Adam Braun's Mission Statement

Not many people know who Adam Braun is but he is helping a lot of people by building schools around the world. At one time, he was just a regular college student going to Brown University. Then, he almost died in a shipwreck and he decided that he wanted to do something good in the world. As a kid, he liked to spend time trading stocks and thought he would have a job in finance. But then in college, he spent a semester travelling to poor countries. Seeing the poor kids made a big impact on him. Adam Braun is a good example of how anyone can make a good change in the world. Adam Braun was able to start Pencils of Promise because he wanted to help others, he had specific goals and he was not afraid to try. Adam Braun decided to work to help
others because he wanted a purpose in life, to build schools and to help teachers. When Adam was in college he wondered what his purpose was in life. At first, he thought it was to work at a finance company. However, after a near-death experience, he knew it was not his time to die and that he needed to do something to help others.(Adam Braun inspires…,1). While at Semesters at Sea, Adam got to visit many countries. In India, he met a boy that gave him the idea for Pencils of Promise. “When I asked him what he would want if he could have anything in the world, his answer was simply, “a pencil” ”. (Adam Braun, 1). All this little boy wanted to do was to go to school but there were no schools in his village. That is when Adam decided he wanted to build schools in poor areas around the world. Adam also wanted to help the teachers in the new schools. He knew that the teachers were going to need more training to be able to run a full sized school. Studies show that kids do better if teachers are better trained so Adam setup teacher training. (Pencils of Promise launches…, 1). Since Adam Braun wanted a purpose in life, he was able to help many people by building schools and training teachers. Adam Braun was successful in setting up Pencils of Promise because he setup specific goals.
By a mission statement, where to open schools, how to raise money. One of the first things he did was to write a long mission statement for the company. “Over the years the Pencils of Promise has been in existence, it has helped to build over 200 schools throughout the world”. (Adam Braun, 1). Adam believed giving a child a pencil and giving him a education is the best way to give him a better life. After his mission statement, he came up with a list of where to open schools. He wanted to start with a school in Laos and then go to other poor countries. “ In 2010, Pencils of Promise has goals to attract 5,000 new supporters across the globe, to build seven more schools in committed villages in Laos and Nicaragua, and to continue to identify additional areas of impact around the world.” (Pencils of Promise,1). Having these goals made it easier for Adam because he could make his contacts in those countries and plan how to set up those schools. Lastly, in order to make Pencils of Promise a success his last goal was to raise money. He started by depositing 25 dollars in the bank. (Adam Braun). Then, he had fundraising parties for every one of his birthdays. He also used Facebook for advertising. Chase Bank had a contest on Facebook for a non-profit company to win money. “PoP ranked within the top 100 charities and received a $25k grant from Chase in December.” With all of Adam’s goals he
was able to raise a lot of money, open a lot of schools and train teachers. Adam Braun was not afraid to set up his own company to help others even though he was young, had no experience in education and had to travel to many countries.
He was in college when he got his ideal to build schools, in poor countries. (Adam Braun,1). Many people that age would just care about finishing up school and getting a job. “He worked as an associate consultant and senior associate consultant for the company for nearly three years”. (Adam Braun,1). However, during this time he was busy thinking how to set up Pencils Of Promise. He showed that his age would not stop him. Adam did not have any experience in education but that did not scare him. He knew that if he grew to a big enough organization he could attract education figures to help him. “1-800-Flowers.com has joined PoP’s efforts to honor and empower teachers around the world by contributing a portion of proceeds from the sales from the POP Collection at 1-800-Flowers.com during the campaign.” Getting this money, he was able to pay people to educate the teachers. Finally, Pencils of Promise has schools in Asia, Latin America and Africa. Traveling in these countries would be scary for some people but not for Adam. Adam’s experience gave him the courage he needed to start a business even though he was young, had no experience in education and had traveled to poor countries.(P.O.P. Adam Braun
inspires)
Adam Braun is a good role model for young people today. Since he started Pencils of Promise when he was young, he shows that anyone can make a change. In order to succeed you need an idea, a goal and not be afraid. Since Adam started Pencils of Promise, he has raised a lot of money and helped build schools and train teachers.“What is your sense of purpose”. Adam asks that question and everyone should do that too. With Adam’s schools, there will be more educated people in the world. This is how the world will become a better place.