Wrongful Imprisonment

why it's important:

The members of The Collective first met in 2007 while participating in a study abroad program. There were 28 students on an epic journey across the world, and establishing effective and democratic group norms was a key component of our trip. For us, the exploration of these issues came first out of necessity. In order to survive our nine months together, we had to devise ways to interact, make decisions and handle conflict.
It was during this time abroad that many of us discovered the importance of collaborative decision making and ways in which non-hierarchical leadership can create a space where all voices are respected and heard. Ultimately, by the end of our time together, we were deeply committed to working with each other and others on developing new processes for communicating and organizing in groups.

the plan of action:

Since 2010, we have taught numerous workshops to college students, young adults, small progressive nonprofits, and co-ops in the region. We have promoted our work through word of mouth and other networks with which we are familiar.

In addition to teaching in-person workshops, we have written, designed and published materials on communication and community-building techniques.

With a seed grant of $500, we could significantly expand the content and scope of our workshop, as well as produce a more comprehensive resource guide and workbook on consensus and alternative forms of decision making.

how you can get involved:

Others can be involved by attending our workshops and teaching others! We believe that the material and content of our workshops and publications should be widely distributed, and that everyone can benefit from these resources.

If others have an interest in teaching the materials with members of the collective, and getting directly involved, we would be happy to discuss that possibility.

why it's important:

It is important to me because I've seen several students turn to gangs and drop out of school. So many young ones are underprivileged and forced into negative lifestyles. I take any and all students who want to participate as well as students who are referred by teachers, parents and/or guardians. Typically those students have trouble at home or in school, and I use a one on one tactic to find out what there interests are so I can determine rewards for improvement. A lot of the students I've worked with were caught up in gang life/selling drugs, failing school and not participating in any after school programs because there weren't any offered at their schools. I thought that was one of the main reasons why students were turning to gangs, so I started by mentoring a few boys and they all got out of the gang life and became more focused on school, sports, arts and music. I think students just need the knowledge and opportunities to express there interests and talents to reach their potentials, succeed in high school and beyond.

Obesity is another issue that I have helped students battle. Teaching them how to eat healthier and giving them a work out plan that you motivate them through can do wonders. However, motivation is key and varies from student to student. It might be a work out plan playing basketball, wii fit, skate boarding, hiking or basic lifting/cardio etc. You just have to take the time to figure out what works best for each individual.

the plan of action:

Provide mentoring and after school programs such as Leadership, Music, Sports, Art, Tutoring, Guidance etc. Inspiration Mentoring

Mission Statement: Our goal is to assist students in reaching their fullest potential by offering them one on one mentoring and tutoring as well as several leadership and extracurricular enrichment opportunities they wouldn’t experience otherwise. We focus on students individual interests and reward them when they reach certain goals. Many of our students suffer from broken homes, gangs, obesity, poverty etc. We provide them with the knowledge and resources necessary to overcome these obstacles.

Every student is different, so every approach is different. We develop a, “Success Plan” for every student which includes goals with step by step, day by day, week by week and month by month objectives, so we can measure effectiveness and improvement. No one is turned down and we have a 100% success rate since we’ve started. Students have dropped out of gangs, improved academics and found passion for activities such as music, art, photography, outdoor education, sports, debate etc.

It is our belief that all students have a passion for something and want to learn, it is just a matter of finding out what that passion is and how to motivate each individual. If you can reward a student with an opportunity they’ve never experienced or dreamed of they will do anything to succeed. I have brought students to professional recording studios, vocal lessons, acting auditions/classes, movie sets, mountains for skiing/snowboarding/tubing, youth recognition ceremonies to receive awards I nominated them for, ribbon cutting ceremonies to meet the mayor, community service events and many other places/events all for the first time to show them I care about there individual interests and to earn their respect.

I base every “Success Plan” on a rewards system that students must earn to motivate them to reach their goals. I combat the lack of role models, broken homes, obesity and gang life on a daily basis. However, it’s these situations that keep me passionate and motivated to help. Some people go to third world countries to help better peoples lives, but I have found that are several people in my own community that suffer from some of the hardships. I believe it is my calling to do whatever I can to help and I will stop at nothing to succeed.

I would like to expand across the entire district and eventually state and country. I have a big vision for Inspiration Mentoring and want it to improve the nations education, obesity rate, crime rate and drop out rate. It will start off small in every school and build every year until every school in the area has a program.

how you can get involved:

Others can help by volunteering, mentoring, facilitating, advertising/spreading the word, donating etc.

why it's important:

I want to do it as I want to do something, anything to get the technology I want.

the plan of action:

I would like to create some inventions I design. I would like to do college, I want to be there to know graphic design and make money to invest with. There are small projects I can do with small amounts of money and there are large projects with a lot of money. Example: A Nano Technologically advanced Volumetric Molecular Scanner that can scan something and make a digitally programmed 3d working copy of it can work with a nano machine with a compupter where you can do anything you want to it instantly. That includes people, objects, items, anything you can think of, completely stop the need for farms and animals farming as all the acids and minerals can be practically instantly printed off a computer with this. I like to think it would cost around $990 Billion USD to design the Scanner. With the Scanner, it can be designed quickly and distributed everywhere. I am the only person in the universe that I know of actually doing something about it.

What I would like to do to make the money is make a Electric Generator that creates its own electricity to power things like helicopters and jets. I already design it and I can talk to engineers that can make it although it would be a hard concept as anyone I explain it to that thinks they know how to do it greater would just do it themselves, take small amounts of investment and the money that would be needed for the scanner would be distributed to lots of people at large companies an they wouldn't do anything to design the scanner. I would like to think that I would need more power from the electric generator as a idea to make people want to buy it. I design a lot of inventions and I can make designs and everything I would need to show engineers how to design them. The electric generator I design is about less than $100.00 in resources, and is less than a few LB's. It is in the shape of a acorn. I call it the Acorn. It is not all about the generator's. I design a lot of inventions and a lot of ideas, companies, etc... that are all amaing and I would like to think that people are interested in what I am interested in though I would like to be around people like that in college environment's.

how you can get involved:

People can work with me on project's and make money. People can invest with the company too.

why it's important:

Its important to me because I no how feels to feel alone and that is the main reason teens get into other things is because they dont have a support system.

the plan of action:

my plan of action is to talk to my local high-school studentsas a start.

how you can get involved:

others can help by volunteering and donations