Tangible Hope Project came out of a 5,000 miles road trip we took across the United States. From one coast to the other, we interviewed individuals we met in bowling alleys, church parking lots, and graffiti parks (among other places) about their communities and about the individuals or organizations in their town or city that help make it a better place. We also met with change leaders who oversee grassroots organizations that seemed to capture a spirit of innovative, positive change. 11 states and over 50 interviews later, we have the beginning of a documentary series entitled, the Tangible Hope Project. This documentary will capture a living snapshot of America through the lens of local citizens and organizations that are building a positive vision of their community on their own terms.
Tangible Hope Project was inspired by a desire to bring attention to stories about ways that people are working to create the world that they would like to live in that is not defined by, or in reaction to, the headline-grabbing political and cultural flashpoints that seem to consume most of our current collective attention.
Just as there are similarities and differences in the cultural personalities of each part of the country, so too, are there similarities and differences in the nonprofits that serve them. From Austin Classical Guitar, to Uncommon Construction in New Orleans, to Rural Resources in east Tennessee, to the nearly 20 other organizations that we spoke, each offers a snapshot of their community that captures something unique about its location. They also reflect a national trend that is overshadowed by the overheated political and cultural moment in which we live: namely, that in every part of the country, there are innovative changemakers who are making a tangible impact in the lives of the individuals they serve and in their communities as a whole. They create lasting relationships and impacts that rarely makes headlines but that generate models of change and social movements that have the potential to affect the world around them in significant ways.