Join our team! We’re hiring for a Director of Programs and Site Manager at BOLT.
Philly-based | Start Aug 10, 2026 | Access to a car required
Director of Programs: $85-$95K salary, commensurate with experience
Site Manager: $65-$70K salary, commensurate with experience
Please read the job description in full, before applying.
👉 Link in Instagram bio or apply directly here: /build-our-lives-together-bolt/
Are you a Philly-based grassroots leader to build up your leadership capacity? Get paid to learn skills in community organizing, strategic management and how to navigate the local ecosystem of change in Philadelphia. Plus, join a network of change-makers and receive monthly executive coaching.
Apply NOW to the BOLT School for Grassroots Leadership via bit.ly/boltsgl26-apply or the link in the bio ⚡️
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Huge shoutout to the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office for creating the Forfeiture Fund, which redistributes these funds to community-based organizations. We also want to recognize the incredible work of the Philadelphia Foundation, which supports review and distribution of the funds.
As DA Larry Krasner and Director of Community Engagement G Lamar Stewart noted today, there are so many impactful leaders in our neighborhoods in Philly doing the every day work of making sure our neighbors can thrive. We were overjoyed to see so many of these organizations receive grant awards, including several alumni of the BOLT School for Grassroots Leadership (and shoutout to alum Ant Brown of The ABRO Experience for helping capture this day!) - please check out & support their work!
- The Apologues
- As I Plant This Seed
- Diamond Beauty Academy
- Philly Truce
- Ron Da Barber
- Shoot Basketballs Not People
- Voices by Choices
If you are a community-based leader interested in joining the next cohort of the BOLT School for Grassroots Leadership, apply here by May 29: /build-our-lives-together-bolt/j/77467CD0EA
Congratulations to @phillybolt 's fourth cohort of graduates from their School for Grassroots Leadership!
For the last eight months, this inspiring group of community leaders have been building skills and strengthening their organizations - working towards a Philadelphia where every neighborhood is thriving, led by the people living there.
The BOLT School for Grassroots Leadership is now accepting applications for the 2026-2027 cohort of fellows. Learn more and apply here: /build-our-lives-together-bolt/j/77467CD0EA/
Today we celebrated twelve incredible leaders who graduated from the fourth cohort of the BOLT School for Grassroots Leadership. Over the past eight months, these leaders have met on Saturday mornings for three hours to learn, collaborate and grow their work. We’re so proud and grateful to know them. We hope that when you think about change in Philly, you think of these leaders who will join 30+ alumni from the program.
We also want to recognize the BOLT family that makes all of this possible - the team, Board, alumni, funders, guest facilitators, and so many more. Thank you for showing up for and investing in Philly every day. ⚡
Meet Summer Willow Fitch - a North Philadelphia-based leader with 25+ years of experience in program strategy, systems design, and integrity-centered leadership.
Her work is rooted in a clear observation: Black-led nonprofits often operate with limited resources, while Black women ready to give are not always invited into formal philanthropic spaces. Rather than accept that gap, Summer chose to build something different.
She is the co-founder and chairwoman of the Black Women Give Foundation (BWGive), a philanthropic collective where Black women come together to learn, support one another, and invest in community-based organizations-using collective giving as a tool for leadership and long-term impact.
Summer is also Senior Partner and Principal of KABOD Consulting Group, LLC, helping organizations lead with empathy and build cultures rooted in care and accountability. A former Deputy Policy Director for the City of Philadelphia, her work centers on advancing institutional change. She also co-created BraveheARTS, a trauma-informed arts program supporting youth at Philadelphia’s Juvenile Justice Services Center.
She holds an MBA and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy, bridging business, mental health, and community transformation.
Join our team! We’re hiring for a Site Manager at BOLT. Run programs. Coach teachers. Support youth.
Philly-based | Start Aug 10, 2026
$65K–$70K range, commensurate with experience | Car required
👉 Link in Instagram bio or apply directly here: /build-our-lives-together-bolt/j/894E919A99/
Can you believe it’s already been eight months since we first began the 4th cohort of the BOLT School for Grassroots Leadership?!
This was our last session together, and honestly…we’re just really grateful. Getting to witness the work these leaders are doing in their communities has been incredible. We’re in awe of the care, creativity, and commitment they show every single day.
Join us Saturday, April 25th for our Graduation Ceremony to CELEBRATE THEM ⚡️
100% of ticket proceeds will go directly to the organizations connected to these leaders — so your ticket is also supporting their work.
Get your ticket here: /en-US/ticketing/school-of-grassroots-leaders-2025-2026-graduation
And thank you to Ordinarie Heroes for hosting us today 🧡
🎉⚡️ HAPPY 1-YEAR BOLT-IVERSARY to our Youth Program Educator, Súllena Staton!! ⚡️🎉
Sú is the type of person who always asks if any of us need support and truly means it. No matter the situation, she shows up ready to help, not just for programming but for the team as a whole. She is incredibly reliable and is someone you can always count on, and she brings warmth to every conversation.
She consistently goes above and beyond for everyone around her, creating spaces where people feel welcomed, included, and valued.
Her presence in the classroom is unforgettable. Sú has an energy that sticks with you, and it is no surprise the youth always ask about her even after sessions end. She builds real connections, shows up with intention, and makes every young person feel seen and supported.
Sú leads with kindness, patience, and authenticity in everything she does. The impact she makes is lasting, and the care she brings to this work does not go unnoticed. (Especially her nutrition advice!)
Thank you, Sú, for everything you pour into BOLT and our young people every day. We are so grateful to have you on this team. 💙💛
Congratulations to our Executive Director, Hillary Do, for being recognized as a 2026 City & State Pennsylvania honoree. This award celebrates leaders across business, law, healthcare, education, and construction, and highlights the mentorship they demonstrate every day. 💛
Last week, we were honored to celebrate Hillary alongside other women in mentorship fields, recognizing their accomplishments and the impact they continue to make in communities across Pennsylvania.
Hillary is someone who never seeks credit for the incredible work she does. She’s someone who always lifts others and is never afraid to push herself to grow. Her vision is a Philadelphia “where every neighborhood thrives, led by the people living in them.”
Also, shoutout to our Deputy Executive Director, Jude Husein, for emceeing the event!
Thank you to City & State PA for allowing us to celebrate Hillary, and we are proud of all that she continues to do for communities across Philadelphia. ⚡️
Read Hillary’s segment and other leaders': /latest-issue/
Daniel Jurado is a Fellow with Klean Kensington, where he helps lead efforts to clean and green his community while mentoring young people growing up in Kensington. Daniel moved to the neighborhood in 2013 during a period of housing instability, after living with his grandmother and adjusting to a new environment while attending Stetson Charter School and graduating to and from Bodine High School. More than a decade later, his connection to Klean Kensington began with a chance encounter—he met the organization’s founder, Jeremy, on his way home from school and initially said yes to helping out for extra money. But as he learned more about the mission, the work became something deeper.
Today, Daniel supports 20–30 youth annually through paid positions that transform vacant lots into community gardens while providing mentorship and development opportunities. Having grown up in an environment where options often felt limited, he is committed to creating the opportunities he wished he had—helping young people build skills, form meaningful connections, and see new possibilities for their futures. Through his leadership, Daniel is not only contributing to a cleaner, greener Kensington, but also helping empower the next generation of changemakers.
Klean Kensington’s mission is to pay teens to clean and green their community while empowering them through mentorship, workshops, and holistic development. Its vision is a Kensington where every vacant lot is transformed into an active space for the community, and where local teens are supported to grow into leaders and changemakers.
Jarue Lawson is the founder of the Village Restoration Project and PSA Community, and a community leader, mentor, and criminal justice reform advocate whose work is rooted in lived experience and a deep commitment to service. He is also a former Mike Lee Fellow with the Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity (PLSE).
After being released from 20 consecutive years of incarceration, Jarue had a chance meeting at a fundraising event in honor of Mike Lee on June 4, 2018 that introduced him to PLSE. PLSE instantly became the conduit to serve the community that Jarue had planned for so many years.
Jarue lived and grew up in North, South, and Southwest Philly. He went to Meade Elementary, Turner Middle School, Bartram Motivation, Glen Mills and was an honor student throughout. He briefly went to Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Community College of Philadelphia. He worked at multiple jobs and ran the streets, leading to his incarceration. He was a certified tutor for six years while incarcerated, a dedicated reader, and constantly engaged in real conversations about identity and serving people. There were other accomplishments and achievements, but the plan was always to serve. This was something he learned from family, particularly his mother and oldest sister. No matter what the situation or environment, serving people was the goal.
The mission is to meet people where they are, to assist them in getting where they deserve to be by human right. Jarue is here as an open book, to answer all questions about liberating people by using his experiences, to mentor and be an agent of transformation with ideas, the law, and understanding. Jarue lives by the principle that those who are not informed always get taken advantage of.
