Suzanne,

I’m writing to tell you about a book that Doubleday is publishing: MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE by Bill Strickland.

Last November, I flew to Pittsburgh to meet Bill Strickland. All I knew was that he had built a center in the middle of the ghetto, six blocks from where he grew up, and “was saving the lives of troubled youths and disadvantaged adults through arts and education.” Exactly what that meant didn’t hit home for me until I stepped foot inside his building and met the man himself.

Bill started off his center, The Manchester Craftsman’s Guild in a row-house that was donated by the local church. His method for getting kids out of trouble and off the street was simple: physically take them and show them how to work with clay.

As word traveled from person to person and school to school, he no longer had to go seeking them; they came to him and his little center grew to become a world-class facility. Designed by one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s students, the center is bathed in sunlight. Despite the cold and snowy November day, fresh flowers are everywhere, and a buzz of activity from both students and adults is in the air. The flowers are not just any flowers, but prize-winning orchids grown in their state-of-the-art greenhouse just next door.

Some might ask what a poverty program needs a greenhouse for and to that Bill would be the first to say that it is NOT a poverty program. It is a training program for poor people and why shouldn’t poor people be given a sanctuary from the streets where they see no light ahead of them? By teaching them horticulture, along with culinary, computer, mathematics, chemistry, ceramics, photography, and much more, Bill is helping to change the conversation and help them see that they have a future outside of what they know. In building this world-class facility, he is helping to create world-class citizens.

Over the years I have worked with many different authors, all with their own unique backgrounds. Bill is the first author whose story has brought tears to my eyes, has received a standing ovation at every speech I have seen him give, and has even tempted me to leave my job so that I might follow in his footsteps. Luckily for me, Bill’s message also shows us that we don’t need to do anything that drastic. There is always something we can do right in our own backyard that will make a difference in people’s lives.

It is my hope that in writing this letter, you too will be inspired by his remarkable life and share it with your blog readers. To find out more about Bill, the book and view a video of him please visit www.bill-strickland.org.

To see more about the center in Pittsburgh watch: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qg4bqejzCkc

Best,
Meredith McGinnis
Associate Director of Marketing
Doubleday