When our founding team of three first got together to start The Arthur Project—Board Chair, Jeff Muti, Executive Director, Jessica Greenawalt, and I—we took time to reflect on our most basic and essential question: why? Fundamentally, what motivated each of us to embark on this journey?
The answer that emerged was simple and clear: together, we are driven by two core beliefs.
First, the belief that all youth have a right to self-determination, and the opportunity to thrive. Second, we recognize that, far too often, children face barriers to thriving and self-determination, based on widespread, systemic inequity.
Together, we committed to creating an organization designed to remove these barriers. The Arthur Project was born from this commitment.
As founders, it was critically important to each of us that our personal ideas take a backseat to the voices and perspectives of the youth and families we serve at The Arthur Project. Their insights, ideas and self-identified needs would be our North Star.
We placed collaboration at the center of our approach, and worked side-by-side with our program stakeholders, including our students, their parents and guardians, Arthur Project staff and mentors, and members of the Board—altogether, our community.
The following values are the result of these months-long conversations—lively roundtable discussions that took place in our schools, over pizza, long after the school day was done, in our offices and co-working spaces, on conference calls and in organic, every day dialogue between us.
After much collaborative problem-solving, creativity, and with passion that only our youth could bring, we are proud to share with you our core organizational values.
Mattering: We take responsibility for our impact on one another.
Radical Evolution: We reflect on what is and strive toward what ought to be.
Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable in the creation of a
just society.
Collective Wisdom: We seek out and cultivate multiple perspectives.
Equitable Relationships: We foster relationships in which power is shared.
Liberation: We create opportunities for healing and self-actualization.
