Public speaking is something that I love to do, and something I’ve done quite a lot of over the years, but I’ll experience a first tomorrow. At 6:30 pm, I’ll be speaking to a group of teens that are taking part in the Hope Project.
From the groups Web site,
“The Hope Project is a community coming together to help kids get out of gangs and get involved in meaningful activities by interacting with mentors and role models who can help them make good decisions for the rest of their lives.”
I try to be very involved in the community in which I live, and have done a lot of stuff… but I value this cause and really appreciate what their doing.
When I ran for City Council last year (and as recent as yesterday) I occasionally talked about “the circle” – think of it as something encompassing your experiences growing up. It’s my belief that some kids simply don’t get exposed to certain things and don’t know what opportunities exist.
This concept can be amazingly difficult for some to comprehend, and that’s ok, but it’s true. If you don’t believe me, on your way home tonight go through the “bad” part of town and imagine growing up there. Look at what you see and think about “the circle.”
The person organizing the event suggested that I might talk about civic engagement 101 and how social media can bring change to the community. I’ll hit those topics, but also want to try and show the teens that life doesn’t have to be so cookie cutter and that they can make a direct impact on their community.
The library that the group meets at is off of Phillips Ave. in Greensboro, NC… and it’s not necessarily the best part of town. There are housing projects, drugs, prostitution, shootings and many other less than desirable things that happen on this 1.6 mile stretch of road.
It’s kind of ironic in a way that the folks at the Hope Project have asked me to speak, and that it’s at this particular location. Reason being is that I adopted the entire stretch of road some time ago and have gone out to pick up trash and done some simple things to help clean up the area.
I’m not certain, but I think the fact that I’ve tried to directly help the community these kids live in will open their eyes a bit as I’m not just an outsider simply coming to blow smoke.
We’ll see.
[…] previously told you about a speaking engagement that I was going to be doing for the Hope Project, a group that helps teens that have been in gangs […]