Crowdfunding Community

When we talk about networks we tend to think scale, we think viral.  But networks are also about community.  Networks can thrive in that mysterious place where the most local intersects with the global.

I was inspired to learn about “Jack and Olive,” Abbie Wanamaker’s Kickstarter project.  Abbie is an artist in Dorchester, my neighborhood.  I met her as she and my wife, Samantha, worked to figure out how to support one another in taking care of their toddlers.  Among other things, they started the “Dot Tot Coop,” a socially conscious play group for little ones in the neighborhood.

Those of us committed to social transformation spend a lot of time talking about community, about justice, about sustainability, about art – about the world we want to bring into being.  But how do we do it?

I think Abbie is showing us how.  She is doing it.  She is making her art, bringing people together, engaging in practices that nurture the consciousness of our youngest.  She is also giving us an opportunity to contribute.  It is important to support those who are paving the way by choosing to live differently. “ Jack and Olive” is about exploration, about joy and friendship in an urban environment, I hope you consider supporting this beautiful work.