A few weeks ago me and three of my single mom tweeps fantasized about a life where all four of us lived under one roof and could assist each other in raising all the children between us. The Single Parent Co-operative. For days afterwards I couldn't let go of the idea. There has to be a way that single parents can ban together to help each other not just get out every now and then but to be there during the emergencies; supporting each other in the good and bad.
There is....start smaller. I broke down the concept into two phases - child care and housing. Then I added a phase - programming for the kids such as sports or music. But to get started I needed money.
Then I saw a tweet from another tweep (incidentally another single mom) about The Awesome Shit Club. A group of people that raise money, accept submissions of awesome shit, and give away money to the most awesome idea.
That brings me to tonight’s adventure. I became an “Awesomer” of the Awesome Shit Club. I presented my idea alongside 10 other Awesomers o the 16 Awesomites who voted on who was the awesomest and win the pot of funds. There were a LOT of awesome ideas and all pretty diverse in topics and fields.
Long story short – I didn’t win. But sometimes it’s not the intended prize that makes an experience worthwhile. It’s the connections and networking that further an idea to bring it to a reality. I walked away with two contacts interested in helping make the crazy talk of a few single moms into a reality. Because of them, I feel I won.
