If I were to ask where I thought we would be seven months ago when I had the idea to start the organization, it definitely would not be here. My vision of the organization was simply that, a vision. Over the last two months, we have created an incredibly strong base on which to operate. I am extremely excited to see what we will complete. We have been operating in a very mature manner. Making smart decisions that, without my extraordinary board of directors constantly picking up the phone when I have questions, I would have never been able to.
Here is everything we have been up to during month seven of The Hedrick Project.
A Quick "Change" of Pace
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to make a change of pace in my work for the next few months. I was out for my normal Sunday workout on the track with a good friend, and during one of our sprints, I tore my achilles. Luckily, I got my surgery scheduled quickly for the following Friday, had the procedure, and all went well.
Luckily, we are accustomed to Zoom calls and remote work. While I am an in-person meeting guy, I'm beyond grateful that most of everything we do here at THP can be completed remotely and that I can keep up with our growth for the upcoming months. I'll be spending most of my time on Zoom for the next two months until I am cleared to walk again.
While this is not the best thing that has ever happened to me, I am surprised by my reaction. Being in the nonprofit space has opened my eyes to all of the extraordinary things that I have in my life and so many hardships that I cannot comprehend.
I always mention our clean water (WASH) project. Almost 10% of the world's population, 780 million, do not have clean drinking water. Women and girls walk hours daily to fill up jerry cans with dirty water. I'd be interested to know the number of women and girls completing this trip with serious injuries, like a torn achilles, where I can barely walk around, they have no choice but to go and fetch their water.
Point being, there are significantly more things to be grateful for than to be upset about, I promise.
Now into what we've been up to this month.
Dustin Lee joins The Hedrick Project as Media Chair
I cannot say enough about how excited I am to work with Dustin and have him join our team at THP. Dustin is too humble to give himself the proper credit he deserves to demonstrate just how talented he is. He has built an outstanding media company from the ground up, Dirty Mo Media, that produces podcasts, short documentaries, commercials, TV shows, and everything in between. Most importantly, we instantly connected on the power of storytelling and how that will be a driving vehicle for The Hedrick Project's growth.
Dustin Lee is a media professional who loves the outdoors and cares deeply about the environment. With over a decade of experience in content creation, he aims to use his talents to advocate for human rights, environmental conservation and animal welfare. He joined The Hedrick Project to tell stories that offer different perspectives on life while promoting healing for the earth and its inhabitants.
Dustin is also passionate about community building and believes in working together to create positive change. When he's not working, he enjoys camping, hiking, and surfing. His appreciation for nature and humankind has inspired his commitment to making a difference in the world.
Q1, 2023 Board Meeting
I can't talk about all the specifics of our board meetings - however, I can excitedly talk about the fact that we had our very first official board meeting.
Over the last few months, from the time that we took on our first board member, our extraordinary Chairman, Conor Egan, we have had informal meetings either weekly or biweekly to catch up, ask and answer questions, sort out problems, and talk strategy.
This month we had all five of our board members together to go over the big stuff. It was almost a four-hour-long meeting, but it flew by quickly. We discussed everything from big-picture five-year strategy to the micro-level finances that must be focused on in our early stages and before we start growing intensely.
As I've mentioned time and time again, I cannot thank our Board of Directors enough at THP. They are the sole reason we have been able to make as much progress as we have. I'm extremely proud to be a part of something they are willing to put so much time and energy into.
Our First Young Professional Committee Members
We will have headshots and articles soon for our first Young Professional Committee members, but I cannot wait to show off our first members.
We started the interview process a few weeks ago, and I'm ecstatic about having this committee come to life. Being in the young professional age group, I know how hard it is for people our age to get involved in philanthropy. Often it is either a volunteer role or simply writing a check, and that is all the involvement you can get. With YP, we aim to marry our member's interests and talents with philanthropy. We are allowing them to pitch ideas and get involved in as many ways as they want to and truly custom-tailor their involvement in THP.
Impact Dashboard
This one is cool. Right now, you can go onto our website and see exactly where our donor's money is going and the impact it is making in the field. We want to be as transparent as possible with donations and our donors, which is a step in the right direction. In the future, I hope to amplify this with precise GPS coordinates, photos & video at each location, and custom-made experiences. However, with our current budget and tech, I think we have made an excellent solution for now.
Volunteer Positions
We are always looking for volunteers to help us with our mission to better animal, human, and environmental life globally.
We have a handful of different positions, from Social Media to Software Engineering. We also have an opportunity to give volunteers a chance to “Create a Position” and bring their talents to the organization in ways we might not have thought of.
If you are interested in learning more about any of the roles, feel free to click below or email us at info@thehedrickproject.org
Subscribe & Follow
Our media presence is ever-growing. Make sure to join as a member on our website and follow us on our social media. We'll keep you updated on everything we are doing and tell stories from the field.