The Up With People people, to be specific.
I spent the morning with the Up With People cast (of which my son, Jeremy, is a part ). I gave a speech on Extreme Leadership (preaching to the choir, I gotta say) and then I watched them work with the kids of Banting Elementary in Waukesha, Wisconsin–teaching lessons about diversity, tolerance, understanding, community and even dance. I’ve never seen a more energetic, warm, loving group of people. They are 18 to 30 years old from 20+ countries, all united by a desire to learn about and celebrate the human experience in all its glorious ethnic and cultural diversity. (Check out the blog by cast member, Carlos Urreta, to see the details of their adventure).
I had to leave for an event in Dallas, but I’m heading back tomorrow evening so I can catch their world-renown Up With People show.
If you happen to be in the greater Milwaukee area on Friday night (September 15th), then come to the Shattuck auditorium on the Carroll College campus in Waukesha. The show starts at 7:00 and the tickets are only six bucks. Proceeds go to some of the local non-profits that they’ve been working with in their time in Wisconsin.
The show aside, send your older kids on this program, folks. (Or, if you’re under 30, send yourself). They won’t just travel the world (the cast leaves for Japan on Sunday), and they won’t just learn about it–they’ll experience it a personal and significant way.
And they’ll come away equipped to change it for the better.
By the way, my camera’s not cooperating. As soon as I get it working I’ll put up some pictures of the group.
I traveled in UWP back in 1991 and it was the best year of my life…the community service; the host families; the remarkable experience of sharing a year of my life with 100 amazing, talented, loving and compassionate people from around the globe changed my life! I am thrilled to hear that ‘the heart’s still beating’ and that the legacy of Up With People lives on in your son and others!
I traveled in UWP back in 1991 and it was the best year of my life…the community service; the host families; the remarkable experience of sharing a year of my life with 100 amazing, talented, loving and compassionate people from around the globe changed my life! I am thrilled to hear that ‘the heart’s still beating’ and that the legacy of Up With People lives on in your son and others!