People who engage with change through the Local Agenda program declare their intent to improve the lives of others in a public forum. This takes courage and heart,
but most of all, a decision to take responsibility for creating a better future..

People who are willing to take on a challenge should be supported—fully.

We have been relying on others to solve our serious global problems for too long—the government, nonprofits, charities, heroes, and someone else—and look where we are. We say we need innovative strategies—it's true. But more than that, we need each of us. People who will dedicate themselves to hope and action.

Imagine the possibilities...
We believe that anyone who wants to change the world should be helped to be successful. We are commited to your success. We help you imagine what's possible.

Our program, Local Agenda, helps ordinary citizens" become extraordinary, drawing from the best of themselves to create enormous potential.

PROJECT PROFILES OF LAUNCHERS
What follows are the results of Local Agenda NW—innovations that some of our students envisioned as a result of their passions and our processes. This program is designed to help move people from learner to "launcher."

These are a few examples of some very extraordinary people.

Beth
Space for Neighbors
Community centers have grown in scale to serve thousands of residents in a community. While providing valuable services, their scale prohibits them from working at a truly neighborhood level. Community ties grow stronger when neighbors have occasions and spaces in which to connect, but there’s a real lack of small, intimate spaces owned and managed by neighbors. Beth wants to increase opportunities for powerful connections to happen by helping neighborhoods create their own very local places. Smaller than existing community centers, these neighborhood spots will serve the needs that local neighbors identify. Her toolkit found online at SpaceforNeighbors.org will help incorporate ideas like tool lending libraries, book groups, or bulletin boards where local teens can advertise their services. The very process of creating these places will foster community connection and ownership. Her community toolkit will help neighbors envision and develop their unique places to meet, to share, to play, to talk—all within walking distance of home.

Gordon
Building From the Ground Up
On repeat trips to Central America, Gordon eyes were opened to the beauty of place—but also to the devastation of a landscape where plastic debris is everywhere and where trash burning is common practice. Gordon is also a cabinetmaker by trade, so he also recognized the incredible inefficienct construction practices, where carpenters work without benefit of standard tools and processes. His project brings together two innovative ideas to improve housing construction methods and increase economic opportunities in Central America. First, reusable forms will allow workers to pour concrete post-and-beam frames more quickly and more uniformly. Second, a new building material uses shredded plastic debris to fill hollow “bricks.” The bricks can be used in place of concrete blocks and covered with stucco, using traditional building methods. In addition to improving the housing stock, these strategies also increase economic opportunities for semi-skilled and underemployed laborers in Central America. And, the pastic filler is the debris collected from the hillsides, cleaning up the countryside.

Christa
Live ForGiving
From the first moments of life, babies learn about love. The strong and healthy bond between mother and child is a building block of healthy human development. But this bond is threatened when women are victimized by rape as an instrument of war and children result. For women who become pregnant under this horrible scenario, their newborn is a reminder of all that they have suffered. And that sets the stage for the cycle to continue. Children who grow up without love suffer Attachment Disorder, which puts them at risk of becoming yet another generation that turns to violence. Christa’s project brings hope to these women, to their babies, and to their communities. She is designing a therapeutic intervention that will rebuild the maternal-infant bond and foster healing of both mother and child. She hopes that bringing this program to conflict zones will change the future for mothers, babies, and the larger society.

Moses
The Village Childcare Network
Many single parents find themselves with fragile support systems. A sick child, doctor’s appointment, or an emergency at work can disrupt their carefully orchestrated child-care arrangements and push them over the edge. Without a trusted network of nearby family or friends parents can get into an especially tight spot. Emma’s Village Childcare Network fills this need by developing a reliable emergency childcare network and draws on an untapped resource of potential volunteers willing to provide short-term child care at short notice. Volunteers are screened, and tapped to provide only a few hours a month. This Network not only eases the stress on single parents and their children, it builds stronger community connections among citizens of all ages.

Stephanie
The Equilibrium Project
From consumer purchases to corporate practices, every decision sets off waves of consequences. Stephanie believes we need help thinking and making decisions about the potential outcomes of our actions before we act. She’s envisioned an online decision-making tool to help all of us balance decisions with regard to three critical domains: nature/environment, society/culture, and economy/business. Like the Online Carbon Footprint Tool, this tool fosters awareness and helps people and organizations shift toward a more balanced way of thinking and acting.

Karen
The Way Home
Elderly people with dementia who wander away from home can quickly become lost, putting them at risk of exposure. Time is of the essence when it comes to their safety. The Way Home, modeled on the Amber Alert for lost children, mobilizes community help for this vulnerable population. Currently there is no national training for communities or law enforcement for helping these people and their families. Research shows that it is the local community that makes the difference—they are who find them first. By using cell phone technology and locally listing those who are elderly and likely to become lost, communities are strengthened. This project ensures a process to raise awareness, uses cell technology, and engages untapped local community members as effective first responders.

Jo Anne
Lluvia Buena (“good rain” in Spanish)
Many communities fund and install bioswales around new buildings to manage and cleanse storm water runoff, but they don¹t routinely fund and conduct needed maintenance. Without maintenance, bioswales cease to function properly. This project would train migrant workers and day laborers with existing skills in landscaping how to maintain these innovative storm water management systems, improving local watersheds and increasing valuable and marketable “green” skills among economically marginalized populations. Additional services would train workers in naturescaping and promote the use of greener products and water conservation techniques across the landscaping profession.

Mary Ellen
Well Within Reach
Existing services for treating drug addiction tend to focus on the extremes of society: “rock star” treatment programs or no-frills, short-term detox centers for the indigent. This participant envisions another way to wellness. Her project would provide more holistic treatment for society’s “functional junkies,” who manage to hold onto jobs despite their addiction. Her goal is to improve detox completion rates by offering alternative health treatment, putting addicts back on the path to wellness. Her sustaining strategy is to open or partner with a wholistic spa to encourage everyone to become healthier, offsetting the costs of serving people with lower incomes.

Sally
SpeakArtLoud
In every culture, the arts have been a vehicle for self-expression. Sally wants to use the arts to amplify the voices and visions of women who are not always heard by their fellow community members. She sees communities being enriched and transformed with new ideas as her two-stage art project unfolds. First, artists will lead women participants through an art-making activity that will allow them to express their vision for a future they want. Then, community members will experience this art. Depending on local context, the art event may take the shape of a play, musical performance, visual art exhibit, or other expression. Whatever the genre, the art will generate dialogue and create new community connections that will transform both artists and audiences.