Stephen Robert: An Overview of International Source of Hope Foundation Projects/INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE NEWS

Stephen Robert is a New York City based financier and philanthropist who spent three decades at Oppenheimer and Co., rising from junior portfolio manager to chief executive officer and becoming the firm’s largest stockholder at the time of his retirement. A graduate of Brown University, the London School of Economics, and Columbia University’s School of Business, he later shifted his focus toward board service and charitable leadership. Alongside his wife, Stephen Robert co founded the Source of Hope Foundation to deliver sustainable aid to underserved communities. His work with the foundation connects directly to its international projects, which address healthcare access, clean water, education, and disaster relief in the United States and abroad.

An Overview of International Source of Hope Foundation Projects

The Source of Hope Foundation is a philanthropic organization dedicated to offering critical aid to in-need communities in the United States and abroad. The foundation regularly funds projects and services that provide food, water, health care, and education.

Following Hurricane Dorian in 2019, for example, the Source of Hope Foundation responded to the needs of communities throughout the Bahamas. The storm severely impacted critical services on the islands, leaving thousands of homes in ruins and countless residents without power or access to food. Flooded aquifers, meanwhile, contaminated the population’s drinking water. Source of Hope funded MercyCorps, allowing the humanitarian team to offer immediate support in the form of medical equipment, lanterns, clean water, and various essentials.

In addition to offering widespread, regional support following natural disasters, Source of Hope frequently collaborates with international charitable organizations. For instance, Catalina Escobar established the Juan Felipe Gomez Escobar Foundation (JUANFE) in Colombia following the loss of her young son. With a background in charity work, Escobar turned her tragedy into hope, with a focus on helping Colombian women escape the cycle of poverty. Through JUANFE, she services hundreds of teenage mothers with academic support and professional training. Source of Hope has funded JUANFE for over a decade, emphasizing healthcare support that has reduced local infant mortality rates and decreased the threat of malnutrition and disease. Together, Source of Hope and JUANFE assist around 20,000 patients each year.

The foundation has also worked extensively throughout Ethiopia. Ethiopians living in the southern provinces of Konso and Derashe had to walk several miles to gather drinking water from an unreliable well. Thanks to the foundation’s funding and the work of MercyCorps, 100,000 residents can now access clean water from their village center. The collaboration allowed for the construction of an aquifer that takes stream water from high in the hills and pipes it directly into the villages via gravitational force.

The threat of life-threatening water-borne illnesses has dropped dramatically following the installation of the water source. Furthermore, residents no longer need to fear the potential dangers faced during long walks to and from the remote well. The project has alleviated a range of additional issues, from spinal distortions caused by transporting large water cans to the high risk of faucet malfunctions or breaks. As an added benefit, local children have more time to attend the two schools built by Source of Hope and MercyCorps.

Haiti suffered considerable devastation following a major earthquake in 2010. Source of Hope immediately funded a grant to Partners in Health, a provider of medical care services in hospitals and clinics with decades of experience in Haiti. These funds supported not only emergency response services, but ongoing efforts to help rehabilitate the island.

Source of Hope also contributed to the construction of a modern hospital in Mirebalais. Among many advanced medical services, the facility features the first-ever CT scanner at a public hospital in Haiti. Source of Hope expanded the hospital in 2016 with the Stephen Robert and Pilar Crespi Robert Regional Reference Laboratory. The facility includes a clinical lab, a pathology lab, and Biosafety Level 2 and 3 labs, allowing staff to effectively diagnose and treat a myriad of infectious diseases, cancers, and other conditions.

These are only a few of the projects and services provided and supported by the Source of Hope Foundation. The organization has also worked in Jordan, Israel, Palestine, and throughout the US. A comprehensive overview of the foundation’s projects is available online at sourceofhope.org.

About Stephen Robert

Stephen Robert is a former chief executive officer of Oppenheimer and Co. and a longtime philanthropist focused on healthcare equity and social impact. He co founded the Source of Hope Foundation with his wife to provide sustainable assistance in areas such as medical care, education, clean water, and disaster relief. He also funded the Stephen Robert and Pilar Crespi Robert Rapid Medical Evaluation Center at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital to improve access to care for low income patients.