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..Our
History:
Terry
Sisson, the founder of MadeByKids, recounts
how the Foundation began. “The
idea of MadeByKids
began in April of 2004,” he says.
“When I had so many great ideas to build and needed assistance to
complete them. My two sons were grown yet I couldn't forget
the many projects we did together.
I also remembered their many friends, who
joined in to give us a helping hand, telling me
how much they learned while doing the various
projects.”
From these reminiscent thoughts, Terry began to wonder if other youth would
be interested in designing and building
products. Not knowing what to expect, he
approached a couple of classes at his son's
former middle school and asked the students
if they would be interested in learning
hands-on skills and how to design.
“To my astonishment,” he continues,
“half of the students signed
up. It definitely let me know that youth
were interested." |
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Engaging
the Imagination
of Youth
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Terry
then called some local manufacturers to see if they were
willing to help the kids make parts in their shops. They all agreed to help. With such a high level of acceptance and public support, his vision of MadeByKids
quickly grew to include an after-school, experiential-learning
program.
In September, Terry met
Phil Groth, a humanitarian entrepreneur from Australia,
at a Sustainability Conference at the University of Colorado
in Boulder. Phil caught on fast and was intrigued with the idea. From that day forward, Phil became a co-founder, and he helped expand the development of the program with even greater possibilities.
In October, Terry traveled to Russia on a one-month lecture
tour conducting presentations about Sustainable Communities.
He took the opportunity to approach several schools and
test out the MadeByKids concept. "I talked with school headmasters
and the response was phenomenal” says Terry. “They
were extremely excited about having their students engaging in collaborative projects
with other youth around the world.
I was amazed when they suggested that their
entire schools participate.”
In April of 2007, Phil and Terry committed themselves
to make the Foundation their life's focus. By then we had two-and-a-half years of thinking
through the development of the program. It took the experience
of Phil going home to Australia and seeing his hometown
deteriorating to trigger his focus onto MadeByKids. As
Phil weighed his options, he knew that MadeByKids offered
the best possibility of making positive difference in
the world.
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