“We
don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the
process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people,
can transform the world.” Howard Zinn
"The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope."-Pierre Teilhard de Chadin
Many people have asked us if they could donate via check. The answer is a big yes.
Here is the address to send the checks. Please email us and let us know so we can email a thank you note and thank you gift.
Imagining Learning
C/O Charlie Kouns
P.O. Box 1410
Waynesville, NC 28786
Checks can be made out to Imagining Learning.
Excited to share that an article about Imagining Learning by Charlie Kouns and David Loitz just want live on GOOD, an national magazine and online community for social good! How Can We Fix Education? Listen to Young People
Imagining Learning is built on the idea of Listening. Our Listening Sessions are designed to create an appreciative environment of trust and openness so their natural wisdom can emerge. Within each Listening Session, young people, ages 13 - 19, co-create paintings containing their visions for transforming education. These paintings are visual stories containing the key themes that each group believes is essential to changing education. Visit our gallery to see some of these paintings.
As we do Listening Sessions with young people all across the country, certain themes appear over and over again. These represent their collective voice, a voice rich in passion, ideas, and wisdom. Currently, we have done 20 Listening Sessions in locations such as San Francisco, CA; Birmingham, AL; Seattle, WA; Jackson, MS; Portland, OR, etc. In the past, the Listening Sessions have been self-funded, but today more than 40 localities are asking us to do Listening Sessions.
Learn more about our work here and email us with any questions at [email protected]
We have created a series of tours of various regions of the country to keep costs down and to create a momentum and visibility for young people to know how serious we are about supporting their voice (learn more). Each Listening Session costs around $500 and most of that is travel. About 95% of your gift will go toward helping us travel. A small amount is for staffing help and the rest is for art supplies. Imagining Learning's Founding Steward receives no personal compensation for leading the organization and the Listening Sessions.
As you can see from the Listening Session paintings above, the collective voice of young people is vibrant and alive with ideas and much more. We believe that the stewardship of Imagining Learning is a partnership between all who support it, including you! To the right are a list of gifts you will receive for your donations. These gifts have been thoughtfully created in order for you to connect with others about Imagining Learning and the national collective voice of young people.
TELL EVERYONE you know about us! Share this link.
Host a Listening Session in your community!
Host us in Seattle or in Boulder, CO when we attend conferences in those cities.
Donate in-kind gifts (see our Wish List page on the website)
Offer your time and expertise or other items:
"The future belongs to those who give the next generation reason for hope."-Pierre Teilhard de Chadin
Thank You for helping us have a Successful Campaign! We have past 200 donors and top 10,000 dollars! You can still donate at our website www.imagininglearning.us ! Be part of transforming education and the world!
Many people have asked us if they could donate via check. The answer is a big yes.
Here is the address to send the checks. Please email us and let us know so we can email a thank you note and thank you gift.
Imagining Learning
C/O Charlie Kouns
P.O. Box 1410
Waynesville, NC 28786
Checks can be made out to Imagining Learning.
Excited to share that an article about Imagining Learning by Charlie Kouns and David Loitz just want live on GOOD, an national magazine and online community for social good! How Can We Fix Education? Listen to Young People
What is Imagining Learning?
Imagining Learning (www.imagininglearning.us) is working with young people across the country to create a national collective vision of how they would transform education. We believe that young people have an innate wisdom and authenticity about how future generations would best be educated, but they aren't usually invited to participate in discussions or decision making in their communities. To see a video about us, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBjMVkpANM4Imagining Learning is built on the idea of Listening. Our Listening Sessions are designed to create an appreciative environment of trust and openness so their natural wisdom can emerge. Within each Listening Session, young people, ages 13 - 19, co-create paintings containing their visions for transforming education. These paintings are visual stories containing the key themes that each group believes is essential to changing education. Visit our gallery to see some of these paintings.
As we do Listening Sessions with young people all across the country, certain themes appear over and over again. These represent their collective voice, a voice rich in passion, ideas, and wisdom. Currently, we have done 20 Listening Sessions in locations such as San Francisco, CA; Birmingham, AL; Seattle, WA; Jackson, MS; Portland, OR, etc. In the past, the Listening Sessions have been self-funded, but today more than 40 localities are asking us to do Listening Sessions.
Learn more about our work here and email us with any questions at [email protected]
How Will We Use the Funds? and Next Steps
In 2013, more than 40 communities are asking us to do Listening Sessions. We will complete 50 total by June 2014.
Our seed steward and filmmaker David Loitz has started production on a series of documentaries showcasing the stories of all the unique young
voices we meet.
In 2014, we will share a
student field guide, so that young people across America can express to their communities the collective vision of how their think education should be
transformed.
In 2015, we intend to launch a major national event
in Washington, DC, featuring these voice called, "Collective
Voice: The Wisdom of Young People on Education. the event will feature:
The key emergent
themes from more than 75 Listening Sessions with young people from all
backgrounds and walks of life will be presented along with many interactive
sessions between young people and the adults present. It will be a time for
true intergenerational exchange. - An exhibition of the student's art for political, social, education, and cultural leaders;
- A national educational conference for students, educators, parents, advocates, and politicians;
- A feature book highlighting the visions of students across the country, to be shared with all attendees and education leaders across the United States.
Requested Listening Sessions
We have created a series of tours of various regions of the country to keep costs down and to create a momentum and visibility for young people to know how serious we are about supporting their voice (learn more). Each Listening Session costs around $500 and most of that is travel. About 95% of your gift will go toward helping us travel. A small amount is for staffing help and the rest is for art supplies. Imagining Learning's Founding Steward receives no personal compensation for leading the organization and the Listening Sessions.
Let’s break down what’s possible when a few committed people get together to enact change:
- Each Listening Session costs about $500. Just 20 people giving $25 each can make that happen.
- For the price of a $10 lunch, 50 people can bring the Imagining Learning revolution to a city that’s begging for it.
- If you and two of your friends agreed to donate $20 each and then each found three more people to do the same, that would only need to happen 4 more times to raise over $21,000 for Imagining Learning!
Giving the Gift of a Listening Session!
As you can see from the Listening Session paintings above, the collective voice of young people is vibrant and alive with ideas and much more. We believe that the stewardship of Imagining Learning is a partnership between all who support it, including you! To the right are a list of gifts you will receive for your donations. These gifts have been thoughtfully created in order for you to connect with others about Imagining Learning and the national collective voice of young people.
Other Ways to Help!
In addition to contributing directly for our Listening Session Tours, we have a number of ways you might choose to join in!TELL EVERYONE you know about us! Share this link.
Host a Listening Session in your community!
Host us in Seattle or in Boulder, CO when we attend conferences in those cities.
Donate in-kind gifts (see our Wish List page on the website)
Offer your time and expertise or other items:
- Website: create an interactive chat section and more inspiring area for young people to share
- Fundraising: writing grants and helping us with strategic advice
- Donating flat files for storage of paintings
- Donating office space in the Asheville, NC area
- Offering us art supplies and paper for the paintings
- Offering supplies to help us create a documentary film
Project FAQ
Ask the Campaign Team a questionAsheville, NC, United States
While Imagining Learning is an intergenerational organization, it's Founding Steward, Charles Kouns is an educator and visionary with over 20 years of secondary and tertiary school experience guiding and empowering young people to discover their wisdom and believe in themselves. Charlie has taught school at every level from middle school to graduate school. He has also been a swimming and basketball coach as well as a mentor to many young people throughout the years. His passion for giving young people voice, led him to found Imagining Learning in order to explore new frontiers in education. He now leads Imagining Learning's Listening Sessions, asking teens across America for their input on how education could be transformed.
If you pledge, you will receive (click one):
-
$1 or more
8 supportersDroplet Steward: You believe every drop of water makes a ripple! Your contribution in this category will create a personal thank you from the Imagining Learning staff and a social media thank you via twitter, facebook or tumblr. -
$10 or more
28 supportersSplatter Steward: You know that creativity is infectious. You will receive 3 beautiful post cards to mail to your friends, family, etc., Each of the post cards will feature a different painting from the young people who have participated in our Listening Sessions, so you can share their passionate nature with others. -
$25 or more
47 supportersPaint Steward: Your gift will help supply paint for two Listening Sessions. You will receive 10 beautiful post cards to mail to your friends, family to spread the word about these brilliant paintings. Each of the post cards will feature a different painting from the young people who have participated in our Listening Sessions. -
$50 or more
19 supportersCo-Creator: A custom designed Imagining Learning T-Shirt. Artwork contributed by teens across the country, you will receive one t-shirt in your size. As a co-creator, let the world know about the importance of young people’s voices, by wearing it with intention to share. -
$50 or more
11 supportersOur seed steward and resident artist/graphic designer David Loitz will create a meme for you using your favorite quote and your picture. -
$100 or more
6 supportersListening Steward: You believe in the power of young people's voices. Therefore, you will receive a set of 25 post cards, each containing a different picture of a Listening Session painting. We invite you to share these full color with others, thus creating greater awareness of the need for a national collective vision for transforming education! -
$150 or more
1 supporterWisdom Steward: You believe in the wisdom of Young People. You will receive Words of Wisdom Cards, a set of 20 business sized cards, each with an original painting on one side and a wise quote about education from one of the young people who participated in the Listening Sessions. -
$250 or more
0 supportersVision Steward: You believe in the power of art to create change. You will receive an official Imagining Learning reproduction of one painting of your choice. Size is 18" X 24", a nice size for hanging in a special place in your home. Your gift will lead to the birth of a painting, bringing forward the energy, vitality and voice of young people. -
$500 or more
1 supporterListening Session Steward: You believe that the power of listening is a transformative act and your gift will lead to a Listening Session in one of our many requesting communities. To help you share the vision, you will receive the beautiful soft-bound book; Imagining Learning: the Wisdom of Young People on Education (10’ X 8”). This book features more than 20 paintings from the Listening Sessions along with the descriptions the students gave of their painted vision, so you can share it with everyone you know! It can be previewed at http://www.blurb.com/b/3919291-imagining-learning-2nd-ed -
$1,000 or more
0 supportersListening Session Host Steward: You provide the energy and means for us to create a tour in your community or any other you might so designate. You will be honored through a personal call from one of our Stewards. You will also receive the deluxe hardbound limited edition book; Imagining Learning: The Wisdom of Young People on Education. At 13" X 11", it features more than 20 paintings from the Listening Sessions along with the description the students gave in their painted vision. It can be previewed at: http://www.blurb.com/b/3919291-imagining-learning-2nd-ed.Limited reward: 20 left -
I don't want any rewards