The Gratitude Network, a Pleasanton, California-based leadership development organization, announced on Jan. 22 that it has selected Julie Garreau, executive director for the Cheyenne River Youth Project, to be part of this year’s Gratitude Fellowship cohort. Garreau is one of 33 fellows serving communities across North America, Central America, Asia, and Africa.

The Gratitude Fellowship is a 12-month virtual leadership development program designed to help social entrepreneurs hone their leadership skills, work with their teams more effectively, and increase their organization’s impact. To build this year’s cohort, the Gratitude Network identified game-changing social enterprises around the world that are improving the lives of underprivileged and underserved children. It was a months-long process.

“I am honored and humbled that the Gratitude Network selected me to be one of its 33 Gratitude Fellows out of 1,200 applications,” said Julie Garreau, CRYP’s executive director. “All of us at CRYP are grateful for this recognition of our innovative and culturally relevant social entrepreneurship here on the Cheyenne River Lakota Nation.

“I’m excited to be part of this creative, energetic, dynamic group of people, who are all seeking to change the world through children’s rights, health, and education,” she continued. “I’m looking forward to learning from each and every one of them, and from their communities’ experiences, as I continue my journey to grow as a leader and expand CRYP’s reach.”

According to the Gratitude Network, 63 percent of the 2021 Gratitude Fellowship cohort are women, and 89 percent are people of color. Together, they serve 1.9 million youth in 16 countries.

By the end of this year, the Gratitude Network is on target to impact more than 120 organizations that reach more than 50 million underprivileged youth worldwide, CRYP included. To learn more, visit www.gratitude-network.org.

To learn more about the Cheyenne River Youth Project and its programs, and for information about making donations and volunteering, call (605) 964-8200 or visit www.lakotayouth.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest CRYP news and events, follow the youth project on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

The Cheyenne River Youth Project, founded in 1988, is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities that ensure strong, self-sufficient families and communities.