During the last five years, I have spent a lot of time in rooms where people talk about Memphis. Boards and committees and task forces full of well-meaning, capable people trying to figure out how to fix what’s broken. I love these people. I am one of these people.
But somewhere along the way I started wondering about the other rooms. The ones where normal folks – neighbors, coworkers, parents on the soccer sideline – were already doing something. Quietly. Without a title or a strategic plan. Just showing up because Memphis is worth showing up for.
That’s the room I want to be in. And that’s exactly what Memphis’ Army of Normal Folks is building.
We launched on March 1st at Grind City Brewing with Mayor Paul Young and a room full of service-minded Memphians who believe the same thing the Army was founded on: our city’s problems won’t be solved by fancy people on TV. They’ll be solved by us; neighbors, family, coworkers, and friends, doing what we can, together.
Here’s what we do.
We serve together. Through monthly Army Activations, we show up side by side at Memphis organizations doing meaningful work, building community, getting our hands dirty and our hearts full.
Our first activation is March 28th at Green Leaf Learning Farm in Soulsville, a certified organic urban farm run by our friends at KnowledgeQuest. Wear your jeans and bring your kids and friends.
For those who are frustrated trying to sift through Memphis’ 12,000 nonprofits, our Service Concierge uses your skills and passions to help you find vetted volunteer opportunities across Memphis.
We give together. Every Memphian is invited to join our giving circle – a pool of resources where $10 a month and $25K carry exactly the same weight when it’s time to vote on the recipient. Together we make larger, more transformational gifts to Memphis nonprofits than any of us could make alone.
We grow together. At our bimonthly gatherings with food and conversation and people you’d actually want to know, we build the kind of relationships that make a city feel like home. Our next gathering is at PURE Academy on April 25th. We will hear from Headmaster Melvin Cole on the difference PURE is making in the lives of Memphis’ young men and make our first giving circle vote.
Here’s what we don’t do.
We don’t have requirements. Show up as much or as little as your life allows. We are not keeping score.
We don’t take ourselves too seriously. This is supposed to be fun. Community worth showing up for looks like potlucks and block parties and yes, occasionally getting dirt under your fingernails at an organic farm.
And we don’t believe in charity as a one-way street. We serve with Memphis, not just for it. Every activation, every giving circle vote, every partnership is built on the belief that empowerment is where true transformation starts.
Memphis already has everything it needs to be extraordinary. It has people who love it fiercely and normal folks willing to roll up their sleeves and do what they can.
Come be one of them.
Join the Army at anfmemphis.org.
This blog was written by Lydia Rosencrants, President, Memphis' Army of Normal Folks
Lydia Rosencrants serves as president of Memphis’ Army of Normal Folks, a growing community of everyday Memphians pooling their time, talent, and dollars for the city they love.
