Success Stories

These are stories of success related to the ideas posted at RichmondBrainstorm.com. Whether it's getting a project all the way implemented or just having an exciting meeting about how to move a project forward, we hope you'll share with us when you're making progress on building up our community.

If you've got a story to share, visit the idea page first, and click on the link there to share your success story. Thanks!

125 Kids; 125 Stories

Submitted by Larry Bauer-Scandin on Thu, 04/14/2011 - 02:59

As a child, I was stricken with an exotic disease that resulted in my being paralyzed, from the waist down, for several months.  Over approximately four to five months in a hospital room, I saw and heard a lot of things that directed my interests toward careers in child care.  Over the past 43 years, I've worked with kids on the street, ten years as a probation/parole officer, thirteen years as a full-time group home parent for teen male delinquents and seven years as a counselor for inmates in a local county jail.

Source Idea: 
Establish a local speakers bureau

Picking and Sharing seasonal fruit

Submitted by Ardene Schoeffler on Wed, 09/29/2010 - 08:03

My mom does this and I cannot remember when se did not.  She asks people if se can pick their fruit and gives them a jar or two of the pears, apples, jam or whatever.  These jars are also "auctioned" at our family reunion to raise money for food and shelter for the next year and they are given as treasured gifts to every family member at Christmas.  The family then saves the jars and returns them to my mother to again be refilled for the next family event.

Source Idea: 
Gathering Fall Fruit

Miller Farm wind turbine

Submitted by anna lisa gross on Tue, 04/21/2009 - 18:20

Earlham class of 2009's senior gift is one example of a campus/community partnership. Check out the details at Miller Farm Sustainable Energy Project.

Source Idea: 
Create a Campus - Community Partnership for Sustainability

24 Hour Play Project at Earlham

Submitted by Ben Hastil on Mon, 03/30/2009 - 02:13

I'm not sure which student organization at Earlham organized it (it was one of the theater groups), but all last month I've seen advertisements around campus for a "24 Hour Play Project," where screenwriters, directors, and actors all get together and have twenty-four hours to write, direct, and perform a short play.

It looked pretty exciting, and I believe that it all ran quite successfully!

Source Idea: 
Host a 48-hour film project event

Local Food Guide - a good start

Submitted by Chris Hardie on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 08:45

A great start to a Buy Fresh, Buy Local directory is the Local Food Guide that was started by Earlham College student Ben Hastil, and is now being updated and maintained by ProgressiveWayneCounty.org.  The guide has a detailed listing of where to find various kinds of local food, how to contact growers, and thoughts on what it means to get our food locally.  The guide is a work in progress, but it can certainly serve as a jumping off point for more extensive branding efforts.

Source Idea: 
Create a "Buy Fresh, Buy Local" local food brand

100 mile radius potlucks

Submitted by anna lisa gross on Tue, 03/03/2009 - 09:56

We started having monthly 100 mile radius potlucks in July 2008, and this month will have our 9th one! The publicity has been in all the usual places (Pal-Item, Waynet, WMUB, Earlham, etc.), and the turn out has been anywhere from 25-45 people per month.

Focusing on using ingredients from within 100 miles of Richmond has given people an engaging challenge, and brought strangers together around a common vision of sustainable agriculture.

Source Idea: 
Have more potluck meals
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