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WEEK 7— PATRICK WACHIRA

7/14/2021

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What are three things that you have learned or taken away from this summer? Use this time to reflect and speak in depth. 
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My work with TechTown Detroit this summer has been rewarding in multiple ways. I have experienced personal and professional growth, as I have had to step out of my comfort zone and take initiative. This has been partly because my project with TechTown largely involved qualitative analysis, with certain undefined aspects that my teammate and I have had to learn and adapt as we go. I’ve learnt a lot about myself, about consulting, and about the operations of nonprofits in the social innovation space. These are some of my key takeaways: 

The social process behind consulting 

We were tasked with assessing TechTown’s offerings and materials, a big part of which involved interviewing staff, clients and alumni, as well as sitting in meetings. This experience put me in a position to view the organization and its operations within and across different departments as a consultant. To remain objective in order to operate effectively, our objectives needed me to learn to maneuver organizational dynamics and politics in order to make proper assessments and recommendations. It has been an intriguing experience trying to understand the perspectives we get from each person, against the backdrop of their experience at the organization and their orientation to our mission.

Interviewing skills

A big part of our information gathering process involved interviews. Conducting a couple dozen interviews with TechTown staff, clients and alumni, has greatly improved my interviewing skills. At first, our approach was to have questions ready and go through each one of them with the interviewee. As I went through the process, however, I learnt how to listen better, to let interviewees lead the direction of the interview, while at the same time making sure we covered all the topics we needed to address. This resulted in us having conversations that flowed better, as we learnt to let interviewees feel at ease as they spoke to us. We learnt so much not just about the company, but the individuals we spoke to as well, which enabled us to better understand their perspectives. This was especially crucial as some of the aspects we explored touched on equity and social justice, conversations that can be tricky to maneuver at times. My teammate and I were able to achieve this successfully, and it was a great learning experience. It also added to my understanding of the importance building and maintaining relationships, personal and professional.  

The Lean Startup methodology
 

My teammate and I were honored with the chance to have a conversation with Ned Staebler, TechTown’s President and CEO, who had a reading suggestion for us: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries. It was interesting to find that certain aspects of our proposal were in line with the principles that Ries explores in his book. Ries explores employing the Lean Startup methodology even in social enterprise. In summary, it expounds on the Build— Measure— Learn principle, which requires innovators to center their solutions around their target clients, by involving them in iterative experimentation of different solutions. This enabled us nail down our recommendation for TechTown’s plans to develop programming in other languages in future. Understanding this framework and being able to apply it was a great lesson for me. 

All in all, DukeEngage Detroit has been an invaluable experience for me. I come away with improved interpersonal skills, as well as industry knowledge. I remain eternally grateful to my team, the DukeEngage program, and TechTown Detroit.  
#DetroitStrong 
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week 7 - evan henley

7/13/2021

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What are three things that you have learned or taken away from this summer? Use this time to reflect and speak in depth. ~400 words

Throughout my summer working at ProsperUs I was constantly challenged to see things from a different perspective and delve into analytical as well as creative work. I have taken away so much from interacting with a diverse group of people and being put on such a wide variety of projects. Although everything was virtual, I found that everyone I interacted with was supportive, willing to collaborate, and treated me as a coworker.

Right off the bat, I learned a lot about my working style. My partner Lara and I were a dynamic duo: we met almost every day with our supervisor and many times outside that. Unlike many of my other experiences, accountability was paramount. I had many late nights where I was unmotivated to transfer data into Salesforce or do research for our community resource guide, yet, I knew that I needed to get the work done or it would bottleneck my partner, my supervisor, and sometimes the entire ProsperUs team. Many times, the work wasn’t glamorous, but having supportive people around me that were always open to helping or answering questions made the work so much better. Being collaborative with peers, bosses, and the whole company have taught me many lessons about perseverance, asking when unsure, and reading through the lines to see the importance of my work.

Secondly, I really came to understand how a company should work. Although ProsperUs is  relatively small, I found everyone I worked with was always willing to help and truly had an interest to learn more about me and the work I had. From sitting in on lending meetings to having get to know you’s with each member of the team, I really felt at home with ProsperUs, like I had worked there for years. In any future job, I am confident I will be able to recognize a stable and healthy working environment while also being aware when conditions aren’t right. 

Many times during work, I hesitated to make a recommendation to the team, my supervisor, or my partner, worrying that I would be giving someone unwanted advice. One of the most important things I learned in our cohort meetings on nonprofit consulting was the harm that can be done when you tell people what’s wrong without incorporating solutions or recommendations. Whether I was working with Lara analyzing surveys, or talking with entrepreneurs, I was always mindful of giving advice without a backup to my claim. Just because I thought that something was right for the company or project, didn’t mean it actually was. It was crucial for me to be extremely careful to show people why what I was saying was the most beneficial or the right way for something to be done. Many times, I had to stop myself from commenting or recommending something because I wasn’t fully sure that it was the right option. Whether I go into consulting, startups, or any industry really, it is crucial that I have substantiated recommendations that can withstand criticism.



ProsperUs, it was amazing and life-changing to work with you all. I am so amazed by everyone's passion for helping their community. I have learned so much from the way each of you work and I hope we can meet at some point to see Detroit. Lara, we are a powerhouse and the #1 group, thank you for making this experience so great. Everyone at DukeEngage, thank you so much for providing such an amazing virtual internship, I am so glad that I was able to be a part of this.



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WEEK 7 - sophie cartolano

7/13/2021

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What are three things that you have learned or taken away from this summer? Use this time to reflect and speak in depth.

The first thing that I will be able to take away from this summer is the development of my interviewing and problem solving skills. Generating our final recommendations required extensive research and data collection to identify the points within the organization that needed improvement. In order to understand the current internal and external structures that would inform our proposal, the questions posed had to encourage our interviewees to elaborate on their perspectives and experiences relevant to our mission. I learned to not be afraid to ask clarifying questions and to prepare for interviews beforehand so that our conversations were productive. Furthermore, our interviews certainly highlighted disconnects between different teams, opposing points of views, and the barriers to implementing the most idealistic success model. We had to navigate such diverse opinions, which taught me that finding a middle ground is crucial in problem solving. While developing a proposal that appeals to everyone is no easy feat, it is evident that our final recommendations would not be as insightful and useful if it did not consider everybody’s role and experience at TechTown. I value the role of diversity in research and problem solving now more than ever before. 
    Secondly, with the mission of our project being centered on language access and cultural competency, I have learned more about what these notions entail and their importance. While a huge part to being culturally inclusive is overcoming the language barrier, I quickly learned that a complete and profound cultural competency model entails a lot more than just language. For instance, it is not enough to just speak the language, but to set up services and programming that cater to the needs of certain social or ethnic groups. In order to understand such needs, it is crucial to empathize with those you seek to serve and to understand the context and background from which they are coming from. This has made me become a better listener, and in doing so I have enabled clients to feel that they are being heard. Giving this power to minority groups is essential in promoting values of inclusion, equity, and diversity, and I look forward to seeing their representation in leadership roles expand in the future. 
    Lastly, I have certainly experienced a lot of personal growth this summer. My biggest struggle growing up has always been having the confidence to speak up and share my ideas. I often doubt the value of my input and stay inside of my shell. However, with the support and encouragement of my supervisors and colleagues, I was able to assert myself more often. Being a perfectionist, oftentimes I overthink what to say or write. Now, after having numerous valuable conversations that would not have been possible if I did challenge myself to speak up, I better appreciate the effort of just sharing what is on your mind. So much can be learned from engaging in deep conversations, and now I am the most confident I have ever been to continue exchanging ideas and information with those around me. 
Ultimately, I have come out of this summer with more professional and personal development than I could have ever anticipated. I am so grateful to have been a part of this program and to have been inspired by those I spent time with. I look forward to keeping in touch in the future-- thank you for making this experience possible Katherine and Matt!!

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week 7: Tenzin Choeyang

7/13/2021

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What are three things that you have learned or taken away from this summer? Use this time to reflect and speak in depth. ~400 words

Top three takeaways from this summer:
1. Professionalism
  • Be punctual
  • Focus on the presentation for deliverables
  • Most importantly, learn from your failures
2. Focus on growth
  • Self-growth- stretch yourself to the fullest, build new skill sets
  • Don’t lose sight of the bigger picture- what is the overall purpose?
  • Most importantly, ask yourself again & again: how are you contributing to the community you are working for?
3. What really is social innovation and working with GreenLight Fund influenced that? 
  • Networking is key
  • The spectrum of No-profit models
  • Importance of culture and context (Detroit specific)
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TBC

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week 7 - donovaughn tulloch

7/13/2021

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Prompt: Reflections of the summer - What are three things that you have learned or taken away from this summer? Use this time to reflect and speak in depth. 
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I have gained a vast array of knowledge from working with GreenLight Fund Detroit this summer, so it was definitely challenging to narrow down my top three takeaways from the experience. After some deep thought, I have determined that my three main takeaways involve the topics of fundraising, willingness to learn, and of course, the city of Detroit.

Fundraising:
I have learned that fundraising is more than just raising capital to reach a goal. An experienced fund seeker should understand that fundraising is built upon key relationships. These relationships are fostered through a mutual desire to contribute to addressing a social problem that is deeply personal to the investor/donor and the partner organization. If these connections are managed sufficiently, then there will be a higher chance of receiving an investment from an individual who truly cares about the community in need. I also learned the importance of ensuring that the donors are representative of the community that is being served. If the donors are deeply involved in the target community, then they will be more likely to participate in initiatives that create further social change. 

In one of the Friday Learning Sessions, the fundraising process was described as a relationship cycle: meet people from networking → use storytelling skills to teach them about your organization's mission/goals → make an ask or wait for an offer → acknowledge and thank them (even if they don’t provide you with funding) → follow up and teach them about the impact of their donation → and then the cycle repeats. I found this comprehensive/simple framework to be very helpful in explaining an act that can sometimes feel daunting.

Willingness to learn: 
When I first started working alongside GreenLight Fund Detroit, I would have never expected that I would be working in the communications/graphic design space. This is not because I don’t have an interest in this space, but because I was never given the opportunity to explore it. I’ve realized that I have become so comfortable with doing tasks such as conducting partner and fundraising research, that I forgot to experience other sectors of work. Now that I have completed a couple of tasks in the communication/graphic design space, I can happily say that I enjoyed the work more than I thought I would!

With this all said, I am thankful to my GreenLight Fund Detroit supervisors for challenging me to try out new areas of work. This experience has taught me the importance of being open-minded and willing to wear different hats when the job calls for it. Working in the nonprofit sector is all about taking calculated risks, so sometimes a person has to attempt to take on a new project that is way out of their comfort zone. 

The City of Detroit:
Through attending some of the Detroit-based virtual events and webinars, I can 100% confirm that Detroiters have an overwhelming amount of pride, love, and passion for their city and the people who live there. There are so many leaders in Detroit who are doing great things to uplift their communities by creating social impact that directly reflects the needs of the residents (shoutout to my GreenLight Fund Detroit supervisors!) Even though I was not able to spend this summer in Detroit, I still feel that I was able to build a long-distance connection with such an innovative, strong, and supportive city.

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Week 7 -  Neal Dalal

7/13/2021

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Blog 7: What are three things that you have learned or taken away from this summer? Use this time to reflect and speak in depth. ~400 words

It’s hard to believe that my Duke Engage experience is coming to a close so soon. This whole summer everything zoomed by. I feel like I just started working for MedHealth (and I hope I get to work with this wonderful team even more) but in these past few weeks, I have learned a number of lessons that will guide me on my own journey as a social innovator. For this particular blog post, I had to sit down and really think about the key takeaways. I learned several hard and soft skills through my work with Stacey and the guidance I received from Matt Nash and Katherine Black but the lessons that will last the longest are realities I got to witness first time. So, without further ado, the three things I learned this summer:

Thing Number 1: Everyone won’t be easy to work with

The worst experience of my summer was undoubtedly an interview I had with a particular entrepreneur that I met with. Going into the meeting I was told that he was the type of guy “Who tells it like it is” but what I really met was a rude, bullish man. The racist overtones in his rhetoric truly rubbed me the wrong way, yet this was a man I reached out to seeking wisdom. Dealing with him was tough, but I had to get his feedback because, even if I disliked him, he was still an expert in a field that I want to get involved with. For me this was a reality check, I won’t be able to click with everyone I meet but I still need to work with them. From this experience, I learned a little bit about working with “detestable” characters and hopefully I handle situations like this better in the future.  

Thing Number 2: Delayed Gratification is the name of the game

Work is not always glamorous. Actually, work is rarely glamorous. Throughout the summer, I got to work on some really cool projects, however, the bulk of the work was tedious and tiring. From staring at excel sheets to formatting word documents I did my fair share of grinding. What made this grind particular difficult is the fact that the results don’t show themselves for months on end. Yes, we set up the background for the CRM transfer but the actual transfer won’t happen until long after I leave. The lack of gratification definitely hinders motivation but getting past that and looking at the big picture is very important.

Thing Number 3: Innovation is needed and it’s needed bad

I always thought the current systems in place were optimized, especially in big billion-dollar industries. I never realized how unorganized and dated so many facets of the corporate world are. Through Duke Engage I now have a greater appreciation for innovators and the work they are doing that is desperately needed.

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week 7- isa hogshire

7/13/2021

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What are three things that you have learned or taken away from this summer? Use this time to reflect and speak in depth. ~400 words
I initially applied for DukeEngage Detroit because I was seeking a summer experience that would reinforce the direction of my character and professional growth. DukeEngage Detroit offered the opportunity to learn more about social impact consulting, a field that combines my personal and academic interests. I quickly realized that this program offered much more than skill development. By directly engaging with Detroit community members in the non-profit space, I acquired a new lens through which to examine social issues.

While working for MedHealth, a regional collaboration that connects MedTech innovators to resources and health systems, I learned about the inner workings of non-profit endeavors. Although we were brought in to help the company migrate to a new data analytics platform, my partner and I took on a wide a variety of projects on a weekly basis. This aspect of the summer not only taught me the importance of flexibility but also made me realize that I can step up to the plate when asked to complete tasks outside of my comfort zone. The projects I was assigned allowed me to apply lessons and skills from classroom settings to the real world. The nature of my tasks taught me a new approach to thinking about goals and achievements in work settings. I learned that while certain tasks may appear minor in the moment, they are vital pieces of a larger puzzle. 

As a social sciences major, I was nervous about the prospect of working for a medical technology non-profit. However, I began to see that my lack of medical knowledge would not be a barrier. In fact, it allowed me to approach my work and meetings with fresh eyes, My background in public policy, economics, and history, proved to be useful in analyzing the big picture challenges facing the MedTech community. Stacey Frankovich, my MedHealth supervisor, exposed me to the challenges facing the medical device hub in Michigan. Despite the abundance of ideas to improve the quality of care for Michigan residents, the fragmented healthcare system poses huge obstacle for progress. MedHealth works to bridge the gaps between entrepreneurs, research centers, and major healthcare providers to generate growth in the region. In addition, they recognize how social determinants of health factor into the progress they hope to achieve.The the problems facing the health sector are not up to medical innovators to solve alone; the entire system, policy-makers, non-profits, private investors, and community stakeholders, must collaborate to address critical gaps in care. Moreover, individual health and well-being forms for the foundation for functional and thriving systems. 

Though the virtual nature of this DukeEngage program brought its challenges, it added an interesting dimension to my experience. Working remotely enabled me to constantly relate my meetings and projects to my personal life. In the middle of the summer I traveled to Puerto Rico to see my extended family. Despite the fact that Puerto Rico is a Spanish-speaking Caribbean island, its history of resiliency mirror that of Detroit. After work, I planned to admire the island’s tropical beauty, but found myself saddened by dilapidated infrastructure and constant headlines about crime and governmental corruption. A conversation with Paul Riser changed my perspective on the Puerto Rican struggle. I gained insights on how to promote social and economic growth while also preserving important cultural values. Paul Riser explained how his personal connection to the city of Detroit drives his social impact work and allows him to pursue projects based on actual residents’ needs. I realized in this moment that the lessons I was learning at MedHealth could be applied to my own community. 
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Ultimately, DukeEngage Detroit pushed me outside of comfort zone and encouraged me to think more critically about my capacity to promote change in my communities. As a result of working for MedHealth and collaborating with my DukeEngage peers, I have become amore effective and compassionate worker and citizen of the world. I hope to translate my newly acquired skillset and outlook to future life experiences, always remembering this unique summer when I do so :)

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week 7 - lara bamberger

7/13/2021

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Reflections of the summer: What are three things that you have learned or taken away from this summer? Use this time to reflect and speak in depth.

DukeEngage Detroit has given me the opportunity to learn more than I could have imagined, and it is crazy to think how quickly these past several weeks have flown by. I have not only learned consulting, technical, analytic skills, and learned so much about the operations of a non profit organization, but also, and maybe more meaningfully, I learned about myself as a worker, learner, and a team player. 

First, this summer has given me invaluable experience building my technical skill set working for a company that I know I will take and apply to my classes, projects, and jobs in the future. I have learned about the importance of communication. Working remotely with an office that primarily lived and worked in Detroit and a partner who worked across the country in California in a different time zone, constant communication and transparency was vital to being productive and efficient and getting great work done. Whether it be constant texts and email exchanges, staying up-to-date on multiple Microsoft Team threads, or setting up quick Zoom check-ins, working at ProserUs Detroit this summer taught me how to be a successful communicator and team member. It also taught me how important it is to reach out for clarity and ask questions, and how willing coworkers are to be a resource of information and assistance. I also gained in-depth experience working with new platforms such as Sales Force and Form Assembly and building my analytical skill set, taking data from surveys, working with Excel and PowerPoint, analyzing information, finding trends, and effectively presenting findings and offering recommendations on how a certain workshop could be improved based on survey feedback. In addition, other projects I worked on with ProsperUs Detroit this summer allowed me to work on my research skills, writing skills, and even outreach skills. 

Second, this summer taught me about how I best operate in a work environment and as a team member. I have learned how much I really enjoy and appreciate working in team settings and, in particular, with an active supervisor. My supervisor Andrew met with my partner Evan and me each morning 4 out of the 5 days of the work week. Andrew might not have realized how meaningful those first five minutes of each meeting during which we would casually talk about our lives was to me and how integral our daily check in on our work was, providing an opportunity for us to ask questions and clarify our tasks on our projects. Even when our meetings were only 10 short minutes, having the opportunity and time set aside for those casual conversations and clarifications was so valuable to me. Though I know that I will not always have this luxury in my future positions, I have learned how important building that relationship with my supervisor is to me. In addition, working with the entire ProsperUs team and Evan specifically has shown me how much I love working with a team. Though Evan and I knew that there were times that a “divide and conquer” approach allowed us to work more efficiently, and we did utilize this approach when it would be best, working alongside a partner and the whole ProsperUs team showed me how much I value working with and hearing the voices and ideas from a team of such diverse backgrounds and experiences. I looked forward to our whole ProsperUs team meetings each Monday afternoon where each individual, including those on both the Programming and Lending teams, would give their weekly updates, and others would offer their opinions on different matters allowing their dynamic personalities and unique life experiences to shine through. 

And finally, I learned a lot about myself this summer. I learned about what areas of work I enjoy most, what I value, and things I want to look for in future employment opportunities. In my work conducting interviews with entrepreneurs across the Detroit area for my Storytelling Project, it was further confirmed to me how much I love client-facing work where I am able to directly engage and speak with new individuals and clients, learn about them, and how my company can help serve them better. I also learned that I love thinking analytically and creatively, turning basic numbers into charts and graphs, analyzing trends, and coming up with innovative solutions and recommendations on areas in which ProsperUs could learn and grow. My work this summer also confirmed to me how much I love the entrepreneurial space and working with small businesses. Sitting in on various lending meetings, we were given the opportunity to hear entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and small companies to the lending team and ask direct questions about the companies to see what next steps would help the entrepreneur grow their company. Was applying for a loan at the amount they requested the right decision for that entrepreneur? Would the company really benefit from a brick-and-mortar location at that moment? Should the entrepreneur apply for an entrepreneurship training program instead of a loan right now? These were all questions that the loan team gave us the opportunity to discuss, while also looking at the company's business model and financial projections. 

Thank you DukeEngage Detroit for letting me grow and learn all of these things and so much more. Thank you for giving me a new friend in my partner Evan, role models in Katherine and Matt, and for all the laughs in our weekly cohort meetings. I am jealous of the future cohorts that will get to physically be together in Detroit, but even working virtually from NYC, I learned so much and met some of the greatest people. Thank you!
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week 6 - evan henley

7/6/2021

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Nonprofit work is very unique work. What have you learned about how nonprofits operate this summer? What is something you didn’t know? What is something that has surprised you?

I have found this summer that what makes nonprofit work unique is the people within it. In most organizations, I feel that a lot of the efforts are expended to make more profit, whereas in nonprofits, people are constantly working to better a community or group. As an intern, I have recognized so much dedication to doing amazing work. Compared to other working situations, there is a much greater sense of unity in the company. Weekly meetings where I hear about a variety of projects that each member of the team as well as smaller group sessions to discuss programs or lending have shown me that all the work that a nonprofit does is a group effort. Without the support and dedication of each employee the whole company won’t be able to make effective change. 
When I began work at ProsperUs one of the first projects I worked on was creating a community resource guide. This was composed of 34 pages of other companies similar to ProsperUs, as well as a variety of other resources on housing and starting a business. Although it seemed normal, I think back on how surprising it is that an organization would make a list of competitors and hand it out to clients. This reinforced the realization that nonprofits and ProsperUs specifically are fully committed to helping the community, not growth or profit. This honestly required me to change my mindset of work.

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Week 6 - Donovaughn tulloch

7/6/2021

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Nonprofit work is very unique work. What have you learned about how nonprofits operate this summer? What is something you didn’t know? What is something that has surprised you?

Since this is the first time that I have worked with a nonprofit organization based in the United States, it has been interesting to experience the nonprofit life through a different lens. When I first started working alongside my partner organization, I was immediately impressed with how many different tasks an individual has to handle on their own. One moment you could be working on inputting data into a spreadsheet and then the next you could be designing a graphic to be released on a social media page. It appears that in order to succeed in the nonprofit sector, a person has to be willing to wear different hats to ensure that the organization remains afloat. Working in the nonprofit sector is all about taking calculated risks, so sometimes a person has to attempt to take on a new project that is way out of their comfort zone. 

While working in the nonprofit sector is definitely a challenge, the outputs that are produced definitely make it worth all the hard work. Even if you are working in a space where the social  impact is mainly indirect, it can still feel rewarding to know that you are helping your community strive for greatness. One thing that surprised me was the amount of pride, love and passion that nonprofit leaders have for the community they are working to uplift. An individual has to have a strong connection to the target community in order to create social impact that truly reflects the needs of the residents.
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