Our Story
ABOUT US
The PowHERful™ Foundation is breaking down barriers in the United States so young women and girls can succeed. Our programs empower young women and girls with the resources and tools they need to access college, successfully graduate, and pave the way to fulfilling careers.
WHO WE ARE
Building on their philanthropic goals, Soledad O’Brien and Brad Raymond established the Starfish Foundation in 2011 to expand access to higher education among young women and girls from underserved communities. Beginning with just 6 college bound students in our scholarship program, we have since expanded to support over 4,000 young women and girls in their academic, personal, and professional journeys through our flagship programs.
And with that growth came our own change – in 2017, Starfish became the PowHERful Foundation to carry forward our commitments to young women and girls across the United States.
Our Story
—Soledad O’Brien
I have covered the world’s most devastating stories throughout my career—stories of unimaginable human hardship and loss.
There was the father who lost his grip on his little boy in the Indonesian Tsunami and the Japanese fearful of radiation poisoning.
I was haunted for years after seeing the homes devastated by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I still visit the orphaned children of the Haiti earthquake. I remember the faces of the few survivors I met and push away memories of the thousands who did not. There was so little I could do to help. Or was there?
Those who dedicate themselves to rescue often tell the Starfish Story. When I heard it, it drove its way into my heart.
Countless starfish have washed ashore on a beach and are dying off. A little boy is picking them up and tossing them back into the ocean in the hope they’ll survive. A man walks by and asks him why he’s doing something so futile.
“There are hundreds,” he points out. “What difference will it make?”
The boy picks up another starfish, throws it into the sea and says: “It will make a difference to that one.”
I wanted to make a difference.
Maybe this was the way. I had met many young women whose life plans had been stagnated by terrible disasters, compounded by generational poverty — some were just down on their luck.
I could help one of them, do my part, and maybe launch a successful young woman into a brighter future. Then they could go off into the world and help others.
In 2017, Starfish became PowHERful to better reflect the empowerment we provide young women all across the country. Welcome to the PowHERful Foundation. I hope you’ll join us.