PKN Video 1: Harvey Lacey Makes Bricks from Recycled Plastic

Image by steevithak via Flickr

We are proud to present this, the first of 9 videos from Pecha Kucha night last Thursday at Sons of Hermann Hall. Please forgive the poor audio. I think you’ll be pleased with the content if you fight through the sound.

This first video is of Harvey Lacey. Lacey is an entrepreneur who once served two tours in Viet Nam and installed telephone cables.  It was during that time that he learned the pleasure found in making something without having the proper tools or materials and do the impossible with nothing under the worst of circumstances. This is a story of innovation and inspiration.

PKN + SparkClub = Gamechangers

We hope you enjoyed the live stream from Pecha Kucha Night at Sons of Hermann Hall tonight. We will have the recording posted soon if you missed any of it, so come back. It was a great night. You want to see this one.

Call for bigBANG! 2011 Fellows

Fellows to bigBANG! are emerging leaders, graduate students and entrepreneurs interested in social innovation, collaboration and mixing it up! In other words, perfect for Spark Club.  A limited number of these Fellow tickets are available. Please use this form if interested in applying for a Fellowship for the bigBANG! event on June 16, 2011 at Union Station. All the information about the event is on the conference website: www.bigBANGtx.org. 2011 Fellows will be announced on May 20. In the meantime, thank you for your interest!

Spark Up Some Holiday Cheer

Image by aaron schmidt via Flickr

Happy Holidays Dear Friends of Spark Club. We have been invited by Dallas Social Venture Partners (DSVP) to attend a holiday party at Reunion Tower. RSVP Today. Per DSVP’s message,

Partners, Friends & Investees are invited to come celebrate the season with Dallas Social Venture Partners.  We will enjoy food, fun and friends as we look back on 2010 and 10 years of social impact in the Dallas community.  Wolfgang Puck will cater appetizers and we’ll share a Holiday Toast at 6:30pm. Please carpool or take DART.  Parking is $10 valet at the base of Reunion Tower or $6 in nearby lots.

There will also be a Socially Conscious Marketplace ala bigBang

As seen at the bigBANG! conference earlier this year, DSVP will feature a Socially Conscious Market Place for all of your holiday giving.  The market place will feature products of nonprofit ventures that fund the mission AND socially minded businesses who are measuring a double/triple bottom line.

So, If you know of a business / startup that might be a good fit for this crowd, please email Sarah Jane at sarahjanesemrad@gmail.com. There are 2 slots left and we want them to go to Spark Clubbers if possible.  More info here: http://bigbangtx.org/save-the-date-dec-9-holiday-party-and-alt-gift-market/

Cheers!

SparkClub kicking off TEDxSMU Idea Week

We are excited and honored to announce that we will be kicking off the TEDxSMU Idea week. Idea week is described on the site as

Seven days in October where the conversations are about substance, new ways of thinking, collaboration…that’s the idea behind Dallas Idea Week. Dig in and check out the different events and initiatives going on in Dallas during the week of October 11, 2010.

For our part, SparkClub is hosting a a meet and greet at 511 N. Akard from 6:30 – 8:30 on Monday, October 11. Come out and see the social mission of City Walk at Akard. Hear about the exciting project unfolding on the second floor, and meet some of Dallas’s most dynamic, innovative do-gooders.

This is a chance to meet others involved in Idea Week and share experiences and ideas. It is guaranteed to spark innovation.

Sign up here.