Sprout Initiative's Solstice Smash

e of homeless lot kids at a music festival. We didn’t know where we were headed, just that we needed to create safe, stable lives somehow. It was a scary, joyous time — we were 18 and 20, after all — and we found our way with a lot of help. By 2016, we’d gotten things figured out (sort of). I was a self-employed homeowner; Nathan was blowing us all away with his academic performance and extracurricular involvement. We thought about the kids out there just like we’d been, and about our friends who’d made their way to a good place and about the ones who’d gotten lost. We realized that what made the biggest difference for us were friendships with people who supported us — not with money or resources but by connecting with and caring for us as human beings and peers. At the end of the day, social connectedness and self-esteem seemed as important as food or showers, and far less widely available. The research confirmed our intuition: these factors strongly correlate with resilience and long-term outcomes for homeless youth. (In fact, the further we look, the more they correspond to outcomes for at-risk young adults of all stripes.) I was lucky: I had a strong social support network when I became homeless, and without those friends, I don’t know what would have happened. But some of our friends weren’t lucky enough to have “prepared to recover from homelessness” by building relationships in their college dorm — that’s just not possible when you move between over 20 foster homes in 4 years, or spend your teen years hiding the fact that you live in a tent. Nathan was lucky too: when he was ready to get off the streets, I was able to help him back on his feet — as much emotionally as financially. You know who make great peer mentors to young adults overcoming major risk factors? And you know who rapidly develop essential professional and “soft” skills through community service? That’s right: a match made in heaven. Students find opportunities to cultivate perspective, design and execute real-world projects and programs, and experience campus and civic leadership. At-risk young adults find mentors who offer the friendship that builds resilience and ambition, along with opportunities to participate in their community beyond receiving services and meeting with case managers. We started local: Nathan was a student at Northampton Community College, so he founded the first Sprout chapter right there, with friends and classmates. They quickly made a splash, and 2 of their mentees have already found housing and jobs. Check out our site for details on their ’17 and ’18 projects. By ’19, we’ll have a second chapter in the Lehigh Valley. Maybe a third :-) We’ll keep you posted. And now we get to the sad part of the story: on the afternoon September 3rd, 2017, Nathan passed away after a car accident. We’re still reeling. But we knew one thing right away: Sprout is his legacy. In fact, we’ve created a Smith Legacy Scholarship, to support young people just like Nathan. It’s what he would have wanted. It’s not your typical scholarship. We don’t pay tuition (I mean, we might, for the right candidate). We identify young people who are falling through the cracks, and we talk to them. Find out what makes them happy, what challenges stand in their way. Just like in our super-lean community projects, we stretch every dollar. What’s the biggest impact we can have on someone’s life? Is it filling in the $ gap that holds them back from WWOOFing for a few months, while they clear their head and figure out a direction? Is it a ticket to join extended family in another state, who offer a stable alternative to an abusive living situation with immediate family? Is it art supplies, to generate a legal income alternative to hawking pharmaceuticals? If there’s an obstacle we can move out of the way, we do. Simple as that. Then we cheer on our Smith Scholars as they continue this marathon of life. We’re there. Just like Nathan and I were there for each other. Just like our friends were there for us. Not everyone has family, and not everyone’s family is in a position to help. The Smith Legacy Scholarship is that helping hand we got from someone along the way. That kind deed without which stability might not have been an option. Any one of the many bus tickets strangers bought us, without which Sprout would never have been born. Our Solstice Smash is a celebration of Nathan’s legacy, and all proceeds support the Smith Legacy Scholarship. At this point, the Smith Scholars program has raised $1,785, and it has awarded 1 scholarship in the amount of $284, to a young man who was homeless, unemployed and scared when we met him. He’s housed with family now, employed and about to move into his own place. Talk about ROI :-)

Our Smith Legacy Scholarship target? To raise $28,000 — $1,000 for each year of Nathan’s life — and establish a permanent endowment. This will generate estimated annual scholarship funds of $1,400, forever. This way, Nathan’s work will continue changing lives in 2020, 2050, 2100… And, less our first award to Ryan Gulick, we’re already 5% of the way there, with $1,500 as of today. Sprout’s SolsticeSmash is our opportunity to continue building that fund, bit by bit, as we gather to celebrate the holidays and remember Nathan each year.