Charley reviewed the value shaping events with each intern and asked them to develop a short (one paragraph) description of how they planned to begin their change effort.
Joyce: I want to work with the teenage mothers from my high school. I plan to setup a care team to work with girls who lack the resources to care for themselves and their baby prior to birth and after birth. I’m planning on both physical and mental health care, but I also want to work on self-esteem issues. I’m hoping that my believer’s network can extend this concept to other high schools.
Audra: I want to setup a national marketing network for small farms to provide them an outlet for their produce and animal products. The network will buy the output from a farm in advance giving the small farms a predictable income source. The marketing network will focus on the small farm advantages of food sources in contrast to “factory food”. I’m planning to begin this in my home state but hope to expand to other states as my believer’s network grows.
Josh: I want to create a friendship between my well-to-do friends and my other friends whose family resources are limited. My network will be focused on cultural sharing rather than one of charity. There’s a lot both groups can learn from each other. Joyce will put me in touch with one of her high school teachers to get candidates to join the network. With a successful start, I hope that others will join us.
Connor: Through my athletic achievements, I’ve been invited to a number of all-star events. I’m planning to connect with other African American star athletes to get them to restrict their list of schools to HBCU’s. This will be a tough sell, but I’m planning to enlist wealthy pro athletes to setup an endorsement fund like the big schools have. I already have several five star athletes committed.
Kaylin: I’m planning to enlist some of my college classmates in a community renewal program. I want to make this a program that focuses on a deeper sense of what makes a community livable, not just what looks good. I want to start in my own community where the heart of the community is threatened. My first project will be to help preserve Freddie’s, a local eatery which doesn’t look pretty but is the place which defines our community. I then want to work with my classmates to expand this idea to other threatened communities.
Beaux: I want to find to enlist young people from across the country to start a campaign called: “Why Can’t We…”. They will be asked to use the concepts I’ve learned this summer to stimulate one specific climate initiative in their areas. I then want to take our successes and create a social media presence to stimulate other initiatives.
Peyton: I want to establish a virtual connection in my home state to create a women’s bill of rights. I want to infuse the connection with stories of courage from other women’s movements. Once the bill of rights is drafted, I want to create an endorsement chain which will eventually contain the signatures of a sizable part of our state’s population. Then I want to enlist advocates, both male and female, to challenge every candidate for office into supporting the bill of rights. I’m then hoping we can share our lessons learned with women in other states.
Alan: I want to create an entrepreneurial network among young people in my state. Our focus will be twofold: new startups and revitalization of existing businesses. I’ve already enlisted the support of a very wealthy state native who will mentor promising projects as well as provide access to funding networks. My focus will be on start-up businesses which can thrive in our area and not projects which will likely move from the state at the first opportunity.
Lynn: I want to create an Adopt a Promise program which matches young people with financial needs for college with adults who have the financial resources to support them. My research has shown that the financial support exists, but donors are reluctant to give to a Foundation. They want a direct connection with those they support. I’ve already identified 10 donors and am working on the application process for funding. I’m trying to make this program as bureaucracy free as possible.
Austin: Let me tell you my story. I don’t have any living grandparents. I’m working at a nursing home where I’ve become very close to several residents who have become my surrogate grandparents. I want to provide this experience for other young persons. What I’ve found is that my international classmates are especially interested because they love to hear about America from years ago.
Charley was overwhelmed. He never expected that the interns would get this far. While this season took a lot of time, the mutual excitement in the room was something he had never experienced.
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“The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.” – Malcolm Gladwell (Author)