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Rich's Story
Years ago, I founded The Harwood Institute
because I believed deeply that there was a
breach we must repair in society. I still hold
that belief today.
This is not a
theoretical problem for me. For we all know
that there is much work to do in our society -
in ensuring, for instance, that every child
receives a good education; that people can live
in safe neighborhoods and in strong
communities; that we can find ways to improve
race relations and rid ourselves of prejudice;
that people have good health care and an
adequate roof overhead.I believe that it will take all
of us - through our individual and collective
efforts - to repair this breach. Indeed, I
believe we have an obligation to step forward
and take action.
I initially came up
with the idea that led to the Institute when I
was 23 while sitting at my desk working on my
last political campaign, a U.S. presidential
race, after serving on numerous campaigns
dating back to when I was in junior high
school. Over time, I came to the realization
that the goal of campaigns and politics had
become not so much to repair the breach, but
simply to win at any cost. We were, it seemed,
engaged in finding the most potent ways to
divide people, to strike fear into peopleís
hearts, to manipulate them, simply to win a
campaign.Unfortunately, in graduate school
I found that the notion of the public or
community was either ignored or openly derided.
And as I pursued my career as a young
professional, I kept seeing nonprofit
organizations with laudable missions,
consistently fall short of their rhetoric. I
was bothered, even angry, about these
situations. For none of these approaches fit
with the values I learned growing up - not from
my parents, not from my inspiring coaches, and
certainly not from my faith.
So, when I
was 27, I decided that a new approach was
needed. I set out to build an organization
dedicated to helping people imagine and act for
the public good. It was rooted in the belief
that under the right conditions people will
come together to make a difference. That
organization stands today as The Harwood
Institute for Public Innovation.
I hope
you will take the time to explore this site,
and join me on an alternate path for public
life and politics.
Warmest
regards,
Richard C. Harwood