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The Four Rivers: a course for r.evolutionary changemakers is much more than a course. It's a fledgling learning community of people who are exploring and co-creating a new sense of self, authentic ways of relating to one another, growing an enlivening culture, and designing wiser systems. This course is also about making a collective contribution to the possible human that we can become only when supported by the power of transformative teaching-learning communities.

United We Serve is a nationwide service initiative that helps meet growing social needs resulting from the economic downturn. With the knowledge that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools, President Obama is asking us to come together to help lay a new foundation for growth. This initiative aims to both expand the impact of existing organizations by engaging new volunteers in their work and encourage volunteers to develop their own "do-it-yourself" projects.

As our politics and public life have become increasingly divisive and toxic, too many Americans no longer see their realities reflected and no longer believe that they can make a difference. Real progress in communities can be hard to come by. And yet, across the country, people yearn to believe that we can get things done together and make hope real for everyone. It is this belief in people's innate ability to come together and create authentic hope, that sparked a then 27-year-old Richard C. Harwood to found The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation and dedicate himself to making the case for a different kind of public life and politics. For more than 20 years, through innovation, on-the-ground efforts, and ground-breaking research, we know what it takes to get things done in communities and strengthen our civic culture. We help people develop into Public Innovators, build Boundary Spanning Organizations, grow common spaces for innovation and learning, and cultivate the conditions, norms, and productive narratives that help their communities move forward. Today, our approach is being used by tens of thousands of individuals in communities across the U.S. and around the globe. But more is needed. We have an audacious strategy to make a case for a different kind of public life and politics and to spread these ideas, insights, and approaches so that people can make them their own. Of course, no single organization or individual can make these changes on their own; but, together, we can.

The Sirolli Institute is a Social Enterprise that consults and trains in the field of Local Economic Development and Corporate Social Responsibility. We believe that the future of every community lies in capturing the talent, energy and imagination of its people hence we specialize in responsive approaches to Local Development that grow the community from within, transforming passionate people into successful entrepreneurs.