The National Organization
We have a simple Structure consisting of two levels:
The National Organization, which if made up of corporate officials and Committees who manage the organization, such as the Board of Governors, President, Chief Financial Officer. They establish the Vision and Mission of the organization, set the goals and responsibilities for each position.
Local Branches: We call each of our local field locations Branches, sometimes referred to as Local Branches. These could be a town, school district or region, depending upon the number of schools and student population. They are managed by the community members and consist of the Branch Program Manager and Team Members, who assume various duties with each program. We chose the name Branches because we are all part of the same organization, just like branches on a tree. We work in unison for a common vision. Each branch is assigned an ID, which is assigned and maintained by the CFO.
We call this kind of organization a Shallow Company. This is by design. The benefits to having only two levels are faster, better and more direct communication, more autonomy for our Branches, a nimbler organization that can quickly react to changes in the education system and, as some studies have shown, a higher level of job satisfaction. Our philosophy is to have as much of the decision making needs to be done by the local Branch members because they know what’s best for their communities.
We offer a Voice to our Neighbors: Many people feel they don’t have the opportunity to have their voices heard when it comes to their children’s education. Because our programs are the combined effort of schools and community, common discourse is always taking place and everyone’s thoughts and ideas will be heard.
Everything will flow through and be available on our website, including our manuals and guides. This means all materials will be up to date, and easily accessible. The website will offer information designed to gain the interest of potential members, and for our current members, contain a news section that will be updated with the latest information about our activities and program results. The website is constructed in such a way that it will be easy to contain all the information necessary for our Branch members to know and perform their responsibilities. Of course, we will all be using email, cell phones, webinars, YouTube videos and Zoom meetings to communicate on a regular basis.
Our programs, Gatherings and Pathways, are presented in The Introduction to the Collective Experience. From there you can select the link for either program.
Our Mission is to build a world of Respect and Inclusion through programs that bring together children of all diversities, in educational and fun experiences. To move communities away from and defeat “hate” based upon race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and other ideologies. Our programs offer simple and passive methods to encourage cultural understanding and acceptance. We need to be future-ready for the next generation that will lead our country.
Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization. Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Wikipedia
Our grass roots initiative is a multi-faith, multi-cultural, and non-political group of members that share the same concerns about the future of this country. We believe that together we can achieve a more equitable, safer, and accepting world, where intolerance and prejudice no longer exist. Our members are personally motivated and passionate about their work. Only when we work as a team can we achieve our goals and create the future we wish for our children. Every person can and will make a difference.
Now is the time!
The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward. Amelia Earhart
Dream – Decide – Act – Win
The Prime Directive: Listen Loudly and Speak Softly. Each school is a reflection of the community it serves, and therefore each student population is unique. Some will have a large percentage of one race, religion or heritage, others a mixture of both. We need to listen first and speak second. Each community knows what their problems are and how best to solve them because it is their neighborhood, their children, their future. We listen first, then discuss our programs and suggest what the best way to start will be. Our Programs are open-ended – meaning they can be easily modified by each community. Then we wait, follow their progress, and make suggestions, answer questions and we learn from them improvements to The Collective Experience.
ADR-New Beginnings is Comprised of Two Platforms:
- The Collective Experience is our educational platform, available for students and other youth organizations. Gatherings are group activities, supervised by community members, designed to create relationships between students from diverse backgrounds, and Pathways, adjunct school programs that augment the curriculum designed to instill pride in themselves and respect towards others. For more information see The Guide to The Collective Experience.
- Councils for Peace and Prosperity (currently under construction) is a community-based program, established under the leadership of the mayors and their staffs, who form local councils comprised of community leaders, politicians, educators, and businesspersons who desire to counter the spread of violent extremism and intolerance in their community, and to address and assist with opportunities for the economically disadvantaged in their neighborhood. Without equity for its citizens, we cannot achieve true prosperity.
The National organization helps to establish the programs and continues to work in partnership with each Branch to monitor and address new opportunities as they arise. Our grass roots initiative is a multi-faith, multi-cultural, and non-political organization with members that share the same concerns as do so many towns and cities around the world. Through our experience together, we can continuously improve our programs and offer better results.
The Challenge
How to achieve Diversity, Respect, and Inclusion, among our students, without significantly impacting our teacher’s workload and over burdening the community?
- For teachers our goal is to add no more than 12 hours of work per year
- We must figure out how to initiate our programs post Covid-19, while schools are coming out of crisis, and entire communities are exhausted from the torment of the last few years.
- The National Organization will help organize local communities, but it is their responsibility to manage and provide the staffing for The Collective Experience programs.
- Recent times have placed a wedge between law enforcement and communities of color. The local Councils for Peace and Prosperity will have to remain positive while we promote understanding between these two groups.
- Our programs will be mostly self-funding. The National Organization will work with local communities to hold fund-raising events to cover most costs and will supply funds when needed.
- To motivate the unmotivated student might be our biggest challenge, but if we can find a way, it will be the most rewarding. One student at a time.
- To focus all our energies on our Mission by avoiding the influence of extreme political and religious ideologies, conflicting corporate mandates and radical social organizations.
- Funding is always a challenge. How to pay for our expenses is one that requires a lot of thought and effort. And it would be a wonderful surprise if money were available in the school and community budgets to pay for several events each year, but that is probably not going to happen. The National Organization will provide initial funding and do its best to help with ongoing expenses, but this necessitates spending a lot of our time seeking funding. This is where the National Fund-Raising Committee is important, and every member can participate when the opportunity arises.
Jobs started to practice Zen Buddhism, which became a huge part of his life. At one point, he considered becoming a monk at Eihei-Ji in Japan.
Alongside Steve Wozniak, Jobs created the first Apple computer in March 1976. The business was registered at Jobs’ parents’ home on Crist Drive. Jobs’ bedroom was their office, which later moved to the garage.
The exact number of patents that include Jobs’ name as either sole inventor or co-inventor varies across the board, but it is estimated to be more than 300.
Reporting and Disclosure of Corporate Information and Events: All regulatory and financial information that is required by law to be published will be available on our website, in the Corporate Information section. Significant changes to the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, changes to the Board of Governors and National officers of the organization, will also be available in the same pages.