How can you turn the upcoming 3-day weekend into $1,000?

By entering the My American Dream Video Contest! Spend your extra day off making a short video to tell National Disability Institute your American dream! Use any camera you have - a laptop camera, even a cell phone! This contest is about sharing stories, not the quality of the video production. Share your dream and let your voice be heard!

More info at http://dream.realeconomicimpact.org/

REBLOG! TWEET! SPREAD THE WORD!

A Piece of the American Dream

“… I have laid so much stress on money and a room of one’s own.”

- Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

I achieved a piece of my American Dream since I last wrote.  I now have my own apartment, a “room of my own” so to speak, after living with family and being very dependent on them for years.  My mother was my best friend and still is.  But I only see her a few times a week now.  

I am situated across town, alone as I write this, in subsidized housing.  My apartment is freshly painted, rugs shampooed, kitchen scrubbed.  I will be responsible for maintaining this one bedroom, doing my laundry at the laundromat, emptying the trash, sweeping, dusting, washing dishes, scrubbing floors. Before I had some help. Now it’s all up to me.

But hey, it’s worth it. It’s what I wanted and what I needed. To achieve that chink of independence in my 40’s! I think my mom was ready for a break as well.  She came with me to Chicago for the REI Tour Mayor’s Leadership Academy and I realized almost for the first time that she tired easily.  Wake up, Cindy, your mom is 81!  She may be a fit four-mile a day walker, but she is aging. I write about her here by myself because I have to admit I miss the mornings over coffee we shared, the laughter, the calmness she bestowed on me when my anxieties got out of hand, her steady hand.

Now I am out here on my own with mixed feelings.  But as Bets is only a ten minute ride away, I am reveling in opening boxes and putting away clothes, folding towels and sipping my own coffee at my own table.  

I have more dreams.  I am just getting started. There will come a day when I join the work mainstream more than I do now, when I earn more money and give back to society. When I truly realize the Dream.  In the meantime, I will go back to working on a freelance piece in the quiet of my new apartment.  My older brother’s head-banging music is gone, phew! Maybe I will start working on interviews tonight and call subjects.  But first I think I will call my mom, see what kind of day she had. “Hi, pal,” I’ll say as always when she answers.

Years of togetherness don’t just evaporate.  She’s still the sunshine of my life. And just across town.

Bye from my new place!

Cindy

- - - - - - - - 

Cindy Battles is a freelance writer based in Rutland, VT, winner of the National Disability Institute’s 2008 Blog Contest and a regular contributor here on the Real Economic Impact blog.

Friday at 5pm, we tallied the votes from Facebook and YouTube and the winner of the American Dream video contest is:

Kenzi Robi!

Kenzi, a quadriplegic artist from San Francisco, wins $1,000 to help him further his American Dream and a trip to Washington, DC! This will be Kenzi’s first time in the nation’s capital and we’re delighted to make this trip possible for him. 

But we couldn’t leave it there. We were so grateful for the compelling stories from our 4 runners up  that NDI decided to award each of our runners up with a $125 gift card!

Be sure to check out Kenzi’s video if you haven’t already and the videos of the 4 runners-up at NDI’s YouTube page.

We’d like to thank everyone who entered and those who helped spread the word about our very first video contest. It exceeded all of our expectations.

Finalists Chosen for American Dream Video Contest

The premise was simple: create a video that tells us your American Dream and how you are working toward that dream. So many great videos sharing compelling stories came across our desks. It was tough to narrow it down, but our independent panel chose 5 videos as finalists in the Economic Empowerment - Defining the New American Dream Contest. Congratulations to:

• Patrice Jetter
• Ivan Shutinya
• Thu Phan 
• Ezra Pratt
• Kenzi Robi

Now that the finalists have been chosen, we need your help to decide the winner. Starting September 3rd, give your favorite video a “Thumbs Up” on YouTube or a “Like” on Facebook (to view the videos with captions, please view them at YouTube).

At 5pm Eastern Time on the 17th, NDI will combine the number of “Thumbs Up” and “Likes” for each video to determine the winner! 

(Source: realeconomicimpact.org)

One week left to submit videos for our Economic Empowerment - Defining the New American Dream video contest. 

We’ve loved hearing the stories of working and saving, dream jobs and dream schools. If you or someone you know has a story to share, you have until August 13th to submit it! You could win $1,000 and a trip to Washington, DC! More info can be found at http://dream.realeconomicimpact.org.

August Issue of Real Economic Impact Newsletter Published

 This month we remind our readers about the approaching deadline for the  American Dream video contest (August 13th).

———

The REI Newsletter was created to keep you up-to-date on our latest adventures, both online and off-line, all with the goal of expanding our community and uniting the real economic impact connections between asset building, relative disability issues, and public policy. Check out this month’s newsletter or sign up to receive the Real Economic Impact Newsletter to your inbox each month!

Don’t miss your chance to share your story. A 3-minute video is all it takes. You could win $1,000 and a trip to Washington, DC!

Visit http://dream.realeconomicimpact.org today for complete contest rules! Contest begins July 1, 2010 and all entries must be received by August 13, 2010.

Why NDI does what NDI does: July Issue of Real Economic Impact Newsletter Published

In this month’s REI Newsletter, we share why NDI exists and why we created the American Dream video contest!

————-

The REI Newsletter was created to keep you up-to-date on our latest adventures, both online and off-line, all with the goal of expanding our community and uniting the real economic impact connections between asset building, relative disability issues, and public policy. Check out this month’s newsletter or sign up to receive the Real Economic Impact Newsletter to your inbox each month!