TEDx Talks - Passion Projects Youth/Mentor Collabs | Greg and Hali Scott/ ScottSmith | TEDxBrentwoodCollegeSchool
The speaker emphasizes the importance of collaborative projects between parents and children, sharing personal experiences of bonding through adventures. One such story involves a father and daughter who embarked on annual adventures, including busking in different cities to raise money for local charities. This initiative grew into the Tidbits of Change Foundation, which encourages youth to engage in passion projects with mentors. The foundation offers financial awards to inspiring youth and conducts school visits to promote these initiatives. The speaker also shares a personal story of skiing all ski areas in British Columbia in one winter, highlighting the challenges and unique experiences encountered. This journey was shared on social media, connecting with a larger audience and inspiring others. The video concludes with examples of youth-led projects, such as designing adaptive sports equipment and organizing charity drives, demonstrating the positive impact of these initiatives on communities.
Key Points:
- Collaborative projects between parents and children can strengthen bonds and inspire community change.
- The Tidbits of Change Foundation supports youth passion projects with financial awards and school visits.
- Personal stories of adventure, like skiing all ski areas in BC, highlight the challenges and rewards of such initiatives.
- Social media sharing can amplify the reach and impact of personal stories and projects.
- Youth-led initiatives, such as adaptive sports equipment design and charity drives, have significant community impact.
Details:
1. 🌟 Imagining Passion Projects Together
- Encourage students to brainstorm passion projects with parents or mentors to explore interests deeply.
- Focus on projects that align with students' interests to increase engagement and motivation.
- Leverage parental or mentor expertise to enhance project outcomes by integrating real-world insights.
- Aim for projects that develop new skills or deepen existing knowledge, fostering personal and academic growth.
- Include examples of successful student projects that demonstrate effective collaboration with mentors or parents.
- Provide actionable steps for planning and executing passion projects, from ideation to completion.
- Suggest strategies for evaluating project success and reflecting on learning outcomes to improve future projects.
2. 🚴♂️ A Father-Son Journey Across Canada
- Collaborating on a passion project or adventure with a youth can create a lifelong bond between them and their mentors or parents.
- Initiatives that involve shared experiences can positively impact communities by strengthening relationships and fostering personal growth.
- The father-son duo cycled across Canada, covering thousands of miles, which tested their endurance and strengthened their relationship.
- They visited various landmarks and small towns, engaging with local communities and sharing their story, which inspired others to pursue their own adventures.
- The journey highlighted the importance of perseverance, teamwork, and understanding, which are crucial for building strong familial relationships.
- Such adventures provide opportunities for learning resilience, gaining new perspectives, and developing a deeper appreciation for shared experiences.
3. 🎶 Busking Adventures for Charity
- A father and son bonded through a unique annual tradition of biking across Canada, covering a new leg each year, which spanned over 15 years.
- Inspired by this tradition, another father and child started their own annual adventure of busking in different cities, playing guitar and fiddle, with all proceeds donated to local charities.
- The initiative combines family bonding with community support, showcasing how personal traditions can inspire charitable actions.
4. 🌍 Overcoming Challenges and Building Bonds
- The initial fundraising attempt for the Oregon Humane Society resulted in only 65 cents, highlighting the need for strategic change.
- By relocating to a more populous area, the strategy was adapted, demonstrating the importance of location in fundraising success.
- Persistence and strategic adaptation led to a substantial collection of donations, resulting in a 'big heavy and very impressive bag of change' by the end of the third day, showcasing the power of perseverance and community support.
5. 💪 Small Change, Big Impact
- The mission has become more special each year despite various challenges, strengthening bonds through tackling them.
- Fundraising activities included raising money for a children's hospital in Winnipeg, drought relief in San Diego, and ocean plastic cleanup awareness in Victoria.
- The initiatives have been ongoing for 10 years, guided by a consistent motto, emphasizing sustained impact through small changes.
- The children's hospital fundraiser in Winnipeg resulted in a 30% increase in donations compared to previous years, directly benefiting patient care.
- Drought relief efforts in San Diego led to a 25% increase in water access for affected communities.
- Ocean plastic cleanup campaigns in Victoria raised awareness significantly, leading to a 40% increase in community participation in cleanup events.
6. 🏆 Founding Tidbits of Change Foundation
- The foundation began from a simple father-daughter initiative to make a positive impact, initially collecting change in a guitar case.
- Stories of others inspired by their initiative led to the idea of encouraging more people to start their own projects.
- Approximately 1.5 years ago, these efforts culminated in the creation of the Tidbits of Change Foundation.
- The foundation aims to motivate and support individual initiatives aimed at making a difference.
7. ⛷️ Skiing All BC Ski Areas in One Winter
- The initiative was part of a Foundation's focus to encourage youth to pursue a passion project with a parent or mentor, integrating adventure with educational outreach.
- Youth bseries Financial Awards were established to reward inspiring youth stories, motivating them to undertake meaningful projects.
- The project involved visiting schools to inspire students and parents about the possibilities of passion projects, using the skiing adventure as a model.
- The strategy was to ski all BC ski areas in one winter, conducting school visits during the day and sharing their experience with students and parents in the afternoon or evening.
- The personal challenge aspect involved a friendly competition between colleagues to visit all BC and Alberta ski areas, aiming to complete all BC ski areas in a single winter, believed to be an unprecedented feat.
- The integration of skiing and educational outreach provided a unique platform to engage youth and demonstrate the value of setting and achieving ambitious goals.
8. 🏔️ Unique Ski Trip Experiences
- The trip began on January 25th in Terrace, BC, with an ambitious plan to ski all 44 ski areas in British Columbia over a six-week period.
- Shames Mountain was the initial stop, setting the tone for a journey filled with unique ski experiences at each location.
- Bellula stood out for its remote setting and the distinction of having the longest handle tow in North America, showcasing the diversity of skiing options in the province.
- Midwinter snow loss in the province added an unexpected layer of challenge, requiring adaptability and creative problem-solving from the travelers.
- Several ski areas showed exceptional hospitality by operating lifts exclusively for the travelers, and ski patrols or owners enhanced the experience by providing access through snowmobiles or snow cats.
- The trip highlighted not only the varied terrains and facilities but also the welcoming community spirit at each ski area.
9. 📱 Sharing the Journey on Social Media
- Implemented 'chairlift chatters' to interview local legends at different ski hills, creating engaging content that resonated with the audience.
- Shared stories on social media which successfully connected with a larger audience, highlighting inspiring stories and increasing engagement.
- Undertook an 8,000 km ski road trip over 44 days, a journey that not only strengthened family bonds but also provided rich content for social media sharing.
- Social media efforts resulted in significant attention and engagement, showcasing the power of authentic, personal storytelling in building community and brand awareness.
- Specific posts, such as daily updates and highlight reels, achieved higher engagement rates, contributing to a 25% increase in social media followers.
- The project demonstrated how strategic storytelling and leveraging unique experiences can enhance personal and professional growth through increased visibility and community connection.
10. 🌟 Inspiring Stories and Future Projects
- Felix, a student from Aalt, initiated the 'Lexi's Legacy' project to honor his younger sister by aiming to invoke 1 million acts of love by year-end. This initiative is a response to her passing from a rare disease before her seventh birthday.
- Kayla, a freshman at U OFA, addressed the equipment gap for adaptive athletes by designing and building adaptive water skiing and wakeboarding equipment with her family. Her initiative allows adaptive athletes to experience the sport in a new way.
- Cassie, a student in Kamloops, identified a need for warm clothing for the less fortunate. She organized a donation drive alongside a Christmas light show, which has evolved into an annual charity event impacting the entire city.