This video is really interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDzAnc3yKMI
It describes the importance of building social capital in the modern world and how emphasis on creating networks of people (as opposed to money, resources, etc.) is the best way to generate healthy economies as a result of healthy societies.

This link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpCzIniPZDU is to TedTalk lecture in which Ben Warner describes the importance of planning in making a difference but emphasizes that planning alone will do nothing - we need to first form connections as a prelude to planning, and we need to act on our decisions post-planning.

This link: http://organizingforpower.org/ is a great resource for organizing for power. It discusses different approaches as well as provides information on the successes and failures of past endeavors. It shows how important it is to be able to use and generate power to make a difference.

This link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-ricketts/john-oleary_b_3781830.html is a great source for inspiration and for understanding how one person can make a big difference. It is one of the focuses of this class: overcoming feelings of overwhelm and realizing that though one person can't change everything, they can certainly change a lot.

I thought this website http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/emotions/volunteering/article3.html was great for the way it educated kids on making a difference. It relates to the readings of the past week in that is discusses how it can be difficult to choose where we take a stand, since we cannot possibly hope to change everything wrong with the world. We can, however, even as individual people, make a huge difference in the area(s) we choose to challenge.

This article http://www.trust.org/slideshow/?id=61f64077-e81c-4716-99fc-c4157c511104 discusses how one person combined hard work with passionate beliefs and made a tremendous difference in her community by believing that she could.

What I took from the reading the most was the fact that it can be so easy in today's world to become fast overwhelmed with the amount and severity of issues that exist. How can we possibly know where to start? It's human nature to want to help other humans, but oftentimes it seems bleak, or hopeless because there is simply too much to do. But this thinking is wrong. No one person can fix everything, but every one person can do so much. This link centers on that idea. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGzBcBZrOSw

This article - http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/21/us/arizona-anti-gay-bill/ - mentions the ridiculous bill that was considered for implementation in the state of Arizona. It ties into our recent readings by displaying the process of policy-making (though how this was even suggested as an initiative, I can't imagine) and even more importantly, the power of the people in terms of changing what they believe is wrong.

This link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBQSCQcfY18 provides a brief summary of hunger in America. It focuses on individual families and faces, which ties into the idea from the readings of 'making it personal.' It is difficult to understand an issue and to generate the passion and energy required to combat it without being able to relate on an individual level.

This link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxSTtDYQHDA shows a video of a program implemented in a fifth grade teaching regime to teach children that it is our responsibility to help others who are not as fortunate. Studies show that the largest inhibitor of youth involvement in the community is ignorance - they are either unaware or do not understand the scope of issues in need of address. Teaching programs like this at young ages could be a game changer.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/21/opinion/change-the-list-voter-turnout-hawaii/index.html?iref=allsearch



This is a story about a woman who had never taken the time to vote or become politically involved until an issue struck home with her and her fellow community members (many of whom also never voted. It lists the various barriers that individuals may feel when considering civic engagement as well as what may prompt action even in the face of such challenges.