Total Impact House

The girls are now answering all of your questions and have a few for you as well, but first, they wanted to introduce themselves!

It was time for a change.

Since we started participating in the Total Impact House with Purse of Hope, we have used SCRUM to help organize our efforts. SCRUM is used in software development to break down a whole project into all of the tasks that need to be completed. Each single task is written on notes so they can be physically seen, instead of just being known in the mind of a project manager. The visibility of a SCRUM board, with columns marking whether a task needs to be started, is in progress or is finished, allows for a decentralized effort. People can pick up tasks and just do them without needing approval from some bureaucrat.

It’s a big help especially when we still need to do our jobs while working on Impact House efforts at the same time.

Our old SCRUM board needed some improvements. It wasn’t focused enough, but then again maybe we weren’t either.

As far as function, it was used a lot. But looking carefully on the old board’s left side, where projects are listed, there were simply too many efforts going at the same time. In one spot, it appears a project was turned into two sub-projects. That’s not as efficient as this process should be.

It was time for an overhaul.

Aside from streamlining a new board to focus more tightly on a few projects at one time, we wanted the board to be expressive. We added a roof to the board, hung the painting made for the Hyde Park Jazz Festival, put up a chalkboard next to the SCRUM area for notes and hung a suggestions envelope.

We also made room for a photo area with small pictures of the women living at the Impact House and added a time line marking our efforts month by month.

The best part of this new approach is that so far it’s working. Within a month, we completed two of the original four projects put up. We made video postcards, with Total Attorneys staff simply describing themselves on camera and also asking questions of everyone in Uganda. While we are still working on fund raising, we also want to communicate with the growing number of women and supporters in Uganda who are now a part of this. We also just held a computer drive to sell old computers, with proceeds going to the house.

The video postcards have been put online for folks at the Impact House to see, and the computer drive is underway. People have purchased 14 computers so far, and we are expecting to sell 20 total.

But the biggest news is a date and location has been set for our first fundraiser event that will be run entirely by our Chicago-area volunteers.

Think of this as an early invitation to join us at State in Chicago, 935 W. Webster Ave., on Friday, April 9 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for a happy hour. We will be holding a raffle for donated prizes and possibly a silent auction.

We are looking for raffle prizes, so if you know of anyone with goods to donate – electronics, gift cards, artwork, comic relief, anything – contact Kelly Muir, one of our tireless organizers, at kmuir (at) totalattorneys.com.

The event is a slightly scaled back effort from a poker tournament we had originally talked about, but we decided to take the cannonball off the side of the pool before going for the double back flip off the high dive.

Besides, change is good.

New Impact House SCRUM Board from Total Attorneys on Vimeo.

This is just a guess, but it seems like they’re enjoying the visit.

We’ll have more on the Scanlans’ trip to Uganda soon.

Look out as well for an update on our upcoming Chicago area fundraiser, and video message “post cards” featuring Total Attorneys staff that were just completed.

We’d like everyone at the Impact House to get to know us in Chicago a little better, especially since we get to hear so much about them.

But in the meantime…

Just last week dozens of girls in Uganda were justifiably proud to receive their honored guests. Ed and Ashley arrived in Kampala on the 17th. They spent the afternoon and evening with Blake, Robinah, and the POH girls at our vocational school located in Bwaise, a large slum on the north side of Kampala. Ed and Ashley were welcomed with singing, dancing, big smiles and open arms. I was told, though the girls in Bwaise weren’t familiar with Total Attorneys, they esteemed Ed and Ashley like family knowing they had hearts for girls in Uganda.

On the morning of the 18th, Ed and Ashley chartered a small plane to Gulu. In order to meet them there, Robinah took five of the Bwaise girls by bus the night before. This is what Robinah emailed me along with the pictures:

 “In life we all have dreams we want to achieve, girls in Bwaise, their dreams were to travel in a bus and see a plane. Today their dreams came true when they went to Gulu Airstrip to send off Ed and Ashley as they were taking a plane. And in the same afternoon, they’ve traveled in a bus from Gulu to Bwaise. What were their dreams yesterday, are their realities today. It takes just a few minutes to change a life. Thank you Purse of Hope for making our dreams come true.”  -Robinah 

For the sake of perspective, the bus ride between cities is approximately six hours. The girls enthusiastically sat on a hot bus for twelve hours to realize their personal dreams of travel and to participate in Ed and Ashley’s farewell celebration.

To the girls in Bwaise, Gulu was a far away land still being ravaged by violence and atrocity. They were able to see for themselves how the North has experienced peace and is rebuilding after the twenty plus years of civil unrest. They also witnessed how their sisters at the Total Impact house are rebuilding their lives thanks to people like Ed, Ashley, Kevin, and all of you supporting our mission.

During their stay in Gulu, Ed and Ashley toured several schools, the large market, local businesses and neighboring projects. We have comprehensive footage of both days activities which Blake will be sending back with a group next week. You can be sure there will be plenty to follow! 

In the meantime, I will be sure to pass along any photos I receive from Blake, Robinah, and Pauline.

A new batch of beds arrived at the house a couple of weeks ago.  I’ve been told that no matter how much furniture fills the house, it’s still no match for the amount of excitement as more girls make the Total Impact house their home.

As of this week, every single girl is enrolled in school with the exception of Joyce.  She was thrilled to be admitted into a catering program offered through the Red Cross.  This is no small event and evidence of the powerful transformations taking place in their young lives.  Six months ago, only one girl wanted to continue with her formal education.  The others were still eager to learn life skills, but didn’t think it was possible to go back to school.  They were too far behind, they thought, and had lost hope in attaining a degree long ago.  Clearly, hope has been restored.  The girls tested in at levels ranging from 5^th grade up to a junior in high school!

Blake informed me that he will be showing the girls your video tomorrow.  They’ll love it and readily answer your questions.  I imagine they will have a few questions for you as well.   I can promise you TA, your relational participation in this journey has made a big difference.  Knowing that they’re cared for and being cheered on to success has made this house full of girls do crazy things—like believe in themselves, go back to school, and encourage the girls still on the streets not to lose heart. 

They are already being examples, and this has earned them and the Total Impact House a great deal of respect in the community.  The ripples will continue beyond our ability to measure.  I would think that is the very definition of having a total impact.

Holidays are supposed to be a time when everything comes together.

The weeks leading up to late December come with this belief that we can ascend past all struggles. We can make everything right, seemingly perfect.

The idea certainly isn’t a bad thing, but it doesn’t always work like that.

When things don’t exactly work out, people get mad. Really mad. Sometimes people get mad just trying to make the holidays fit that idyllic fantasy. Hearing about a person losing his life when others are determined to be the first to buy a gift has got to be the farthest thing from the “holiday spirit.”

There were no gift-related deaths this year and some of the big retail stores learned their lesson.

But a question remains. How do we make sure as individual people that something like that never happens again?

Perhaps that accident happened in the first place because we don’t exactly look at holidays the best way we can. Maybe we get selfish. Maybe on some level we only want great change for ourselves. It brings to mind an old biblical saying, “If I am not for myself who will be for me? And If I’m only for me what am I?”

Thinking and acting for yourself doesn’t make anyone a bad person. But if we get so narrow that we forget we have a strong ability to help those around us with simple acts, we might find ourselves without support if we need it.

There has to be balance somewhere. If nothing else, we can keep an eye for situations where we can help ourselves and others at the same time. Buying gifts from charitable organizations to give to your loved ones, whether during the holidays or not, is one really simple way to achieve that balance.

Purse of Hope set up shop at Total Attorneys toward the end of December to sell goods made by the women living in the Impact House. In just a couple hours over two days we raised almost double the money raised throughout the entire Hyde Park Jazz Fest.

Let us find the clarity to see chances where we can both help ourselves and others in need. And in doing so, we can show people we help that they can lend us a hand just the same.

Purse of Hope Booth at TA from Total Attorneys on Vimeo.

The girls have been working on several dramas and dances.  In this picture, they’re practicing one of the dances they’ll be performing for Ed and Ashley.  Blake has reported that the girls are all very eager to meet them and excited for their visit.

The new school term is about to start.  Most of the girls want to go back to school, but don’t have the academic requirements to enroll.  We’re hiring private tutors and checking into a few local schools that accommodate nontraditional students.  Blake and Pauline are assessing each girl’s case individually then finding the perfect fit.  I imagine most of them, for now, will be tutored in the home as they continue to learn new skills and vocational training.

Last Friday Kelly and Sarah, your friendly co-chairs of the fundraising committee, held a meeting to discuss the upcoming Poker Tournament.  Joining us was Melissa, Cathy, and Kiley with Plan Ahead Events of Chicago.  Melissa and I met at an event a couple of months ago.  She recently contacted me and asked if she could help out with POH/TI or be of service in any way.  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect as we’ve been bouncing around some ideas for the Poker Tournament.  I can tell already that this event will be fun, successful, inspirational, and Totally Impactful. 

Contact Kelly or Sarah if you’d like to help out.