How it all Started…
Life is all about perspective. To one person, an ember may appear to be the last dying effort of a fire to stay alive before it smolders out and fades into non-existence. To another, this same ember may be the very spark needed to reignite a fire that once was, with the proper fuel…
The Project Ember Initiative was born out of a vision that took place almost two decades before its existence during the Missionary Ridge Fire of 2002, just outside of Durango, Colorado. While working at a summer sports camp which had to be evacuated during the fire, I had the opportunity of speaking with one of the brave firefighters tasked to battle the fire. He stated that a fire like this is difficult to manage due to some obvious factors such as lack of rain that summer, dry underbrush, and an ample supply of kindling in the form of towering pine trees. He then went on to say that what made the task of putting out this fire exceedingly more difficult is how the burning embers can travel a mile away onto another mountain ridge, creating more spot fires which eventually take on a life of their own.
This got me thinking, what if the same principle were applied to individuals in both our inter and intra personal relationships? What if a single person could possess the spark needed to ignite a sense of hope, passion, strength, love, and desire to better themselves and those around them? What if people like this were to spread out like the embers of a fire into their closest relationships, into their communities, and into the world? Would we then view an ember as the death of what was or the infinite and recursive potential to create a fire that can’t be extinguished?
The Project Ember Initiative is founded on the belief that a single individual has the power and aptitude to influence others in a profound and lasting way…and that the change starts with YOU.