PURPOSE
We believe that the root cause of many of the problems we see in the greater Charleston region is the lack of economic vibrancy that chokes progress for residents of its marginalized community sections.
We are using the intellectual and financial capital at our disposal to teach people how to fish, and to scale the most impactful existing models that are purposed to give at risk youth pathways to adulthood that they currently do not have.
The people facing the problems often have the solutions, we are purposed to provide them with a runway to bring them to life.
ABOUT
Each red dot on the map above is a 2022 gun related homicide in our community.
When General James E. Livingston saw the extent of the problem, it is not surprising that he moved to action. Engaging the support of his long time friend, Mr. Tommy Baker, they formed the ACC to provide at risk youth with access to economic opportunity.
The ACC believes that gun violence among our youth is a direct result of a lack of access to the capitals required to build a sustainable future for an individual, family, or community segment.
HOW
It is no secret that the vast majority of not-for-profits will not collaborate. Fear of losing donors and or overlapping interests create a siloed environment that can often become inefficient and ineffective.
The ACC works in two ways:
1. We select existing initiatives that we believe are having the most direct impact on the youth they serve. We go to the source of those initiatives, i.e. the people living in the communities with their boots on the ground and we help them scale.
2. We provide free classes on entrepreneurship to the underserved, so that for-profit innovations being created the communities can be brought to life scaled, and contribute to increasing economic vibrancy.
OUR WORK
Business and capitalism are not the causes of our socioeconomic problems, they are in fact the answers. In fact, modern business leaders are the most important people in the sustainable future room.
Capitalism has helped 80% of our population, and, even though we do believe it could be edited slightly, we fail to see why something that has worked for 80% of the people should be abolished, when what we really need to do is work very hard to get the remaining 20% of the population access to the benefits it brings. In America, we live in a system where many hard working couples cannot afford to have children, while many non-working people can't afford not to have them! This insanity must stop, and frankly, we are tired of seeing the "not so soft" bigotry of low expectations alive and well in our community.
It is a fact that community segments enjoying high levels of economic vibrancy face minimal amounts of poverty, crime, or lack of access to quality education, healthcare, transportation, housing, and healthy food. It is also a fact that increasing economic vibrancy in marginalized community segments reduces the hardships many of the residents face. However, the increases must be created and shared by those living there.
In addition to helping scale on the ground initiatives designed to provide at risk youth with options, we run our own, totally free, entrepreneurship classes where underserved youth can learn how to build and scale their own impact focused companies. We provide them with the access they need to all the professional advice they require, plus computers, printers (including 3D), and software that are most often out of reach for them. If appropriate, we even provide them with access to the capital they need to start and grow their businesses.
Our current classes include:
Teaching Impact Entrepreneurship at the Al Cannon Detention Center. Read more........
Charleston only free Impact Entrepreneurship class held in the evenings at CofC. Read more...........
The Award Winning ImpactX Class at CofC. Read more..............
The impact focused innovations that come out of all these classes are profound, and many will make you cry.
Our greatest wish is to see people residing in marginalized and or disenfranchised segments of our community get early access to the capitals they need to change their lives, and to help make their community segments economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable for all of their residents. By having our wish, support their wish, we know we can make a difference in reducing gun violence.
CURRENT ORGANIZATIONS WE ARE HELPING SCALE
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July's Highlighted Partner
Get to Know the Pink House
For the past 25 years the Pink House has been providing support for youth in West Ashley.