The Courage Campaign

Last night I attended a meeting for the Courage Campaign. After Kara Crutcher came to talk to our senior class, I was instantly inspired by her passion and knew that I wanted to get involved. I talked with her afterwards and I told her I wanted to do more and definitely keep in touch, so she told me about this meeting she was holding. I went to the meeting by myself, not knowing anyone (except for Kara) and I ended up being the youngest person there, and the only high school student, but it was a really unique experience and I am beyond glad that I went. We talked about surveys (regarding sexual harassment in and around the CTA) that we could create to get our own statistics instead of relying on others. We brainstormed funding ideas such as video promotions, flash mobs, and community outreach in general because the government is not funding these ads for us. I truly felt like I was part of the Chicago community at this meeting because I met people from all over the city who were uniting for this one cause. When thinking about ad ideas, it was unanimous that we wanted something that has to do specifically to Chicago on the ads-- whether that be an outline of skyline or a design from the Chicago flag, and this shows the pride we have in our city. At this meeting I felt like even though we were a relatively small group of people, we are able to make a difference in this big city because we all have voices and we are all passionate. From Kara and from this experience I learned that you do not have to know exactly where you want a project to go when you start it, nor do you have to be 'connected' to anything in order to get the ball rolling. Kara had no idea what she was getting herself into and still does not know exactly where this project will go. That being said, she has already been picked up by news stations and made her face known in Chicago within just a couple weeks. I am looking forward to continuing being a part of this.