SERVICE LEADERSHIP CURRICULUM INTO ACTION, EACH STUDENT IS CHALLENGED TO COMPLETE, AND TRACK THROUGH OUR UNIQUE SYSTEM, 100 HOURS OF COMMUNITY SERVICE IN THE YEAR FOLLOWING THEIR SEMINAR ATTENDANCE.ALL SEMINARS WERE CONDUCTED THROUGH THE GENEROSITY AND COMMITMENT OF NEARLY 2000 VOLUNTEERS. DESPITE THE LINGERING EFFECTS OF COVID-19, MOST OF OUR PROGRAMS WERE ABLE TO RETURN TO IN-PERSON PROGRAMMING THIS YEAR. FIFTY-SEVEN IN-PERSON SEMINARS WERE CONDUCTED AT UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. NINE SEMINARS WERE CONDUCTED VIRTUALLY, A WELCOME 86% DROP FROM THE VIRTUAL SEMINAR NUMBERS THE YEAR PRIOR. TO FURTHER ACCOMMODATE STUDENTS IMPACTED BY COVID OR OTHER UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES, WE INTRODUCED OUR FIRST REGIONAL VIRTUAL CONFERENCE, SERVING 145 STUDENTS FROM 20 DIFFERENT STATES. THESE VIRTUAL PROGRAMS CONNECTED STUDENTS USING A COMBINATION OF OUR CUSTOMIZED LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND VIDEO CONFERENCING PLATFORMS.

HOBY WORLD LEADERSHIP CONGRESS: EACH SUMMER, THE WORLD LEADERSHIP CONGRESS WELCOMES HIGH SCHOOL/SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT AMBASSADORS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE FOR A WEEK-LONG, IMMERSIVE LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE. THE WLC CHALLENGES STUDENT AMBASSADORS TO THINK CRITICALLY, COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY, AND ACT WITH INTEGRITY. STUDENTS WHO ATTEND OUR STATE LEADERSHIP SEMINARS AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY TO ATTEND THE WLC, AND INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15-17, WITH A DEMONSTRATED INTEREST IN LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, ARE ALSO INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS ANNUAL PROGRAM. THE WLC LEAVES STUDENT AMBASSADORS WITH A ROBUST GLOBAL NETWORK AND THE TOOLS TO CHANGE THE WORLD AROUND THEM. THIS WLC WAS OUR SECOND-EVER HYBRID EXPERIENCE, WELCOMING 207 TOTAL STUDENTS, 136 IN-PERSON IN CHICAGO, ILLINOIS AND 71 VIRTUALLY. WLC STUDENTS JOINED US FROM 35 STATES AND 9 COUNTRIES, AND A TOTAL OF 57 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS ATTENDED.

HOBY SERVICE LEADERSHIP: HOBY'S SERVICE LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS AND IMPACT ARE PROVIDED IN TWO TIERS. FIRST, HOBY'S LEADERSHIP FOR SERVICE CHALLENGE AND TRACKING SYSTEM GIVES ALUMNI THE ABILITY TO MANAGE AND TRACK THEIR COMMUNITY SERVICE PROJECTS AND HOURS. THIS YEAR'S HOBY ALUMNI LOGGED A TOTAL OF 56,036 HOURS OF SERVICE THIS YEAR, BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF TRACKED HOBY LEADERSHIP FOR SERVICE HOURS TO OVER 5 MILLION HOURS OR JUST OVER $150 MILLION OF CUMULATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACT. AS A CREDENTIALING ORGANIZATION FOR THE PRESIDENTIAL VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD, HOBY SUBMITS STUDENTS FOR RECOGNITION ANNUALLY. THIS YEAR, 117 STUDENTS ACHIEVED THE BRONZE AWARD (100-174 HOURS OF SERVICE); 45 RECEIVED A SILVER AWARD (175 249) AND 31 RECEIVED A GOLD AWARD (250+). SECOND, HOBY PROVIDES RESOURCES AND TRAINING TO THE NEARLY 2000 PEOPLE, 79% OF WHICH ARE ALUMNI, WHO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME AND ENERGY TO DELIVER HOBY PROGRAMS. THROUGH VIRTUAL PLATFORMS, HOBY DELIVERED CURRICULUM GUIDES, DISCUSSION GUIDES, OPERATIONAL RESOURCES, TOOLS, TRAINING, FORUMS FOR BEST PRACTICE SHARING, AND OTHER SUPPORT AND GUIDANCE TO THIS YEAR'S VOLUNTEER BASE. HOBY VOLUNTEERS INVESTED OVER 400,000 HOURS IN LEARNING, PLANNING, AND EXECUTING HOBY PROGRAMS AND AN ADDITIONAL 250,000 HOURS VOLUNTEERING WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, PROVIDING ANOTHER $19,500,000 IN ECONOMIC IMPACT IN THIS PAST YEAR, PROVING DEFINITIVELY, THAT A LIFE WITH HOBY IS A LIFE GEARED TOWARD LEADERSHIP AND SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITIES.

HOBY COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS: COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS ARE DEVELOPED BY VOLUNTEERS ACROSS THE U.S. FOR 9TH GRADE STUDENT AMBASSADORS AS AN INTRODUCTION TO LEADERSHIP EDUCATION. THESE ONE-DAY WORKSHOPS JUMPSTART STUDENT AMBASSADORS' LEADERSHIP JOURNEYS AND CONNECT THEM TO PEERS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.