We’re delighted to welcome Aman Kundra to The Purpose Project as a half-time volunteer. Aman is a graduate of University of Connecticut, School of Business where he recently completed his Masters of Business Administration majoring in Venture Consulting & Operations. Read the rest of this entry »

Starting in October, we will be running a new series of articles in The Hartford Courant about community service and social change, through the Newspaper in Education (NIE) program. These articles will feature the stories of social changemakers from across the state and beyond. Read the rest of this entry »

In my previous blog-post, I talked about how I discovered the vitality of Hartford’s non-profit/community service scene. Since then, I refocused my work with The Purpose Project to doing research on Hartford’s most effective social leaders. Surprisingly, this task includes a lot less walking than one would expect - but much more talking. My research has already had a profound impact on me, because I am beginning to see the threads of some really interesting stories in the information I’ve been gathering on each person. As a hopeful up-and-coming social leader myself, I can’t help but be inspired. As I think about my own place in the world of social involvement, I’ve started to consider some of the characteristics that define a social leader, and how someone who wants to make a difference in the community can take the steps necessary to develop into that role. Read the rest of this entry »

Greetings, readers. I believe some introductions are now in order. My name is Jeff Ahking and I’m a new summer volunteer for the Purpose Project. How are you? Feel free to leave a simple “fine, thanks” in the comments section, or whisper the words softly to your computer monitor. Better yet, smile at somebody you pass on the street or say ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’ to someone you stand next to at the bus stop. Like gravity, interpersonal connections are what make the world go ‘round.

In fact, our purpose at The Purpose Project is to connect experienced social changemakers with the next generation of up-and-coming leaders. Our goal is to inspire and equip members of both generations to address the challenges facing our communities, country, and world. I chose to get involved because I like to think of myself as one of these up-and-coming leaders, but I suppose only time will tell. Read the rest of this entry »

“I’m comiiiiinggg!” Archbishop Tutu sings out from the adjacent room, the words rolling off his tongue in a playfully high-pitched refrain, before he comes wheeling and teetering—all 5’2” of him—around the corner of his suite at the Atlanta Grand Hyatt.

Deep breath in. The adrenaline unleashed by excitement and nervousness takes hold. Mouth is dry, heart is beating fast, and mind is racing, searching for the proper greeting for an Archbishop. “It is an honor to meet you, Father.” Or, should it be, “Your Grace?” “Your Holiness?”

Archbishop Tutu joins us at the dining room table. His smile is gracious and slightly mischievous, his eyes sparkle, and his face matches the image of a man who has been signing his emails to us “Love and blessings, Arch.” Formality fades, and we begin our conversation with a kindred spirit, a man far too excited about life and people to be bothered by titles.

Read the rest of this entry at The Huffington Post

Following correspondence with Archbishop Desmond Tutu over the past few months, we are proud to announce that he has agreed to share his experience creating social change with The Purpose Project!

Through this partnership, we will feature a portion of Archbishop Tutu’s story in one of the twelve chapters in our forthcoming book and use his leadership experiences as the basis for parts of the accompanying curriculum.

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We’re excited to announce the support and partnership of The Redwoods Group, a leader in providing risk management services, property and casualty insurance and claims management to YMCAs and Jewish community organizations throughout the nation.

With a mission “to protect and improve the quality of life in the communities we serve” and a motto to “Serve Others®,” Redwoods is pushing the envelope of corporate social responsibility; while many progressive corporations have integrated a social mission into their profit model, Redwoods has made it the driving factor of its bottom line.

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Over the past several months, we have built a number of exciting institutional partnerships that will help  us to serve our local Connecticut community while simultaneously creating resources and pilot models that we will be able replicate on a national scale in the future

Focus: High School Students

In partnership with The Connecticut Forum, The Purpose Project is developing the curriculum for a program to inspire and equip high school students to become effective agents of social change within their communities.

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In January, we moved The Purpose Project into a new, drastically subsidized, and very special home in the re-dedicated City Arts on Pearl building in downtown Hartford. TheaterWorks—a non-profit theater group for social change, which owns and resides in the building—has transformed a portion of this 1927 Art Deco building at 233 Pearl St. into low-rent office space for a dozen local non-profit organizations.

TheaterWorks’ Artistic and Executive Director Steve Campo is in the process of transforming the space into a hub for creativity and community action within our city and we’re excited to be a part of it!

See pictures of City Arts on Pearl, and learn more at Metromix

Read the recent article in The Hartford Courant

This week, community service has been more popular than ever. Monday, millions of Americans from coast to coast joined forces to complete over 11,000 officially-registered community service projects designed to “bridge barriers, strengthen communities, and empower individuals” as part of the 2009 King Day of Service. Although the King Holiday and Service Act was signed more than 14 years ago, this year public involvement in active observances of the holiday doubled 2008 levels. This spike in civic participation is no accident.

President Obama has repeatedly called for our service during his campaign and transition period, and simultaneously pledged to do his part by making service the cause of his presidency. His first action towards that goal has been the creation of USAService.org. Support of President Obama’s mission to re-engage Americans in their communities is vast. ServiceNation has issued a Declaration of Service, the Huffington Post made service the theme of it’s pre-inaugural ball, and MTV has created a Be the Change online community.

read the rest of this article at the Huffington Post