Dawn Heideman and Carla Hegyi are the founders of Be the One, a program aiding at-risk youth in schools in the central Ohio region, both by improving students’ lives and the lives of those around them, through relationship-building and service programs.

Most of the time, when a student experiences trauma, they are only aided for a few days or weeks before everyone returns back to their daily lives — leaving the student to cope with that trauma themselves. Dawn and Carla realized that more needed to be done and that those kids needed long-term support. That’s why they started Be the One: To offer daily support to kids dealing with a variety of struggles in life. They talk about the value of making kids feel heard and seen, making an impact one student at a time, and scaling programs like this to affect more students.

To learn more, visit: pastfoundation.org

We unbox:

• Giving kids the time necessary to overcome emotional trauma
• Hearing from people who recognize what you’ve been through
• Building a long-term support system for students
• How to scale support programs across districts

Resources:

• Learn more at betheoneohio.com
• Dawn Heideman: Be The One | TED Talk