The Cornerstone Journey

There are three types of journeys within the Cornerstone Movement.

1. Youth
2. Adults
3. Villages

Guiding principles of the Journey:

1. Your voice matters
2. Your cultural history is important
3. You are not alone; connect with others on the journey
4. Don't wait for government; take responsibility and find solutions. If you cannot find a solution, work with others to build a solution
5. Create a plan, set goals, update often, celebrate each victory
6. Seek ways to help others
7. Do not accept the status quo if it is not working; seek to build a better system

Youth

All Youth are welcome to participate.

We focus on Youth who face inequities of systemic discrimination and poverty.

Many of these Youth typically face the following challenges:

• Housing, nutrition, healthcare, transportation, and relationship/family insecurities
• Low self esteem and weak social emotional skills
• Academic struggles
• Lack of background knowledge, lack of travel, lack of outdoor experiences
• Lack of cultural history knowledge
• Sense of isolation and fear

We guide students on the following journey:

1. Welcome to the Movement
2. Discipline and respect
3. Lessons in cultural history
4. Lessons in the Power of Youth
   1. All Participants must watch the Children's March documentary
   2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5enZRwbnISQ 
5. Field trips
6. Introduction to community leaders
   1. Mayor
   2. City Council Members and County Commissioners
   3. Police and SWAT
   4. State legislators
   5. Judges
   6. Business owners
7. Sports
8. Reading
9. Entrepreneurial training
10. Graduations
11. Introduction to Youth Council

Expected outcomes:

1. High self-esteem and strong social emotional skills
2. Achieving at grade level or above in school
3. Knowledgeable about their cultural heritage
4. Have a plan with a clear path to success
5. Prepared to help build Villages wherever they live and create a more just society

Adults

Similar to Youth, we focus on individuals and families who face inequities.

Everyone is welcome.

Our goal is to help everyone achieve a basic level of well-being.

Typical actions of adult members:

1. Complete self-evaluation of well-being
2. Develop a plan to enhance well-being
3. Review materials and participate in programs as needed to improve well-being
4. Help to build a Village
5. Volunteer to support programs
6. Enroll children in the FREADOM Movement and support academic achievement

Expected outcomes:

1. Improved well-being
2. All children in member families are achieving at grade level or above
3. Have helped to build a Village where they live
4. Actively volunteering in their Village

Cornerstone Village

Process:

1. Someone contacts us expressing a desire to create a Village.
   1. Once the Movement is ready, we will begin reaching out trying to find Village organizers to grow the Movement more quickly. In the interim, we will respond to inquiries who hear about us from others or on social media. 
2. If the person is qualified, we begin working with them to create a new Village.
   1. If they are not qualified, we will still work with them to build the capacity to create a Village.
3. The Village Organizer (VO) begins the journey to create a Village.
4. The VO reviews required materials.
5. MOU is signed.
6. An account is created and the VO builds an initial Village website on our platform.
7. The VO recruits an advisory board. 
8. The VO sets up social media.
9. The VO develops a marketing plan and begins recruiting members. 
10. The VO finds a nonprofit home for the Village or begins the process to create a nonprofit entity to run the Village. 
11. The VO launches the FREADOM Movement in the new Village. 
12. The VO completes a survey of Village resources and places the information on the website. 
13. New Programs such as a summer camp are added as resources and volunteers are recruited.