Description
Founded in 1958, HOBY impacts annually over 9,100 high school sophomores who attend HOBY leadership educational programs which are almost 100% volunteer driven. Founded by veteran actor Hugh O’Brian, his goal was to help young people make a difference and become positive catalysts for change--in the home, school, workplace, and community. Each September, HOBY invites every public, private, parochial and charter high school to select one or two sophomores, ages 15-16, to attend a 3 or 4 day leadership program held on college and university campuses across the country. Our results are outstanding, with more than 90% of our youth attending college.
This year, over 9,000 U.S students will attend one of 70 HOBY programs throughout the country. In addition, nearly 1,000 International Students will participate in a HOBY seminar. HOBY affiliated programs operate in Canada, Mexico, Philippines, South Korea, China, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Argentina, to name a few. We are also developing programs in Iraq and Nigeria.
Each summer, HOBY hosts an eight day World Leadership Congress (WLC) for over 400 students, ages 15 -17 from over 20 different countries. This unique international conference allows students to continue their leadership development, while building relationships and learning from their peers from around the world. This year, the WLC will be held in Los Angeles, at UCLA.
The Social Change Model of Leadership which is the framework for HOBY programs emphasizes "change" as the ultimate goal of the creative process of leadership--to make a better world and a better society for ourselves and others. The focus on individual growth in order to create positive societal change, clearly realizes HOBY’s vision: To motivate and empower individuals to make a positive difference within our global society through understanding and action based on effective and compassionate leadership. As a result of participating in the HOBY Leadership Seminar, students will gain superior critical thinking skills, the ability to identify and tap into their personal leadership strengths, improved goal-setting skills, and an understanding of and a commitment to the importance of leadership and service.
All youth are challenged to complete a minimum of 100 hours of volunteer service in the year following their seminar and will log these hours on our website, www.HOBY.org. Many youth have gone on to not only give back but to inspire others through their efforts.
