Step Into The Shoes Of A Community Changemaker Inspired By Promised Land

I’m super excited to be promoting the Champion Community Change campaign! In tandem with the release of the poignant film, Promised Land, check out how you can also become involved!

About Promised Land

Promised Land is the new contemporary drama directed by Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting, Milk). Matt Damon plays Steve Butler, an ace corporate salesman who is sent along with his partner, Sue Thomason (Frances McDormand), to close a key rural town in his company’s expansion plans. With the town having been hit hard by the economic decline of recent years, the two outsiders see the local citizens as likely to accept their company’s offer, for drilling rights to their properties, as much-needed relief. What seems like an easy job for the duo becomes complicated by the objection of a respected schoolteacher (Hal Holbrook) with support from a grassroots campaign led by another man (John Krasinski), as well as the interest of a local woman (Rosemarie DeWitt). Promised Land explores America at the crossroads where big business and the strength of small-town community converge. Watch the trailer here!

Every day people are taking small steps to create big change in communities all over the country. We want to highlight some of these extraordinary individuals who are an inspiration to all of us. Check out the stories at TakeP then click “Real Changemakers”

• Mama Hill, who started a home learning center for youth living in South Central Los Angeles
• Alabama Chanin, who helped to revive her small town by starting a home-sewn apparel line that attracted the attention of some of today’s biggest fashion labels
• Malik Yakini, who started an urban farm in Detroit when his community hit a downturn
• Ruth Lande Shuman, an architect/designer who is putting her skills to use in reimagining New York City classrooms with color

Community Action feels like an adventure and is something we carry with us everyday. That said, use the Community Action Pack that outlines the best of the resources on the web that exist to drive community engagement and action no matter what issue someone is facing. Below are the digital platforms that are highlighted:

• POPVOX: Find out what issues are being addressed in Congress through an easy-to-use website
• All For Good: Volunteer matching service no matter where you live or how much time you have to offer
• MindMixer: A platform that makes it easier to share ideas with city leaders
• Story of Stuff’s Changemaker Quiz: Find out what type of changemaker you are
• SeeClickFix and CitySourced: Allow you to easily connect and report civic issues directly to your local officials using the camera and GPS in your smartphone
• Sunlight Foundation’s Call On Congress: An 800 number that allows you to track bills in Congress
• Ashoka Changemakers: Get the tools and resources for your idea that can better the world
• Care2: empowering citizens through creating and signing petitions
• NationBuilder and WordPress: The tools to create a website and outreach platform for an issue that’s important for you
• MeetUp: Find or start a meetup group to discuss the issues your community faces and the solutions and changemaking that is possible
• Neighborgoods: Connects people to save money and resources by sharing goods in the hopes of building stronger communities
• Twitter and Facebook: Strategies to leverage social media platforms to make change in your community

The Community Action Pack features the best digital tools you can use online to spark action in your community. Here are 4 fun activities to check out:

1. Take the Changemaker Quiz to determine what type of changemaker you are (featured in the toolkit in the Compass section – Story of Stuff’s Changemaker Quiz)

2. Find a volunteer opportunity no matter where you live or how much time you have (featured in the toolkit in the Map section – All for Good)

3. Share stories of how you’ve used the toolkit for a chance to be featured in the TakePart Changemakers series

4. Share this toolkit with your friends

In a first-ever, pro-social Facebook Connect experience, Participant Media puts individuals in the shoes of a changemaker, tracking their personal journey of identifying a local issue by leveraging social media with the help of their friends to create real change in their communities and being celebrated through hero-like coverage.

Not sure if you’re the changemaker type? Then check out what you’d look like as a community hero by trying out the Champion Community Change Facebook Connect experience

About TakePart
TakePart, the digital arm of Participant Media, is a leading source of socially relevant news, opinion, entertainment, and information about ways to get involved with the issues that shape our lives. Participant’s philosophy that “a story well told can change the world” is the driving force behind TakePart’s mission: to inspire and accelerate social change by connecting compelling content to actions users can take. TakePart’s articles, videos and social action campaigns can be found on T on YouTube via TakePart TV at and on MSN at T Participant Media
Participant Media ( is an entertainment company that focuses on documentary and non-documentary feature films, television, publishing and digital content about the real issues that shape our lives. For each of its projects, Participant creates social action and advocacy programs to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action. Participant’s online division and Social Action Network is TakePart ( Founded by Jeff Skoll in 2004, Jim Berk serves as CEO. Participant’s films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson’s War, An Inconvenient Truth, Good Night, and Good Luck, The Visitor, Food, Inc., The Cove, The Crazies, Countdown to Zero, Waiting for “Superman,” Fair Game, PAGE ONE: Inside The New York Times, The Help, Contagion, Last Call at the Oasis, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Lincoln and Promised Land.

*Disclosure – This article is sponsored.