The Power of Community

Vitality Stories

Stephen Thompson, photo by Sarah Morey

A vital network

Stephen Jon Thompson and I have been friends for over thirty years. I met him at a church function in seventh grade when I still lived on Tiger Drive. Below is a picture of us getting ready for a night of Christmas caroling. Nothing screams early 1980s better than Steve’s layered, turned up collars, or my bi-level haircut:

What you can’t tell from this picture is that Steve was from ‘The Home’—the local orphanage comprised of 7 houses and ~75, supposedly, permanently displaced children whom no one wanted. The Home was the place where children went when their opportunity for adoption was minimal and where they could live until they turned eighteen and ‘aged-out’ of the system.

This picture also doesn’t tell you what happened to Steve and the kind of person he has become, but the following video will. He recently gave a passionate and touching TEDx talk “Creating Community And Finding Purpose” about the impact that community has had on his personal and professional life. His talk has changed the way I want to engage with others, and I hope his story inspires you as well. And remember a few weeks ago when I shared a newsletter about the unexpected donations to the Tiger Drive Scholarship? One day, Steve called me and said, “You know what community means to me…I’m adding $900.”

Please feel free to share this newsletter and video with your community. You can follow Stephen’s progress, and the future release of his memoirs, Hotel Goodbyes, on his website.

As always, I’d really enjoy learning more about you—do you find vitality in your community? If so, how do you nurture it? Click here to email me.

Until next time, thanks for being you.

Teri