Our Mission
Our Story
Caryn Kelly and Lilian Okech met as fellow business owners in 2017. We formed Hope to Shine Iowa because we believed that we could do more to welcome our newest neighbors to the state we both love.
We believe that a bright, peaceful future for our families relies on our willingness to build meaningful relationships across difference. Working together, with grace and love, we can make Iowa shine.
In the Spring of 2023 we gathered diverse women to share ideas and brainstorm about the vision and mission of Hope to Shine Iowa. We met for several workshops to share ideas and discussed issues that were important to us using a “human-centered design” approach. We chose a human-centered design approach because we believed it is important for those of us with “lived experience” participate in co-creating new systems, structures, and opportunities.
At the end of our time together, we identified many ways that Hope to Shine Iowa could have an impact on the lives of women in our community. Most importantly, we discovered that we wanted to connect with others, and build bridges across our perceived differences.
Lilian and Caryn shared more about why they formed Hope to Shine Iowa at our first community event in September 2024, United by Food.