Solutions For Good

A few summers ago, I went to a popular, local “swim hole”. I had heard it was really fun, swimming in this huge quarry lake. There were 100 or so people swimming in the cold water that seemingly had no bottom. Others were swinging off ropes from rocky embankments into the water. People were having a great time. I love nature and love swimming so found it really cool in one respect. Though simultaneously my thought was, “Whoa, this is a liability nightmare. Who insures them?” Makes me sound like I’d be fun at parties, right?  I chalk that up to a few summers in high school and college working at a very well-run outdoor summer camp. Clearly, it had an impact! I joke but the dangers were real. Not too long after I was there a young woman, a competitive swimmer, drowned there. This was tragic and considering her swimming ability, exposed some real vulnerabilities. The right thing to do as a business is to plan before something goes wrong. Risk management is a timely topic ...

“It’s been the most humbling and sacrificial experience I have had”, says Kisha Webster, a former principal and consultant to school districts and principals. But she is not talking about this work, as she is on hiatus from it. She is referring to her current work as a Community and Education AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with Open Works , the makers space in the Greenmount West neighborhood . What can we all learn from Kisha? A bunch. Kisha is also the President of the Greenmount West Community Association and with that has also taken on leadership of the newly founded Greenmount West Community Center. The Community Center was established in just two months in response to the neighborhood kids having nothing constructive to do. Open Works found children spending a hours of their time there, hanging out, just to be in a welcoming and positive environment. Kisha and her team saw a need and addressed it. Kisha says she originally thought that she could take on this work ...