An Army of Normal Folks

After suffering through a failed adoption, Troy and Erica put themselves through the process again. It’s a wild story with twists and turns that would have led many to give up, but not these two. Today, there’s around 117,000 kids waiting to be adopted.

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After suffering through a failed adoption, Troy and Erica put themselves through the process again. It’s a wild story with twists and turns that would have led many to give up, but not these two. Today, there’s around 117,000 kids waiting to be adopted.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deb had just lost her own house to foreclosure when she decided to start Elli’s House, which builds relationships with women who are sexually trafficked in Detroit and offers them safe shelter for transitioning to a new life. Their army of volunteers are bringing light to one of the darkest places in our country.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deb had just lost her own house to foreclosure when she decided to start Elli’s House, which builds relationships with women who are sexually trafficked in Detroit and offers them safe shelter for transitioning to a new life. Their army of volunteers are bringing light to one of the darkest places in our country.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We've launched a campaign called “Don’t Be A Turkey Person” to challenge all of us this Thanksgiving and holiday season, and it isn’t about not eating turkey. Coach Bill Courtney shares one of the most important life lessons he's ever learned and it was from one of his 17-year-old football players.

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Realizing that his traditional therapy was failing kids with substance abuse and mental health challenges, Bob Zaccheo was tired of it and so one day he decided to do something wildly different. His Project LIFT now successfully trains over 1,000 troubled teens a year in 11 different trades, while they do therapy in these natural settings, such as "under the hood of a car". They're solving 4 of society's biggest challenges all at once (the skilled trades gap, poverty, mental health, addiction) and there should be a chapter in every region of America.

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Manu wasn’t planning to dedicate his life to preserving our democracy, but a riot broke out on his college campus and he accidentally became a unifying force for all sides. Today, he’s trying to unify the country as the CEO of BridgeUSA, whose chapters at 50 colleges and 24 high schools equip the next generation with the skills to navigate conflict and find solutions across differences.

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Shane is the co-founder of Memphis Inner-City Rugby, which has brought a sport that was pretty darn foreign to the inner-city to 2,400 students! 100% of them have been accepted into college or the military, 60 of them have played collegiate rugby, and they've helped their players receive more than $5 million in scholarships.

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Shane is the co-founder of Memphis Inner-City Rugby, which has brought a sport that was pretty darn foreign to the inner-city to 2,400 students! 100% of them have been accepted into college or the military, 60 of them have played collegiate rugby, and they've helped their players receive more than $5 million in scholarships.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chad's life was forever changed when he was asked to teach 8 young men in juvenile detention how to make ice cream. The chef couldn't go back to running a "normal" restaurant and felt he had no choice but to launch Cafe Momentum, an award-winning Dallas restaurant that’s 100% run by youth leaving the juvenile justice system. Over 1,000 youth have worked there as paid interns while also benefiting from 12 months of case management and programming. Their incredible model has expanded into Pittsburgh and they're ready to scale across the country.

Support the show: https://www.normalfolks.us/premium

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.