Lauren Gardner, COO

I just checked out Triangle Gives Back (the new initiative of the Triangle Community Foundation).  It’s definitely an interesting model and very powerful if they can get people to really use it. 

It is basically a social networking site for individuals who want to give there “time, talent and treasures” to organizations serving the Triangle area.  Organizations create profiles which have some general contact info and allow for easy updates of News, Events, Articles, and Opportunities.  Individuals create a profile and choose topics like “education” or “water conservation” that interest them.  Individual profiles have feeds which show updates from specific organizations that they choose to “follow” or all organizations that are tagged with their topical interests - basically giving an instant overview of what opportunities and news is occurring of interest across organizations serving the Triangle community.  

Like any networking site it’s only as strong as the momentum it gains from users.  Do you think this will have enough draw to keep people logging in?  Do you think it will be more useful as a tool to connect individuals to organizations or to connect organizations to each other? 

If you live in the Triangle it’s worth checking out and while you’re at it you might as well start following us!

Lauren Gardner, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Yesterday I had a chance to go see one of our Scholars to College students perform in his high school production of Les Miserables.  Korey played one of the main roles as Enjolras – the leader of the revolutionaries.  As a long-time fan of the musical I was truly amazed by the production and very proud of Korey’s powerful performance.  However, even more impressive than the performance was an e-mail his mother shared with me.  The note was from the father of a much younger student in the play.  It shared how Korey had been a role model to his son and had gone above and beyond to make him feel welcome and accepted in the cast. 

We are obviously very proud of our K to College Model students for the success they are having in the classroom and in extra-curricular activities, but we are even prouder when we see acts of character and leadership like the one demonstrated by Korey.  These are young people who are changing their schools and communities now and who in a decade or two will be changing their neighborhoods, cities, and this country.

The following is a poem written by Dashaun a 6th grade Pioneer Scholar.  This was his submission for our Literary Journal the “Emily Kronicle”.  Our theme for this year is “Team”:

TEAM

Together Everyone Achieves More

Some people ask me what is a team
I tell them
A team is a group of people that work together
A team is where everyone gets a chance
A team is when you lose and achieve together
A team is where you learn more from each other
That is a team

There are many teams
The Emily K team where I go to everyday
My school’s team where I learn more
My favorite sports basketball team (which is UNC)
And last but not least my family who I see everyday
Those are my teams

The most important team is my family
We work together everyday
Everyone has an important role in the team
We achieve everything together
And alone we can do so little but
Together we can do so much