Dayton’s 3rd independently organized TED event #TEDxDayton2015 is in the books.
Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who spent thousands of hours preparing for TEDxDayton 2015. As in past years, we were entertained, enlightened, and challenged to open our minds and hearts beyond our own experiences in an effort to understand each other and make our community a better place for all of us.
Katrina Kittle, Shanon Isom, and Kim Vesey shared stories of personal tragedy and how seeking out the gifts and opportunities in heartbreak and even death help develop empathy and understanding.
On the subject of poverty, Harriet Kamakil Brown told us how in spite of growing up in Kibera; Kenya’s largest slum, she believed she could be or do anything and tragically that children of poverty in our community do not. Her challenge to us is to find ways to inspire children of all backgrounds. Karin VanZant encourages us to look at poverty as more than an economic condition. We can help lift people out of poverty by providing social along with financial support.
Retired Dayton Police Officer Chelley Seibert showed us that behind the badge, every officer is a person and encourages us to participate in community events like “Coffee with a Cop” to rebuild trust and common ground.
Rebecca Benna reminded how important it is for kids to play outdoors. Children spend on average 7 hours a day at play indoors. Outdoor play allows kids be creative while teaching them independence, responsibility, teamwork, negotiating, and compromise. Play outside!
We learned that domestic violence does bear fruit from Shannon Isom. Children are forgotten victims; Shannon urges us not to judge and to be available, understanding, and engage.
After sharing dismal statistics of addiction and suicide among Veterans of our Armed Services and his own struggle, Marine Corp Veteran Matthew Purkey recommended that we take advantage of the skills that made Veterans great soldiers and retrain them to be tools for community advancement.
The discrimination and prejudice Joshua Stucky experienced along with the devastating loss of many friends to HIV motivated him to found The Rubi Girls in the mid 1980’s. The troupe of close friends has raised more than $1 million for HIV/Aids related charities.
Many of the presenters triumphed over challenges and tragedy and use their experiences to help others do the same. Perhaps this gem shared by Chelley Seibert summed the day up best ~ “I cannot do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good that I can do. Jana Stanfield”.
