Mona Youth Ambassadors: Shaping a Life of Service to Humanity

This summer marks the Second Anniversary of Mona's Youth Ambassador Program. To celebrate, Mona is holding a special virtual event for all Youth Ambassadors worldwide on Tuesday, September 12th. This will be an inspiring and action-oriented space where youth and young adults can share experience and learn more about the program's EXCITING PLANS for the coming year, including:

A series of youth gatherings to learn about social issues and inspire local action
Leadership roles in the 2024 Move4Mona 5K Walk and other campaigns
Summer Internship opportunities
And for those most actively championing Mona's mission (drum role please!) -- A MONA YOUTH AMBASSADOR TRIP TO INDIA OR THE GAMBIA to experience social action in the field first hand!

Launched on International Day of Youth in 2019, Mona's Youth Ambassador Program aims to engage a growing number of youth in philanthropy and unconditional service to humanity. According to Mona CEO Mahnaz Javid, the ultimate goal is “to help youth understand how critical their role is in transforming our world, and supporting them to see service as a way of life versus as an occasional activity, and getting them started on this journey. ...Our goal is about raising the next generation of generous people who are committed to making life better for those most in need.”

To date, over 58 youth from 15 countries have become Mona Youth Ambassadors, each taking creative steps to connect with their network of peers at school, in their communities, and through social media to promote the power of education, raise awareness of Mona's mission, and help support our grassroots partners to educate kids and empower girls around the world.

Youth Ambassadors in Action

To highlight some of the wonderful efforts our Youth Ambassadors are making, we talked with one of our newest Ambassadors, Brenden Eghrari (17), about his experience in the program and the importance of service. Brenden and his family live in Southern California where he is entering his junior year of high school. Excerpts from our conversation are shared below. Perhaps his story and comments will inspire you to become a Youth Ambassador too!

MF: What inspired you to become a Mona Youth Ambassador?

Brenden: I learned about Mona Foundation from my parents and grandparents who have been Mona supporters for many years. I started freshman year just trying to adjust to high school as most freshmen do, and it just was not like the greatest, most interesting, productive year. When school started this year, I thought, “OK, let's try to do something!” So, I joined the Students for Sustainability club at school; I joined the Student Council; I joined track – all of which have been great experiences. But then I started thinking about doing something of my own, you know, to take some initiative. Since I was familiar with Mona Foundation, I wanted to see if there was something I could do to help. I talked with my cousin Chloe who has done a lot of work with Mona. She was very excited to hear about my interest, saying “Oh yeah, there's so much you can do! Mona would love to have your help. You could be a Youth Ambassador and start your own club at school.” She gave me so many great ideas!

MF: I'm so glad you reached out to Chloe. She actually started the very first Mona Global Citizens school club! What did you decide to do after talking with her?

Brenden: I talked with my friend Alec and we decided to become Mona Youth Ambassadors. We also decided to start a Global Citizens Club at our school. We also promoted the club at the Spring Club Fair. There was a great turnout. A lot of other clubs gave away candy or donuts to get people to sign up. But Alec and I didn't want to do that. We just gave people the facts and invited them to join us. We wanted them to decide for themselves if the Global Citizens Club was something they wanted to commit to. And a lot of people did commit, which was just great! Right now, our club has about 12 consistent members which is pretty amazing for our small school.

MF: Were you surprised by the response?

Brenden: Yes! I was especially surprised that so many of my male friends were genuinely interested in Mona's mission. It was heartwarming to see. But there were also some people who would say “Oh, so this is a woman’s thing, right?” Some people even joked with me, “Why are you doing this?” I tried to make it very clear that Mona’s work is about everyone, it's a "human thing", not just a "woman's thing".

MF: Well done! What activities has the group done this year?

Brenden: We initially decided to hold a bake sale fundraiser to support Mona’s work. Then I got an email about the Move4Mona 5K Walk for Education on May 13th. It seemed like the stars aligned at just the right time! I let our club know about the campaign and everyone was absolutely ecstatic. It was the perfect opportunity! We decided to combine the bake sale with the 5K Walk and donate all the monies to the Move4Mona campaign.

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We did the Move4Mona 5K at the Santa Monica Pier. We knew it would be a great location because it has a famous bike path close by and right next to it is a great walking path. It’s such a scenic place. I also promised people we would get some lunch afterwards. That also helped a bit! The bake sale was on the following Monday. All our club members took responsibility for bringing something. Some brought doughnuts but many also baked something. It was exciting when people stopped at our table and asked “What is this about? What's this Mona thing?” People were really interested, and they loved the food too! Then they would ask, “OK, wait, do you guys have another thing I could be a part of after this? Like, are you doing something else?” Then I would tell them about our club at the school. It was such a really great experience. Between the two activities, our club raised about $850!

MF: Amazing, Brenden, congratulations! And thank you to everyone for taking action to support Mona's kids around the world! Did you know the funds you raised will send 6-7 kids to school for a whole year?

Brenden: Wow! That is incredible. Hearing a statistic like that, it's hard to think about -- that we are making a difference in the lives of 6-7 other children and their families. That's no small thing. Everyone at the club was just super, super blown away with our results, and everyone was super proud of us. It was extremely heartwarming to see. We'll try to continue and make that 10-15 kids, as many as we can. That's awesome. Really. Thank you and everyone at Mona for all these opportunities.

MF: What would you say to other young people who may be thinking about maybe becoming a Mona youth ambassador?

Brenden: I would say: Just do it! Really. Just take the initiative. I think a lot of people are afraid of volunteering. It can seem daunting at first. They may think, “Do I really have to do this? Should I do it for college or my parents or whatever? Is it a waste of time?” Also, we all have so much to do. We have school, we have extracurriculars, we have a lot, right? But try it out, try to make a difference, just do your best. Take the initiative. Your actions will make a difference and benefit others. And you’ll see that the benefits come back to you too. If you’re in a place you don't want to be, serving others can really help you too, it’s important to your mental and spiritual well-being.

MF: And finally, now that you've had this experience, what does it mean to you to live a life of service?

Brenden: I think it means doing what you can every day to help improve other people’s lives in some way so they can move on and benefit others themselves. Service is like a thread that connects us and will eventually benefit the whole world.

If you are passionate about Mona's mission and are between the ages of 11-30, our Youth Ambassador program is for you! Sign up here .