Climate change education. What was your reaction to that phrase? If it's negative, that's what Blake Blaze and Addie Klimek are dedicated to changing through WOULRD (Our World), an online education platform that makes learning about the environment and tracking your carbon footprint fun and engaging.
For Blake, life experiences from being the oldest brother of 5, captain of all his sports teams, not passing Navy Seal Hell Week and serving as a Cryptological Warfare Officer, shaped him into the leader and team-player he is today.
Addie was 16 when she co-founded a non-profit that bridged the gap between middle school and recently relocated refugee girls in Cleveland through outdoor adventures. Addie heard a lot of "No"s from adults, but that perseverance and determination to make a positive change helped shape her into becoming WOURLD's co-founder.
STORY BITES:
Meet Blake! (1:20)
The Blaze Boys: How being the eldest of 5 brothers and having a competitive edge shaped Blake as a leader. (3:31)
Joining the Navy: Blake says being a Cryptologic Warfare Officer isn't as cool as it sounds but we find that hard to believe. (5:59)
Navy Seal Hell Week: After not making it through Hell Week, Blake reevaluated his idea of success, wellness, and strength. (8:38)
The beginning of Our World: Blake wrote a children's book but "realized I wasn't the second coming of Dr. Seuss." After meeting Addie, they developed WOURLD. (11:58)
Meet Addie! (15:53)
How Addie fell in love with nature. (16:15)
Founding REACH: Uniting middle school girls and refugee girls through outdoor adventures, overcoming cultural and language barriers, and founding the non-profit as a 16-year-old. (17:34)
Let's make sustainability fun: creating a positive, solutions-forward curriculum (26:26)
Blake & Addie (28:02)
When Blake met Addie (28:00)
The future or Our World: What Blake and Addie have in store for making climate change education fun, engaging, and just a little competitive. (30:07)
Shifting our perspective from doom-and-gloom to hopeful. (31:40)
A Toast to Teammates: Creating change together is more powerful than doing it alone. (32:25)
Ready to change Our World? Game on.
Follow the journey: @itswourld
Do you or some you know have a good story to share on the show? Contact us at goodstories@sowginc.com!