Hello Future Founder, Charlie Grosso, Awarded Alcon Grant on Women’s Entrepreneurship Day

New York, November 19, 2019 – In honor of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, Hello Future founder and Executive Director, Charlie Grosso, has been named one of eight recipients of Alcon’s Real Relief for Visionary Women grant program. Grosso, a lifelong entrepreneur, founded Hello Future, a global non-profit that teaches adolescent refugees the business and creativity skills needed to become entrepreneurs and community leaders, in 2016.

“On behalf of the entire Hello Future team and the students and families we work with, I thank Alcon for their support and belief in our work,” said Grosso. “I started Hello Future because, as an immigrant sent to the U.S. alone as a child, I understand what it is like to lose home, community and identity. While that sudden shift of all they know is a defining moment for refugee youth, it does not have to be the end of their story. Our program gives them the skills they need to believe in a better future for themselves and their families -- and to be in control of defining that future.”

Hello Future provides refugee teens in the Middle East with the tools and skills required to improve their educational and employment futures. Through an intensive program taught by local instructors in the students’ native language, refugee youth learn essential digital skills; psychosocial support; entrepreneurship; critical thinking; and learning to learn skills.

To date, Hello Future’s impact includes a 100% program retention rate and an average 91.5% graduation rate. Post-session student surveys show a 47% increase in positive beliefs about the future, with 97% of students saying that what they learned in Hello Future’s program will be helpful in getting a better job

“I loved what I learned in Hello Future because it gave me confidence, boldness and self-reliance at an early age,” said Taza, a 16-year-old graduate of the program.

The Real Relief for Visionary Women program from SYSTANE® is aimed at funding women entrepreneurs and their business ideas. Through an extensive, competitive review process, eight female entrepreneurs were selected by Alcon, crowdsourcing platform iFundWomen and businesswoman and TV personality Barbara Corcoran to receive financial support and expert coaching for their business ventures. The winners will each receive a $5,000 grant and access to educational opportunities and coaching services through iFundWomen.