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Q&A: Jordan Lyon Took a Bold Step. The Rest is History…

Jordan_FoundationCommunity_SeattleIt can be lonely in the city.

If you don’t watch out, the daily grind of traffic-work-traffic-home can turn into a major rut.

Jordan Lyon spotted this phenomenon in himself and his neighbors. Then he took a bold step. He quit his well-paying sales job to start Foundation Community, a Seattle-based organization with a mission to cultivate community, human connection, and the individual spirit.

Foundation Community organizes and promotes fun and social events with an ongoing goal to connect attendees in meaningful ways. The result—real connections, new friends and a deeper sense of belonging.

Why did you start Foundation Community?

A lot of entrepreneurial ideas come from personal challenges. I look at my upbringing from divorced parents and how I’ve always been searching for my own sense of family. In my life I hadn’t really found the community I was looking for— something that celebrated my uniqueness, how I wanted to live, what I wanted to pursue, how I drew meaning. I’m kind of building one from scratch because of that.

Why is celebrating your uniqueness in community important?

We are all unique beings. The true path to leading a more fulfilling life is deep honesty and connection with yourself. So we want to build a system and a community that really celebrates who you are uniquely— what your curiosities are, what your passions are.

What kinds of events are you creating to cultivate community?

We’re looking to elevate, celebrate and empower those in the community who are doing some inspirational things. These are the creators and makers, the creatives and artists, the historians and scholars.

We do baking classes, cocktail classes, brewery tours, wine tasting events. All kinds of fun things. But we’re also looking at the depth of people being human. This gets into art workshops, music history, music theory. We’re getting deeper into mindfulness and wellness. Deeper into professional development and career workshops. We’ve got an event coming up called “How to Make Money Doing What You Love— The Art of the Side Hustle.”

LiveEvents-FoundationCommunityWhat can people get out of live events that they cannot get from an online experience?

First, there’s the growth that comes from vulnerably by putting yourself out there. I think a great analogy might be asking somebody out versus swiping right. There’s something wonderful about stepping outside of your comfort zone in the real world. The second big thing you get from live events is that you end up learning from other people.

What change do you hope to make in the world with Foundation Community?

There’s so much to be said for helping people to lead happier, more fulfilling lives. And those happier, more fulfilling lives lead to those people impacting others more positively. Also, looking at failure as a growth opportunity. And on an individual level, tackling loneliness, tackling mental health.

We want to change the world by helping everyone make five new friends. Five friends from different backgrounds. Perhaps now, through a new friendship, they can see someone’s perspective, and maybe change a previously held view in a negative context about race or religion. We’d like to help build the city in a way that is integrating everyone’s perspectives.

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Save the Date: National Radio Day Celebration in Seattle

BPT_NRD_Square_Graphic-01Seattle-area radio lovers, listeners, indie producers and stations, save the date for National Radio Day, August 20. Coordinated by our Doer, Sabrina Roach, the flagship event for the first coast-to-coast celebration will happen right downtown.

Radio enthusiasts are welcome to stop by, view an interactive 6-foot-tall radio tower installation and see a youth-run pop-up radio station in action. Plus, find out about the seven new neighborhood low-power fm stations in Seattle.

Where: Central Library at the Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Plaza facing 4th Ave
When: 11:00AM – 12:30PM
Discuss Nationally/Show Radio Some Love: #NationalRadioDay

Register now and join us at the party on the plaza.

The city has so many reasons to celebrate radio. A big one is the creation of seven new low-power FM radio stations during the past year. These new stations will cover 90% of the city and act as important community resources, just like The Seattle Public Library. Come out and show your support, have a blast with us and find out more about local low-power fm. Definitely take a look at the radio tower art installation, built by a local artist in collaboration with our Doer, Maker Tamara Clammer.

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