Champion the Cause

When our Champions of the Lost Causes podcast summer road trip stopped in Salem, MA, I talked to Christine Lutts, board chair of FRIENDS OF GREENLAWN CEMETERY FOUNDATION, at her home. Over the last 12 years, Christine and her board and volunteers have made steady progress in restoring Dickson Memorial Chapel & Conservatory, and Greenlawn Cemetery as places of peace and beauty in Salem. When people champion causes, they reboot their factory-settings belief in goodness – mine, yours, and in the inevitability of goodness winning out in the end. When you believe something is true, you look for evidence of it. Mr. Roger's advice to “look for the helpers,” has been a consolation to many when reeling from a shared tragedy. The idea endures because it's still good advice. When we are overwhelmed with seeing hate, greed, envy and unkindness seem to win the day, we can focus on the people showing kindness and love. It is always good to “look for the helpers.” They are always there, often unnoticed… just doing what they do without fanfare. People who champion causes are helpers. I asked Christine why she thought people champion causes. “Because people like to see things get done,” she said. It struck me as too simple of an answer, but there is a deep truth in it. We want to put our beilef in goodness to the test and see that belief bear out in the world. Christine told me that she stays at it because she knows that restoring a neglected cemetery, arboretum and chapel will provide so much peace, goodness and joy to people in her community. She believes in goodness, and she works to bring it forth. #podcast #roadtrip #roadtripusa #roadtrip2024 #cemeteries #sacredspaces #cotlc #backtothelight

Things at BVO are starting to take shape, and the vision that was first only in the head of Christopher Reyes, then in slide decks full of maps and renderings, is now being fleshed out in creative reality! We had a first event a few weeks ago... a party with fellow Wefunders, cxffeeblack, but we're gearing up to really activate the space more often and invite more of you to come see our progress up close! Thanks to reporter Bill Dries at The Daily Memphian for his in-depth reporting on our ongoing work and the incredible space and history we get to work with! #adaptivereuse #MudIsland #immersiveexperiences #immersiveart #BVO

When our Champions of the Lost Causes podcast summer road trip stopped in Providence, RI, I talked to Alicia Lehrer, executive director of the Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council at her office. We discussed the group's origins, how their work to clean up the Woonasquatucket River and surrounding land has progressed, and how it evolved into the collection of connected parks, bike paths, and greenspaces that improve the quality of life for thousands of residents in one of the poorest areas of Providence. Thanks to everyone who contributed to our ioby crowdfunding campaign to make the road trip possible! Thanks also to my son Cormac for being my trusty road engineer and to my producer J.D. Reager for putting it all together back at HQ! #podcast #roadtrip2024 #roadtrip #roadtripusa #rivercleanup #environmentalequity

Kathryn Hicks and I are repping BVO at the 3686 conference. Thanks to Aisling Maki for including us in her coverage of the annual statewide convening of entrepreneurs. #3686fest #entrepreneurship #LaunchTN #networking

We've been touring folks through BVO for months and thought... mannnnnnn, it's time to throw a proper party and show off our new Mud Island digs! We're raising capital through Wefunder, and so are our friends at cxffeeblack, so we thought, Who better to co-host and break the place in than a social enterprise on a mission to return coffee to its African roots and, in the process, create an equitable Black future? No simple tag line here... they built an all-Black coffee pipeline from Ethiopia to Memphis! Respect! We gotta do new things in new ways, y'all! We'll be giving tours of the whole space and sharing our vision, to drive investment and additional enthusiasm, because stuff costs money, y'all! Also, as if you needed another reason, the party will also be a mural reveal for our friend, Birdcap! A few pictures of it have been posted, but y'all gotta see it in person... it's awesome! Mud Island's comeback starts with BVO, but y'all, there's more... it's coming, but be among the first to check out the beachhead of progress! Space is limited, so follow through to the link and register! See y'all next Thursday!

Check out BVO's own Christopher Reyes and Kathryn Hicks on a new episode of the cityCURRENT ChangeMakers podcast talking about Baron Von Opperbean and the River of Time, an adaptive reuse of the old Mississippi River Museum at Mud Island River Park! Thanks to all who've pitched in with volunteer time and by donating your cool stuff! The Baron sends his highest regards and eternal gratitude! Thanks also to Andrew Bartolotta, Jeremy C. Park and everyone at cityCURRENT for showcasing our work!

Thanks for checking in on our progress, Mayor Young, and for your kind and encouraging words in your weekly newsletter! Thanks also to Penelope Huston, Mairi Albertson, and others from the mayor's team for arranging the walk-through! Baron Von Opperbean and the River of Time is underway in earnest at Mud Island because Memphis has responded! Thanks to all of you who have reached out to support the Baron's work with your financial investment, donated supplies, and your volunteer time! The Baron may be lost in the mulitverse, but his world is starting to take shape! Read more here: https://lnkd.in/enVDTb-V #baronvonopperbean #bvo #mudisland #memphistechnology #memphisart #immersive #immersiveexperience #xr #immersivetechnology #adaptivereuse #downtown

New episode! When our Champions of the Lost Causes podcast summer trip stopped in Newbury, MA, I talked to Rochelle Jospeh of Support the Pink House, a group working to preserve the historic landmark, which has drawn countless photographers to capture its unique beauty. The Pink House has, in many ways, come to symbolize the Boston area. The 10-year fight to save it has had many twists and turns and it's not over yet. The Pink House is once again under demolition threat! Our ioby crowdfuding campaign to help cover our costs ends on Saturday, so if you've been planning to kick in, now's the time! Thanks in advance for any help, and special thanks to everyone who has contributed so far! #preservation #preservationmatters #causes #podcast #podcasting #roadtrip #roadtripusa #roadtrip2024 #cotlc #backtothelight

"In the meantime, Baron Von Opperbean and the River of Time, the exciting immersive experience planned for Mud Island in the space that once housed a rarely visited museum, deserves strong support. It’s Memphis' big opportunity to join the $100 billion immersive experience industry that’s a magnet for tourists and a key to activating Mud Island." Thanks for your vote of confidence in our work, Tom Jones and Smart CityMemphis! Invest in the Baron and help us make it happen! wefunder.com/bvo

NEW EPISODE!! And now available on Amazon Music and Audible! When our Champions of the Lost Causes podcast road trip stopped in NYC, I talked with ioby CEO Nupur Chaudhury, MPH, MUP, EMBA at the Sheraton Hotel lounge in Brooklyn. We discussed how ioby has grown and changed over the years to help fund neighborhood-level change all over the country, which include Marvin's own causes - saving and reopening the Mid-South Coliseum, and the podcast summer road trips of the last two years! Marvin and Nupur also talk about ioby's improved site functionality, and what the future may hold for peer-to-peer learning among ioby project leaders. It was especially gratifying to talk to Nupur on the same day we had talked to an ioby project leader in East Harlem (Kim Yim, see episode 63). To see the power of ioby's platform at work that morning and then talk to the person leading the charge to make the platform and community even stronger the same night was a real treat! The road trip crew is back in Memphis now (and the kids are back in school this week), but there are still 11 days left in our ioby campaign! All donations to help cover costs of travel and podcast post-production are greatly appreciated! #bethechange #causes #podcast #podcasting #roadtrip #roadtripusa #roadtrip2024 #cotlc #backtothelight #crowdfunding #crowdfundingcampaign