Monthly Archives: March 2011

You’re The Best!

By Mark Hecker | March 31, 2011

Today, I am proud to announce that Reach has successfully met our goal for the March Multiplier! Not only did we meet our goal, I’m proud to say that we went well beyond what we ever could have expected from our loyal supporters. March goal: $20,000 The total: $29,128 That’s right, $29,128! Today, we were [...]

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No Rest For The Weary

By Mark Hecker | March 29, 2011

By now, many of you have likely seen Reach’s exciting news. I have been selected as a finalist for the 2011 Echoing Green Fellowship. 27 organizations remain in the running out of the original 2,854 applicant organizations. I will travel to New York City on May 5th to take part in three days of interviews. [...]

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Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose

By Mark Hecker | March 24, 2011

In Dan Pink’s book Drive, he talks about the real basis of human motivation. When it comes down to it, people are motivated by the opportunities to pursue the items outlined above: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. It seems like common sense, but can you think of schools or work environments that provide individuals with the [...]

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Taking The Next Step

By Mark Hecker | March 21, 2011

In a TED talk that has taken the interwebs by storm, Sarah Kay discusses spoken word poetry – her own evolution as a poet as well as her work through her nonprofit organization, Project V.O.I.C.E. The two pieces she performs as part of this talk stand on their own. In watching this talk, two things [...]

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Redefining Uncle Tom

By Mark Hecker | March 17, 2011

Sports fans are likely already familiar with the controversy surrounding statements made by former NBA star Jalen Rose. Rose, a member of the (in)famous Fab Five of the University of Michigan, made some pointed comments about the basketball players at my alma mater, Duke University. I will not speak to Rose’s comments – I think [...]

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No Spin Zone

By Mark Hecker | March 14, 2011

On Saturday night, I had the wonderful opportunity to dine with the Board of Directors of the Luther I. Replogle Foundation. The foundation distributes resources in Chicago, Minneapolis, and DC. They rotate the location of board meetings so they can visit the programs they fund, or, like in my case, meet the leaders of those [...]

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The Price We Pay

By Mark Hecker | March 10, 2011

“You do know what happened on September 11th, right?” This is the question a volunteer asked a group of our tutors during Wednesday’s training session. Using engaging op-eds (at least I thought so!), I was trying to get our students to practice summarizing the arguments on two sides of a debate. One article, written by [...]

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In The Gray

By Mark Hecker | March 4, 2011

As a social entrepreneur, I’m often asked about the larger education reform movement of which Reach is a part. To be honest, I’m often frustrated by the conversation. In my opinion, the most recent opportunity to promote true dialogue fell flat. On Thursday, Jon Stewart’s Daily Show welcomed Diane Ravitch. While I agree with many [...]

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