When An Ordinary Pencil Makes You Reevaluate Life, Extraordinary Things Happen -...
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12/22/14, 2:13 PM When An Ordinary Pencil Makes You Reevaluate Life, Extraordinary Things Happen - TruthAtlasTruthAtlas | Discover who's changing your world. Page 1 of 7 http://truthatlas.com/the-gift-of-a-pencil/ Tweet Tweet 64 When An Ordinary Pencil Makes You Reevaluate Life, Extraordinary Things Happen NEW YORK–This story could have been an artsy movie from the 1970s, where a smart and young American goes to India seeking a spiritual reawakening, and transforms his view of the material world. Thankfully, the protagonist here applies his eclectic experiences, an Ivy-League education, and abundant intelligence to become a globally recognized social entrepreneur and bestselling author. After abandoning a promising career as a management consultant, 30-year-old Adam Braun has taken on the massive challenge of providing infrastructure and resources for educating over 57 million children in the developing world with his organization, Pencils of Promise (PoP). At his sunny office in midtown Manhattan, Adam sits at his desk, tapping his feet to a pop song on the PHOTO OF THE WEEK TRUTH ATLAS SPECIAL REPORTS “Alaskan Sunrise” by Alyes Brunke TruthAtlas Specia Reports feature t inspiring people are propelling en movements beyo conception ANAND RAO, TRUTHATLAS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT • APR. 11, 2014 • HELPERS, POPULAR, SPECIAL FEATURE • COMMENTS (2) • ♥5724 111 Like Like SEARCH ! HOME ○ VIDEOS FEATURE STORIES GOOD NEWS WHAT IS TRUTHATLAS? CONTACT US SPECIAL REPORTS » PEOPLE | SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS | PEACE & CULTURE | SCIENCE & EXPLORATION |
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When An Ordinary Pencil MakesYou Reevaluate Life, ExtraordinaryThings Happen
NEW YORK–This story could have been an artsy movie from the 1970s, where a smart and youngAmerican goes to India seeking a spiritual reawakening, and transforms his view of the material world.Thankfully, the protagonist here applies his eclectic experiences, an Ivy-League education, and abundantintelligence to become a globally recognized social entrepreneur and bestselling author. After abandoninga promising career as a management consultant, 30-year-old Adam Braun has taken on the massivechallenge of providing infrastructure and resources for educating over 57 million children in the developingworld with his organization, Pencils of Promise (PoP).
At his sunny office in midtown Manhattan, Adam sits at his desk, tapping his feet to a pop song on the
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
TRUTH ATLAS SPECIAL REPORTS
“Alaskan Sunrise” by AlyeskaBrunke
TruthAtlas SpecialReports feature theinspiring people whoare propelling entiremovements beyondconception
ANAND RAO, TRUTHATLAS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT • APR. 11, 2014 • HELPERS, POPULAR, SPECIAL FEATURE •COMMENTS (2) • ♥5724
111LikeLike
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! HOME ○ VIDEOS FEATURE STORIES GOOD NEWS WHAT IS TRUTHATLAS? CONTACT US
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radio, looking totally relaxed. “Nonprofit is an inaccurate description of what we do. We are more of a for-purpose organization,” he says with a sparkling smile matched by the beaming faces of children on a giantposter behind him.
Adam Braun, founder of Pencils of Promise. Photo by Anand Rao
The genesis for PoP began after Adam watched the non-narrative documentary, Baraka, and wasfascinated by the surreal images of exotic locations, especially the dramatic shots of the Ganges River. “Iwas going through a spiritual reassessment at that time, and desperately wanted to go to Varanasi, India,”he says. After joining the University of Virginia’s Semester at Sea program in 2005, he set sail to visit theplaces he’d dreamed of—little knowing what he’d encounter when a young child on a street in India askedfor a pencil in response to the question “What do you want most in the world?”
The incident struck a chord with Adam, unraveling the stark reality that the basic amenities he’d alwaystaken for granted did not exist for millions of children. He thought about it while returning to the US,completing his Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, Economics, and Organizational Development from BrownUniversity in Providence, Rhode Island before going to work for Bain and Company, one of the topmanagement-consulting firms in the world. While learning the ropes of building organizations and earninga six-figure income, Adam was consciously building on the ideas he had developed for a social enterprisefocused on quality education.
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Adam Braun with primary school students at a newly built PoP school in Guatemala. Credit: Nick Onken/Pencils
of Promise
After deciding to leave Bain, Adam founded PoP in 2008 with an investment of $25 dollars, and has notlooked back since. He has visited hundreds of small towns across six continents, handing out pencils tothousands of children. Today PoP has built over 170 schools in Ghana, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Laos,and continues to expand to newer territories. Without any major donors during his start-up, Adam wentabout building a community of people who believed in his cause. After going to his circle of friends to builda large online community, PoP has nurtured more than 35,000 fundraisers and corporate connections.
“We are successful because we are driven by the head of a for-profit and the heart of a nonprofit,” Adamsays. “By training I know how to build a great business, but my desire is not to create personal wealth. Iwant to bring the best practices that enable individuals to accumulate wealth, and apply them to tackle theworld’s most challenging social issues.”
That philosophy marks a distinct shift from Adam’s ambitions while growing up with his brother and sisterin the extremely affluent town of Greenwich, Connecticut. His father was a dentist and his mother anorthodontist, and his home was secure and stable. “Still, the wealth disparity in my town was enormous,”he says. “There were people at the highest and the lowest end of the wealth spectrum, and I just wantedto become extremely wealthy.”
Adam opened his first E*TRADE account at 13, worked with hedge funds at 16, and seemed destined tobecome a Wall Street player like many of his wealthy neighbors–but it wasn’t just his desire to get rich thatgoverned all his decisions. He was also deeply influenced by his family, who believed in giving back tosociety. “My grandparents were Holocaust survivors, and my parents worked very hard for everything theyachieved. Every Hanukkah we set aside a certain amount to donate to a charity,” he says.
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Adam was always looking for answers to questions aboutmeaningful existence, and his travels made him think even moreabout why he had access to quality education in a safeenvironment while millions of children all over the world livedwithout basic needs like water, electricity, healthcare, and accessto education. “The people I met in the developing countries gaveme a better understanding of what my purpose was in the world,”he adds.
Adam still makes it a point to ask, “What is the one thing youwant in this world?” wherever he travels. Though the answersvary depending on the culture and country, most of the adults tellhim that they want the best education for their children, and thechildren repeatedly aspire to fulfill big dreams. A firm believer inthe maxim that “Where you start in life should not dictate whereyou finish,” Adam has taken these answers and shaped them intoa mesmerizing book, The Promise of a Pencil: How an Ordinary Person Can Create ExtraordinaryChange, published in March 2014.
The book’s title says it all. “All your material possessions will one day go away,” Adam says. “What youleave behind is a legacy. Your story.”
Want to Get Involved?PoP is guided by our revolutionary “for purpose” approach. Blending the head of a for-profit business withthe heart of a humanitarian nonprofit, we rigorously measure the return on investment of every donordollar we spend. Joy and passion are great, but results are what we’re all about.
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ANAND RAO, TRUTHATLAS SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
Anand Rao, is a New York City based writer and communications consultant with
a richly diverse set of experiences acquired in 2 countries. From advertising
creative, journalism, and corporate communications to content strategy and
change management, he has held both ‘consultant’ and ‘client’ roles for
companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 corporations. He is also an
actor and director with a special interest in multicultural theater. Anand has an M.B.A. from the
Westminster College, Graduate Certificate in Integrated Marketing Communications from the
University of Utah, in addition to Bachelors' and Masters' degrees in English literature from
Universities in India.
2 RESPONSES TO WHEN AN ORDINARY PENCIL MAKES YOU REEVALUATELIFE, EXTRAORDINARY THINGS HAPPEN
1. EXTRAORDINARY THINGS OCCUR WITH ORDINARY PENCIL...Apr. 20, 2014 at 4:14 pm
[…] After abandoning a promising career as a management consultant, 30-year-old Adam Braun hastaken on the massive challenge of providing infrastructure and resources for educating over 57 millionchildren in the developing world with his organization, Pencils of Promise. […]Reply
2. WHEN A PENCIL MAKES YOU REEVALUATE LIFE • THE INTELLIGENT OPTIMISTApr. 30, 2014 at 3:15 pm
[…] This story was originally published on Truth Atlas […]Reply
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