Portraits by Emily Will
Lauren Hubbard has a creative spirit and abundant energy that makes her a standout in any room. Those qualities have opened doors for her and guided her path as an emerging community advocate, leading an innovative local nonprofit focused on helping young people unlock their potential and develop both global and community-based perspectives.
Last year, when her personal life brought her to a crossroads, Hubbard chose to reframe her story and redirect her energy. As a newly single mother, she stepped into a new chapter and doubled down on her mission to impact children’s lives in St. Pete as the founder and CEO of All The World’s Kids Inc. (ATWK).
In April, ATWK hosted a fundraiser that featured a fashion show in which students modeled custom pieces adorned with positive mantras. The event raised funds to support the organization’s first global impact expedition in June, which will take six students from the Academy Prep Center of St. Petersburg abroad on a humanitarian mission. Academy Prep is a nationally accredited nonprofit middle school that inspires and empowers students qualifying for need-based scholarships to become future community leaders.
“It’s rare to witness this level of passion and devotion," offers documentary filmmaker Sergio Guerrero, who is chronicling the expedition. "What makes it especially rare is that it is rooted in Lauren's deep, genuine desire to make the world a better place.”
We chatted with Hubbard, who uses the hashtag #thinkdream-
darebelieve to represent her foundation, about her journey.
How are you living your best life?
Wow, talk about your best life. Here I am a single mom who went through a separation leading her into the complete unknown. At the time, I thought it was a punishment. I felt like I wasn't good enough for the life I was living, not good enough for the person I was with—who decided that they didn't want this life anymore. I left the neighborhood I was so actively involved in, to live on a boat. I changed my job…everything. Who does that? But I've fallen into living my best life. Now, I have the whole world at my hands, sitting here looking out at the ocean. I’m raising my child in nature and I'm working with kids every day.
What sparked your interest in sailing?
I started taking sailing lessons because I wanted to build confidence and I wanted something that couldn't be taken away from me. I wanted experiences and I wanted to share those with my daughter, Monte. Sailing became that thing. After a year of training at the St. Petersburg Sailing Center, I had so much confidence that I made a whole lifestyle out of it.
How did ATWK begin?
A couple of years back, before I had a child of my own, I was living abroad in Southeast Asia and working for various service organizations. In the Philippines, I was working with Voice of the Free, an organization that rescues young girls that have been sold for sex trafficking and modern-day slavery. I was brought on as part of an emotional mastery and meditation coach. Every morning, I would lead meditation with these girls and I remember sitting there feeling that all the world’s kids are vulnerable and ours to protect. And it wasn't just those girls in the room. It was every child. And so that’s how it started…with the name.
ATWK exists to help youth unlock their full potential through art, mentorship and experiences. That led us to create our art therapy program, our life coaching and pathway planning program and our global impact expeditions. We primarily serve at-risk, underserved communities here in St. Petersburg. Our program partnerships have been primarily with two local schools on the South side, Infinite Potential Learning Academy (IPLA), which is a kindergarten through fourth grade school and Academy Prep, which is our fifth to eighth grade school. With IPLA, we brought in our art therapy program for seven weeks and we worked to develop a curriculum that was personalized to the needs of the school and the students. We also partnered with the Saint Petersburg Free Clinic Food Bank to provide meals for students, because we know that during summers the free food program gets put on hold.
We also partnered with 15th St Farm and brought about 40 students from Academy Prep there to learn about sustainability and growing things in the soil, because we want to bring that back here. Once you have those tools and that knowledge, you can go and teach others how to do the same thing.
Tell us about your global impact expedition.
We have a really good relationship in place with the head of Academy Prep, who was on board with giving us the opportunity to lead their students on our pilot expedition to Cambodia in June. We already had host-country directors and volunteers ready to receive us. We just needed the permission, trust and support from the head of the school to say, ‘We love what you're doing. Go ahead.’
The idea is that if we take young people from underserved areas in our own community, provide them with a passport, take them abroad and give them an opportunity to service out in the world, they'll come back into their own neighborhood with the realization that they can have a much bigger impact than they thought they could. It’s not just that they will see what they can accomplish, but also hopefully realize that they have so much more than they thought they did.
The students will be brought to a village where 95% of the residents do not have access to clean water. The students will not only get to work on the project but help educate the villagers on using those resources. It will also teach them about partnerships and community engagement.
What is Monte’s part in your ATWK journey?
She has saved my life in so many ways. I wouldn’t be here if not for her. So, having her with me, creating something that will live way beyond our lifetime is a legacy that I want to be able to share with her. I believe that one day she'll be out there doing so much more, because she's witnessed it firsthand.
Visit alltheworldskidsinc.org to learn more.
