Heroes to the Core Update

Good Day Crusaders,

I hope you are well! (If you’re even still with me, reading this blog!)

I told you awhile back to stay tuned for some extremely exciting news about Heroes to the Core, and I am extremely happy to reveal these wonderful, exciting nuggets of progress!  But first… a little back-peddling history.

Heroes to the Core is a concept I came up with in the in my leadership class during my very first semester of grad school ( I’m now nearing the completion of my 4th semester of a 5 semester program). The idea stemmed from watching a program on BET, ‘ Black Girls Rock.”  What I realized was that while Black Girls do indeed rock… so do Black Boys! So why was there NOT a program on tv to say that? And we could get into history, institutionalized prejudice, oppression and all of  that… but I’m not going to for the sake of time and you readers’ eyes.  What I will say, is that I took a step back from that moment, and began to reflect on the bigger picture. My conclusion, was that our Black Boys needed to have society’s perspective of them change. And yes, it takes a village to do so… but more than that… our Black Boys have to want to change that perspective on their own… from within. I, as a Black Woman, can’t do it… the White people can’t do it, the Asians and Latinos, Muslims, Teachers, Activists, Presidents, whomever… can’t do it. BLACK BOYS… they have to do it. So… my answer: Create a platform for Black Boys to change the negative perceptions of them, while creating opportunities they may have never encountered previously. And how would I do that? Now that… was the hard part.

After lots of thinking, and soul searching. I realized that people have this innate desire to be a hero…whether they want to admit it or not. I don’t know one person who didn’t, as a kid (and some of us, even older than that) drape a towel, bed sheet, or some other form of cape over their shoulders and pretend to be the best superhero since Batman or Superman. Deep down, everyone wants to harness that special something inside of them. That super power, that pillar of strength… that piece of character that makes you stand out… makes you GREAT!

So long story short, I decided to create and implement a program that utilizes a superhero theme to impart the 6 pillars of character, which can translate from imaginary super powers to real-life traits for success and progression. By giving these young men the opportunity to receive character-building, leadership development, mentoring from role models who look like them, tutoring and empowerment through self-exploration and creative passions, I intend to combat the cradle to prison pipeline; engage these young men in a societal metamorphosis; and implement a change that will revolutionize the way people think.

So now for the exciting, wonderful nuggets:

– Because of all of you, I was able to travel to South Africa and was given the chance to pilot some of the curriculum for this program. Pilot= BIG SUCCESS

– Because of the pilot, I was able to present to my classmates my findings and the successes of this idea, which was then selected by my classmates as a top contender to be presented as our final project for our portfolio in our Master’s Program.

– I will be working over the last semester to create a feasibility plan, a marketing plan, and a business presentation that will be heard by venture capitalist, entrepreneurs and other innovators who may have access to potential funding.

Heroes to the Core is moving forward at an expedient rate, while garnering a lot of rave reviews and interests from youth, friends and potential partners and investors. The idea has been heard by current entrepreneurs, innovators and even a celebrity!

So now, wish us luck… keep us in your prayers and continue to support us however you would like. But please, please, PLEASE don’t stop reading, sharing and talking about this crazy adventure. The skies the limit, and the more support we have, the higher Heroes to the Core goes!

I’ll continue to keep you in the loop with new developments and the progress of the business plan and presentations. Things are moving so quickly that my head is nearly spinning with all that’s happened since I’ve returned. Life is hectic, but I have totally found that I’ve become a more philanthropic, free-spirit that has become more inclined to give freely of my time, talent and treasure. So I hope to continue this part of my life and keep this spirit about me, because I like the way this feels.

Thank you all so much again for your support and I can’t wait to see where this journey goes! I hope you’ll stay along with us for the ride!

P.S. Hope says Hi!

XOXOXOXOXO!

A Hero 4 Change

 

The Hero Hall of Fame…

This is from November 5th, 2013. The day the INCREDIBLE Nelson ‘Madiba’ Mandela died. That day was a little difficult for me. It felt like a blow to my philanthropic/humanitarian spirit. And the blow seemed all the more heavier because of my recent trip to the very place that was re-built on the shoulders of this great leader:

As I sit and fiddle with my Africa ring while watching my trip pictures scroll across my laptop in the screensaver, I am deeply saddened. For many reasons… not just this main one.

He is gone. One of the greatest modern-day titans of activism, freedom-fighting, peace and justice. The former President of South Africa, the Father of Modern South Africa, the iconic, legendary prisoner 46664. Nelson Mandela passed today.

It’s funny because the news came to me around 2:00pm. Only 13 hours earlier, I had just read an article about how this hero was still teaching lessons from his deathbed. And only 5 days earlier, another great humanitarian was taken from this Earth. Paul Walker was a lot more than an just an actor. He was quite a giver, and one has to admire that about him. From buying engagement rings for soldiers who  can’t afford it, to disaster relief efforts and helping the terminally ill, Paul Walker was the kind of guy who used his fame for good. And it’s not right to question GOD, I know this, but I can’t help but wonder what he has in his plans by taking these two wonderful spirits from this Earthly plane.

The implications of these deaths are far-reaching. And while I am fully aware that Paul Walker will never be on the same level of “Hero” as Nelson Mandela, the loss of these two men began to make me wonder: What REALLY makes a hero? Is it the purity of the heart? The child-like innocence? The hulk-like strength? The ability to breathe life into words at the lips of great speakers like Martin Luther King or Barack Obama? Or maybe it’s the intelligence factor from big brains like Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, or Bill Gates? No, it’s probably the ability for compassion and love, like Gandhi and Mother Teresa. But then again, maybe its also the ability to “revolutionize and mobilize”… like  Che Guevara or Malcolm X. Or is it some great combination of all these things?

The whole world watched as Mandela first endured 27 years of imprisonment, then was released tot he great responsibility of being the active face of ‘Change’ for South Africa (as President). They became studious to his lessons in peace, justice, partnership and education. And they watched as he won over the hearts of great leaders all over the world, which in turn led to the revolution of a country, and the end of a detrimental regime that thrived on racism, prejudice and oppression. Mandela served as a symbol. A living symbol. Yet now that his breath ceases, the question arises:What now? Will things continue to progress? Or will they revert to the darkness that has been lurking at the edge of this greatness?

To give you a little insight as to what the thoughts were in the time of this great loss, here’s a post from one of my fellow volunteers who is still working with the kids in South Africa right now:

” Coming to South Africa I knew who Nelson Mandela was and how important he was to this country. But since I’ve been here I have learned things about him and this country that I had never known. I was with some kids today from school and although they respected and loved Mandela, some of the things they were talking about that was going to happen now that he has passed was truly eye opening. I just hope South Africa moves forward after his passing and honors his legacy instead of creating more hatred. “The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but rising everytime we fall” RIP Nelson Mandela” ~Brianna Lynn Ennis via Facebook

So again, the question arises: What makes a hero? And what now?  I am drawn to my experience in Cape Town, my premise for Heroes to the Core and my observations of the heroes who paved the way up til now. Heroes are made from the optimism and will power they harbor inside. They are born from determination and the desire for change. And they are celebrated for their idealism and progression. Heroes don’t have a specific age… they don’t have a specific look… and there isn’t a certain caliber. Heroes are the little guys running around in towels and hitting the ‘Superman pose’. Heroes are the high school dropouts who go back; the college graduates seeking the cure for cancers; the little girls standing up for women’s rights; the little brothers looking for blue easy-bake ovens and the big sisters who start petitions for them; and the philanthropists who hope to impact the disasters all over the world. And heroes are the angels smiling down on us after blazing a path to glory, whether seen or unseen, recognized or unsung… watching, and waiting for the next generation to be created and then inducted to this special hall of fame! Rest in Peace to two of the latest inductees…. Heaven definitely just received two great Heroes!

 

 

The Magic…

So now it’s time for the Social Entrepreneur in me.  A large part of the reason for this trip is my Masters program at Pepperdine. And my Masters program focuses on promoting Social Entrepreneurship & Change. So when I was tasked with travelling somewhere halfway around the world in order to not only submerge myself into a culture and customs that were different than my American heritage, I was also told that I must engage in the very essence of what I hope to become a master at… Social Entrepreneurship & Change.

While in South Africa, I had the opportunity to serve with Dreams to Reality (DTR). Dreams to Reality is a ‘non-profit-esque’ (find out why I use this term later) organization that seeks to empower under-served students, as well as communities through education, childcare and opportunity. To find out more about DTR, visit my slideshow that gives some great details about the organization and the founders.

A Heroic Epic

One of the highlights of my trip was speaking to the founders in depth about their organization, and then getting the perspectives of employees, partners, as well as the volunteers on the impact of DTR and how DTR is in their eyes.

Speaking with Tim & Iviwe was extremely insightful in terms of how their organization is presented, operating and the inclinations I gathered from my observations and experiences. The most interesting thing I came to learn was that DTR is actually not a government-recognized Not-for-Profit Organization (NPO), and that the process for becoming an NPO in Cape Town is quite tedious and long. And while I have to be honest and mention that I think the all-too-common ‘lackadaiscal’, slow-life, South African attitude has also struck again in terms of trying to get the process expedited, the non-profit status is definitely a means to an end for many organizations in operation in Cape Town, and DTR both recognizes and understands how coveted such a status is. The South African government doesn’t seem to be very frugal in terms of providing assistance to people and organizations; however, it appears that they do care very much about results and progress. If they give you money, they expect their contributions to produce effective results, otherwise they cut you off. That’s not too farfetched is it? (Actually sounds kinda familiar eh? Good ole U.S. of A.?) But all this jargon aside, the bottom line to this financial thing is: DTR is not receiving any aide from the government, thus their source of funding stems solely from the program fees being paid by volunteers. And this creates a number of issues for many reasons:

1)      It’s not a sustainable source of funding. If the Volunteers stop coming, the projects cease to exist.  The organization becomes too dependent on accepting volunteers for money, and this also presents another issue. Over –compensation for compensation. One of my biggest critiques of my experience with DTR is that there were an over-abundance of volunteers in the surf program (say 30 people) when the program is only designed to effectively utilize 10-15 volunteers, while the other programs offered did not have ENOUGH volunteers. Yet, in a ploy to ‘keep the customer happy,’ in this case the volunteers, having people switch around and move to other programs isn’t exactly a feasible option. BIG PROBLEMS

2)      Reliance on another organization. DTR utilizes a ‘mother-hub’ organization to funnel volunteers into their program called International Volunteer Headquarters. This organization is just what the title says. It allows people from all over the world to visit their website, office or phone in and choose a country to volunteer in for a specific duration of choice, at an economically affordable price. That being said, this mother org gets to decide the program fees,  marketing and branding of DTR because this is all DTR has to fall back on. DTR, in all honesty, doesn’t have a vast amount of control over… DTR.

3)      Expansion is controlled by 1) and 2)… which ultimately decides if and how long DTR will survive. That’s a scary thought.

Tim and Iviwe are very proud of their little organization that stemmed from their desire to “do it better.”  See, the two worked together at another organization that specialized in exactly what DTR focuses on, but found that they were unhappy with some of the operations and decisions being made there. Thus DTR was born and has been flourishing for the last 3 years. And these two founders have every reason to be proud of that. They have expanded tremendously in the fledgling years, and have plans to do bigger and better. However, they also acknowledge that they don’t have the expertise and/or education of entrepreneurship and organizational leadership as they would like… as well as the problems I have also highlighted previously. And while I can see what a detriment not having these key components has been, there’s just something magic about DTR and the impact they are having on the kids, families and communities they are serving!

I was fortunate enough to spend 4 weeks with the volunteers (we lived together), some of the DTR staff, my Steenberg Primary faculty and staff, and even the cab driver who drove me around all the time (for DTR-related activities).  All of these people gave rave reviews for the impact that DTR has had on the schools and the kids. They expressed gratitude in the change that they say occurring, as well as the uplifting and progression being exhibited on a daily basis. But one word kept coming up and it resonated deeply with me: OPPORTUNITY. Teachers, the principal, even Carl the cab driver kept saying how what DTR was bringing to the table was such a momentous “opportunity.” An opportunity for exposure to different cultures, heritages, languages, activities, sports, education, people and life in general. What DTR has given these children and communities is an “opportunity for hope.”  It was once said that “these children would never know anything else but the dust in these streets and the bad around their homes if it weren’t for DTR!”  And I have to say that I truly believe that. And while the volunteers would echo these sentiments as well (in hindsight), most just seem to view it as a vacation when presently there. They recognize the culture shock, sense the adversity of the children, and resent the poor surroundings and mistreatment of the children that they see… only to return to the volunteer house and quickly plan a means for washing the imprinted discomfort away.  But that’s a story for another day.

All in all… as I said, there’s something magic about DTR. The people, the places, the point. Everything that they’re trying to do and everything that they’ve accomplished has an element of magic to it. And who doesn’t love and need a little bit of magic?