21 years ago, I asked my high school classmates to vote for me. At an alarming 51% approval, I won what seemed to be the prize of Senior Class President. What I wasn’t aware of– was the role in planning reunions that would chase me through adulthood. The 5 and 10 Year reunions were marked with comments about expense of the event, the location and other tasky frustrations. I’m not a party planner. Needless to say, I was dreading the summer of 2011 and the chance to plan another reunion party.
Enter a New World and a New Idea…
With the advances in technology, namely Facebook and LinkedIn, we can access information about our 7th grade crush or the guy who won the Amazing Race with relative ease. There still may be changes you didn’t see coming, however, the surprises are fewer and farther between. The quick biographical conversations or dueling resume rattle, can be streamlined because of these great tools. So, why do we go to the Reunion? What draws us? What connects us beside a shared history?
Let me tell about the Edina High School Class of 1991. We have been working with Habitat for Humanity to sponsor a homebuild in Northeast Minneapolis. To date, we have raised $35,000 and utilized over 700 hours of volunteer time. By the end of the summer, we hope to be at $60,000 raised and be able to point to a completed house project and a connected class that mobilized for our reunion around a noble cause.
http://www.tchabitat.org/edina91
No one has the time and no one has the money, but maybe you can find a cause that allows you and your classmates to add present-day meaning to your milestone event. Perhaps you have a classmate that has been handed a health challenge, a teacher who has connected with a non-profit or a geographic location that has been struck with a natural disaster. Whatever the case or whatever the cause, I think Margaret Mead said it best….
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
— Margaret Mead
