(A comment for ALL the entries - posted here only because I don't see a way to post to all & this is the first group listed.)
Congratulations to all these powerful organizations - and to you enlightened funders supporting this work! My only constructive criticism is that I was surprised to see how little explicit connection was made to the forces impacting our young men: the continuing crisis in education, the growing prison industrial complex, and overall moral decay of our society (the neglect of health care, infrastructure; the ever-present corporate and political scandal; even the undermining of that most sacred American prize - one's hard-earned home). Young people don't have to read the NY Times or spout statistics to know that 'hard work' and 'moral integrity' are simply passe. Instead, they're guided by 'might makes right' and 'take what you need' - the new national values, not to mention the benign neglect of the ever-increasing poor left to fend for themselves as we shred the social contract and return to a brutish 'state of nature.' Dr. King came to see the hypocrisy of his non-violent mantra and moral creed if it was not applied as well to our nation's belligerent approach to world conflict. It seems that we must find a way to engage the youth of today in reconciling what we espouse for them and the moral bankruptcy surrounding them. Most importantly, we must help empower them to be the changemakers that they - like the youth of the Civil Rights Movement and Soweto - must be. They are our hope for re-igniting moral outrage against the persistence of poverty and injustice in a country and world of unprecedented wealth.
I think all of the entries in this competition are phenomenal. I can speak personally to Roots of Empathy both as a parent, community member, and as a teacher working with children who are "at risk". Both of my sons have been the baby who visited a class, and I have also had Roots of Empathy in my classroom. Right now I work with some of the children who had my younger son visit. When my older son was first visiting a classroom, I noticed right away that one boy would not interact with my son. With every visit, he came a little closer and on the last day we were visiting, he came up and touched my son's foot. He said "good bye, I'll miss you". My second son was a great "teacher" because he was a "slow to warm up" baby. The children learned to respect his personality and to love him even though he was very shy. Every child in the classroom learns to care for and love "their baby". They learn about themselves as much as they learn about their baby. They learn to care deeply for someone who is smaller and not as strong as them. They learn that a baby "talks" by crying. They learn to name their feelings. I wish every classroom in the world could have a roots of empathy baby.
In the past I have found that the pupose of good intentions have not always been attainable by a lot of mentoring programs. However, I must say that after reading about TeamPact I'm convinced that as more men are informed of this magnificent program, that old perception will be history. As the good book says"Iron Sharpens Iron"and I want to let you know Horace, that you are a true testiment to that statement as evident by your unwavering commitment to TeamPact.
As students of color, we are often told that it is our job to become successful and that all we have to do is work hard and the rewards will come. The TeamPact Road Map to Success is a program that offers young students of color the necessary tools for that success. Horace Allen commits himself to each student, meeting monthly to fill out goal tracking sheets in order stay on task. Horace relates to the students offering personal stories as learning tools, and becomes personally invested in each participant understanding the need for them to become successful. Horace asks the hard questions that we may not be willing to face. His no holds-bar approach to achievement is an inspiration to all who come in contact with him.
I have met and worked with the management of TeamPact and knows what TeamPact is out to accomplish. This organization is great for men of color and uses the Roadmap to Success to ensure the path is reachable for the young men involve. I wish TeamPact will continue their success working with the men of color.
This video brought tears to my eyes and tugged at my heartstrings. I wish more adults would mentor a child and help make an impact in their life. Plus, change the course of a young person's life! this young man's story was truly inspirational!
I am aware of the executive makeup of this organization. I know of their heartfelt committment to a life strategy for success for the Young Black and Latino men at risk.
I have witnessed their championing of disadvantaged youth in a previously managed technology oriented environment, that created young men that were equipped to compete in today's marketplace.
I know Horace Allen to be a innovator in the personal growth organizational model, and I applaud his roadmap of metrics and goals on the journey to personal realization and excellence.
I commend the thrust of TeamPact and feel they are worthy of your selection as a "Changemaker".
This organization is in the vanguard of education, personal responsibility and social mobility.
Hi Bikash, Let me congratulate you and your team of lawyer-activists for such commendable effort for securing the rights of youth through community vigilance. There are so many innovative as well as inevitable approaches seen in your initiative which attract my attention and best wishes for your team. The first and foremost thing is that it derives its strength from the laws and follows a right-based approach which is best suited to a country like India where there is no dearth of laws but what is lacking is that they never translated into action. The second thing which inspires me is that you take preventive measures for youth by involving parents, family and the community at large to take a pro-active role to assert the right of such vulnerable group. I think this bottom-up approach with community empowerment and participation is what makes your initiative unique and useful. Further such preventive measures with focus on health and education right of youth makes them fit to realise their potentials and dream in the later part of their life. In fact it minimises the chance of risk that a young person usually face during youth. Hope you must be involving local youth in all your intervention more particularly village level association. Another point must be mentioned here that it seems to me you undertake both action and advocacy effort at the field level which bound to have considerable impact on the entire system attached to it. I’m inclined to know how you engage Govt. officials or system in your effort. Because I think they are most powerful players and have enough potential to influence your programme. At the end I again express my faith and confidence in your approach. With all the best wishes for you, your team and the organisation you belong. Hope you would get adequate financial support to realise the goal you set for the youth of your area. Ramakanta Satapathy. India.
Hellow Bikash,
Unless Rights are established it is difficult to secure for young their share in the society. A legal framework can be an effective measure where State has to perform its obligation for young men at risk. What is more important is monitoring impact after completion of childhood to see what kind of opportunities are availble in the later part of life. I think your's is a plan to address this issue which moniters transition in life from childhood through next generation.
Subhashree
The Lusaka Youth cup tournament has a link on the sport and development international platformhttp://www.sportanddev.org/en/events/the-lusaka-youth-cup.htm
Malanga Jeff
The Lusaka Youth cup tournament has a link on the sport and development international platformhttp://www.sportanddev.org/en/events/the-lusaka-youth-cup.htm
Malanga Jeff
Nothing beats the one-to-one friendship offered by mentoring in creating positive change in a life. Mentoring can be the key to ensuring that more of our young men follow the path of Jarvis in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta video rather than the path of crime, drugs, school failure, or just unrealized potential.
More men need to step up to get involved in the life of someone less fortunate. Let's give Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta a chance to implement their ideas to recruit more caring mentors through online social networking. With their connection to the national Big Brothers Big Sisters agency and its hundreds of affiliates, they could effectively be creating a model to be instituted in hundreds of locations, recruiting thousands of mentors, and impacting thousands of lives of young men and boys who are today at risk all over our country and the world.
This was excellent. Young men need good mentors to help them reach all the goals they set for themselves. Mentoring creates positive change and we need positive change for our young men.
Today, the world celebrates Internaltional Human Rights Day. Many citizen sector organizations mark this day to promote and protect the fundamental rights of individuals around the world.
Human Rights Day commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948.
Learn more http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2006/youthcorner.shtml
(A comment for ALL the entries - posted here only because I don't see a way to post to all & this is the first group listed.)
Congratulations to all these powerful organizations - and to you enlightened funders supporting this work! My only constructive criticism is that I was surprised to see how little explicit connection was made to the forces impacting our young men: the continuing crisis in education, the growing prison industrial complex, and overall moral decay of our society (the neglect of health care, infrastructure; the ever-present corporate and political scandal; even the undermining of that most sacred American prize - one's hard-earned home). Young people don't have to read the NY Times or spout statistics to know that 'hard work' and 'moral integrity' are simply passe. Instead, they're guided by 'might makes right' and 'take what you need' - the new national values, not to mention the benign neglect of the ever-increasing poor left to fend for themselves as we shred the social contract and return to a brutish 'state of nature.' Dr. King came to see the hypocrisy of his non-violent mantra and moral creed if it was not applied as well to our nation's belligerent approach to world conflict. It seems that we must find a way to engage the youth of today in reconciling what we espouse for them and the moral bankruptcy surrounding them. Most importantly, we must help empower them to be the changemakers that they - like the youth of the Civil Rights Movement and Soweto - must be. They are our hope for re-igniting moral outrage against the persistence of poverty and injustice in a country and world of unprecedented wealth.
g
I think all of the entries in this competition are phenomenal. I can speak personally to Roots of Empathy both as a parent, community member, and as a teacher working with children who are "at risk". Both of my sons have been the baby who visited a class, and I have also had Roots of Empathy in my classroom. Right now I work with some of the children who had my younger son visit. When my older son was first visiting a classroom, I noticed right away that one boy would not interact with my son. With every visit, he came a little closer and on the last day we were visiting, he came up and touched my son's foot. He said "good bye, I'll miss you". My second son was a great "teacher" because he was a "slow to warm up" baby. The children learned to respect his personality and to love him even though he was very shy. Every child in the classroom learns to care for and love "their baby". They learn about themselves as much as they learn about their baby. They learn to care deeply for someone who is smaller and not as strong as them. They learn that a baby "talks" by crying. They learn to name their feelings. I wish every classroom in the world could have a roots of empathy baby.
In the past I have found that the pupose of good intentions have not always been attainable by a lot of mentoring programs. However, I must say that after reading about TeamPact I'm convinced that as more men are informed of this magnificent program, that old perception will be history. As the good book says"Iron Sharpens Iron"and I want to let you know Horace, that you are a true testiment to that statement as evident by your unwavering commitment to TeamPact.
Dennis
As students of color, we are often told that it is our job to become successful and that all we have to do is work hard and the rewards will come. The TeamPact Road Map to Success is a program that offers young students of color the necessary tools for that success. Horace Allen commits himself to each student, meeting monthly to fill out goal tracking sheets in order stay on task. Horace relates to the students offering personal stories as learning tools, and becomes personally invested in each participant understanding the need for them to become successful. Horace asks the hard questions that we may not be willing to face. His no holds-bar approach to achievement is an inspiration to all who come in contact with him.
I have met and worked with the management of TeamPact and knows what TeamPact is out to accomplish. This organization is great for men of color and uses the Roadmap to Success to ensure the path is reachable for the young men involve. I wish TeamPact will continue their success working with the men of color.
This video brought tears to my eyes and tugged at my heartstrings. I wish more adults would mentor a child and help make an impact in their life. Plus, change the course of a young person's life! this young man's story was truly inspirational!
I am aware of the executive makeup of this organization. I know of their heartfelt committment to a life strategy for success for the Young Black and Latino men at risk.
I have witnessed their championing of disadvantaged youth in a previously managed technology oriented environment, that created young men that were equipped to compete in today's marketplace.
I know Horace Allen to be a innovator in the personal growth organizational model, and I applaud his roadmap of metrics and goals on the journey to personal realization and excellence.
I commend the thrust of TeamPact and feel they are worthy of your selection as a "Changemaker".
This organization is in the vanguard of education, personal responsibility and social mobility.
Hi Bikash, Let me congratulate you and your team of lawyer-activists for such commendable effort for securing the rights of youth through community vigilance. There are so many innovative as well as inevitable approaches seen in your initiative which attract my attention and best wishes for your team. The first and foremost thing is that it derives its strength from the laws and follows a right-based approach which is best suited to a country like India where there is no dearth of laws but what is lacking is that they never translated into action. The second thing which inspires me is that you take preventive measures for youth by involving parents, family and the community at large to take a pro-active role to assert the right of such vulnerable group. I think this bottom-up approach with community empowerment and participation is what makes your initiative unique and useful. Further such preventive measures with focus on health and education right of youth makes them fit to realise their potentials and dream in the later part of their life. In fact it minimises the chance of risk that a young person usually face during youth. Hope you must be involving local youth in all your intervention more particularly village level association. Another point must be mentioned here that it seems to me you undertake both action and advocacy effort at the field level which bound to have considerable impact on the entire system attached to it. I’m inclined to know how you engage Govt. officials or system in your effort. Because I think they are most powerful players and have enough potential to influence your programme. At the end I again express my faith and confidence in your approach. With all the best wishes for you, your team and the organisation you belong. Hope you would get adequate financial support to realise the goal you set for the youth of your area. Ramakanta Satapathy. India.
Hellow Bikash,
Unless Rights are established it is difficult to secure for young their share in the society. A legal framework can be an effective measure where State has to perform its obligation for young men at risk. What is more important is monitoring impact after completion of childhood to see what kind of opportunities are availble in the later part of life. I think your's is a plan to address this issue which moniters transition in life from childhood through next generation.
Subhashree
The Lusaka Youth cup tournament has a link on the sport and development international platformhttp://www.sportanddev.org/en/events/the-lusaka-youth-cup.htm
Malanga Jeff
The Lusaka Youth cup tournament has a link on the sport and development international platformhttp://www.sportanddev.org/en/events/the-lusaka-youth-cup.htm
Malanga Jeff
"Competing for Change" article in the Stanford Social Innovation review: http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/competing_for_a_change/
Tito Llantada
Changemakers.net
Competition Manager
Nothing beats the one-to-one friendship offered by mentoring in creating positive change in a life. Mentoring can be the key to ensuring that more of our young men follow the path of Jarvis in the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta video rather than the path of crime, drugs, school failure, or just unrealized potential.
More men need to step up to get involved in the life of someone less fortunate. Let's give Big Brothers Big Sisters of Atlanta a chance to implement their ideas to recruit more caring mentors through online social networking. With their connection to the national Big Brothers Big Sisters agency and its hundreds of affiliates, they could effectively be creating a model to be instituted in hundreds of locations, recruiting thousands of mentors, and impacting thousands of lives of young men and boys who are today at risk all over our country and the world.
Patsy Moore Talbott
Nashville, TN
This was excellent. Young men need good mentors to help them reach all the goals they set for themselves. Mentoring creates positive change and we need positive change for our young men.
Today, the world celebrates Internaltional Human Rights Day. Many citizen sector organizations mark this day to promote and protect the fundamental rights of individuals around the world.
Human Rights Day commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the UN General Assembly in 1948.
Learn more http://www.un.org/events/humanrights/2006/youthcorner.shtml