THE IDEA
Impacting the community and driven by young people, 10K is a powerful community building effort, and at the same time it is a vibrant learning experience. It is produced locally through a partnership between local campuses and United Ways to advise and support young 10K organizers.
The mission of The 10,000 Hours Show nationally is to mobilize young people to meet immediate community needs and recognize those who do, helping develop the next generation of active community leaders.
HISTORY
SIMPLE HISTORY
10K0: Growing an idea, planning, raising awareness and funds.
10K1: First concert, volunteering only in Johnson County (The University of Iowa only)
10K2: The U of I… and a little bit of Drake and ISU
10K3: Organization goes statewide with 10K at 7 campuses, 35 high schools
10K4: Replicable, local, sustainable projects in Eastern Iowa, Central Iowa, and Dane County, Wisconsin
IN DEPTH HISTORY
Sweet and sour chicken
The 10,000 Hours Show was founded in the fall of 2002 by University of Iowa undergraduates who believed young people could make a difference now – not just in the future – by giving what we can give now – time, energy, skills, and passion. These students worked within the context of a nonprofit community project incubator they and their peers had created called The James Gang. For the next year, 10K’s founders worked with the Iowa City and University of Iowa (UI) communities to develop a model that met the needs of both young volunteers and community nonprofits. The first 10K launched in Johnson County in the fall of 2003 as a partnership between community incubator The James Gang and the UI. The inaugural Show netted 13,573 hours performed by more than 600 volunteers who celebrated at an incredible Ben Folds concert.
Statewide expansion
The 10,000 Hours Show took off from there, with interested communities across Iowa and the country contacting 10K to learn more. The second 10K (10K2) added Drake and Iowa State universities to the mix. That year’s Show included 925 volunteers serving 20,009 hours, and Guster brought the house down at the volunteers-only concert.
During 10K3, AmeriCorps*VISTA grants supported three 10K leaders so they could volunteer full-time for the project. With the additional time, they worked with community leaders across Iowa to refine 10K’s model for continued growth and replication. Concurrently, 10K3 worked with 8 colleges and 35 high schools, with 2,005 volunteers completing 38,123 hours of service to celebrate at a Cake concert in Des Moines.
Doing the splits
Adopting the revised model, 10K in Iowa split into 10K Eastern Iowa and 10K Central Iowa. The project’s partnership with local campuses and United Ways was deepened, as The James Gang fully spun it off to these community partners. The next step of the model also allowed out-of-state communities such as Madison, WI, whose students had long been working with 10K leadership, to begin launching their own projects.
United Way of America
The 10,000 Hours Show and The United Way of America (UWA) began working together in the fall of 2006. In 2007, 10,000 Hours officially became a part of UWA, giving 10K a long-term institutional home and UWA another exciting program to add to their community impact work. Working within the United Way system, 10,000 Hours is reaching more and more campuses and communities with the message of “You volunteer, you rock!”
10K National
In partnership with United Way of America, 10K National exists to maintain standards, facilitate sharing of best practices, and track outcomes across these local 10Ks. 10K National also supports the development of new 10Ks. Communities interested in launching their own 10K do so through a 10K National process called Invite 10K.
A 10K USA Advisory Board representative of local 10K students, campuses and United Way partners, as well as select national supporters, is being developed to manage 10K USA. For more information on 10K National (or how to start a 10K in your community) please visit www.10000hoursusa.org/10k or email Mike Brooks at Mike.Brooks@uwa.unitedway.org.
10K5
From a “One Hit Wonder” to a “Timeless Classic”
Having inspired well over 100,000 hours of community service since that historic first concert in the Iowa Memorial Union in May of 2004, The 10,000 Hours Show is stronger than ever as we move into our fifth year at Iowa. Upon successfully splitting and sustaining The 10,000 Hours Show into 10K Eastern Iowa (10KEI) and 10K Central Iowa (10KCI) last year, 10K5 is gearing up for a record breaking year.
This year we are excited to provide our volunteers with more incentives than ever before. Since the show is so much more than just a concert, we think there is no reason why our volunteers shouldn’t be rocking with incentives all year long. While we don’t want to give away all of our surprises, look forward to a kickin’ fall showcase of local bands, a hip new lineup of 10K sponsored group volunteer activities, and some really cool 10K gear to help you rock out in fashion.
But that’s not all we’ve got! With a new year comes a new concert venue that will knock your socks off. That’s right, this year The 10,000 Hours Show of Eastern Iowa is moving to The Englert Theater, baby! This beautiful, historic downtown venue is a current nonprofit registered with 10K and is going to provide volunteers with one amazing celebration in April. Keep your eyes on that marquee… the band announcement will be coming in the early spring!
Together we’re making 10K5 one for the history books.
Because together we rock.