Q: How was Rachel’s Challenge started?
A:  Rachel Joy Scott was the first person killed in the Columbine High School tragedy on April 20, 1999.  Immediately after the tragedy, her father Darrell began to speak around the nation and used writings and drawings from Rachel’s many diaries to illustrate the need for a kinder, more compassionate nation.  Today, Darrell and thirty other speakers honor Rachel’s life by reaching the nation with Rachel’s simple but profound message.

Q: What is the mission statement of Rachel’s Challenge?
A: We exist to inspire, equip and empower every person to create a permanent positive culture change in their school, business and community by starting a chain reaction of kindness and compassion.

Q: What are your organizational goals/objectives?
A: Rachel’s Challenge Objectives for Schools:

• Create a safe learning environment for all students by re-establishing civility and delivering proactive anecdotes to school violence and bullying.
• Improve academic achievement by engaging students’ hearts, heads and hands in the learning process.
• Provide students with social/emotional education that is both colorblind and culturally relevant.
• Train adults to inspire, equip and empower students to affect permanent positive change.

Rachel’s Challenge Objectives for Businesses:

• Create an environment of kindness and compassion within the business setting.
• Empower and equip individuals through training with the ability to make a difference in their place of work.
• Inspire and motivate individuals to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion.
• Impact the corporation’s bottom-line results. (people, profits and revenue)

Q: Do you have any data that supports your program?
A: We are currently working on an efficiency study for the near future. So far, most of our data is anecdotal. Program Impact-to-Date in schools:

 

Q: Does Rachel’s Challenge have any organizational partners?
A: Rachel’s Challenge does have a few other organizations that we partner with from time to time. Some of them include:

FOUNDATION FOR A BETTER LIFE
FBL is dedicated to promoting integrity, courage and kindness by producing and distributing high quality Public Service Announcements on TV and on radio. They are also the largest billboard campaign in history; spreading their positive messages to millions of people in airports and other high traffic locations. Rachel’s Challenge is the exclusive school-based program that FBL works with; allowing us unlimited access to their professionally produced posters, daily quotes, and PSA’s. They’ve granted us the use of all of their materials in our presentations, Friends of Rachel (FOR) Program and Elementary Program including the KC Clubs. www.forbetterlife.org

NATIONAL CHARACTER EDUCATION CENTER
NCEC is a national leader in the development and promotion of character education in the U.S. They also provide curriculum consulting and development for Rachel’s Challenge elementary, middle school and secondary programs. In addition, they provide guidance for the creation of professional development programs for educators through the Rachel’s Challenge Professional Development Programs. Gene Bedley, the CEO of NCEC and a Milken Educator, works closely with Rachel’s Challenge by chairing and providing leadership for the Rachel’s Challenge National Education Advisory Board which consists of nationally recognized educators who are committed to advancing Rachel’s Challenge mission and message. www.ethicsusa.com

NETWORK TELEVISION
The NBC affiliate KTVB in Boise, Idaho provided over 1,750 PSA spots and hosted
a city-wide event at the 11,000 seat Idaho Center.  In Orlando, ABC affiliate WFTV
partnered with Chick-Fil-A in donating PSA spots for Rachel’s Challenge events in
central Florida.  The two partners also sponsored a Rachel's Challenge float in the
Orlando Citrus Parade and provided billboards promoting school events throughout
the region.

CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY
CU is one of the leading providers of graduate-level elective credits for educators wishing to continue their education or meet their ongoing professional certification requirements.  Rachel’s Challenge partners with CU to offer Rachel’s Challenge Professional Development courses through the CU program for graduate credit.  CU also provides on-site training credits, and graduate credits, for classes offered at conferences.
www.chapman.edu

LIFT UP AMERICA
LUA is committed to the mission of lifting up America by working with community leaders, sports teams, educators, the media and agencies to create communities committed to active lives of compassion.  They partner with Rachel’s Challenge in city-wide events that involve college and professional athletes and red carpet movie premieres for inner-city and underprivileged kids.  Through LUA’s partners, hearing aids, eye glasses and food are distributed to local agencies serving those in need.  LUA has relationships with business leaders, star athletes and other celebrities, and media outlets who are encouraged to participate in these events that honor young people, meet their immediate physical needs and give them hope for the future.
www.liftupamerica.org

TEEN IMPACT MAGAZINE
TIM encourages young people to embrace  positive character by providing a high quality magazine to teens, by teens.  It publishes five issues per year and provides them free to each middle school and high school where Rachel’s Challenge has a presence; as well as many other schools.  Every student receives a magazine at no cost.  Each issue includes multiple pages featuring Rachel’s Challenge or articles contributed by Rachel’s Challenge students.
www.teenimpact.org

BIG BROTHERS, BIG SISTERS
BBBS is the oldest, and one of the most successful and honored, mentoring organizations in the country.  They are dedicated to helping underprivileged kids break the cycle of failure by providing a caring adult in their lives who can give them hope and help them reach their full potential. Rachel’s Challenge works with BBBS by soliciting FOR Club members to be “bigs for a day” and encouraging them to become long-term mentors in one-on-one relationships with needy “littles”. www.BigBrothersBigSisters.org

ROCKWALL INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
RISD was instrumental in the creation, testing, training and continued development of the Rachel’s Challenge Elementary Program. They are the model for how Rachel’s Challenge should be implemented in an entire school district, and are a perfect example of the impact Rachel’s Challenge can have in a community. They work with us to test new products and are partnering with us to plan the first annual Rachel’s Challenge Chain Reaction Summit (National Conference). RSID pioneered a city-wide Rachel’s Rally recognizing the 123,000 documented acts of kindness of its students throughout the school year and honoring Rachel’s legacy. The event was attended by 10,000 people. www.rockwallisd.com

WHY TRY?
WT is a highly innovative and successful intervention program designed to teach educators, counselors, law enforcement and social workers how to effectively reach students previously viewed as unreachable. WT programs reach the smaller percentage of non-performing, non-compliant, non-engaged students, as well as students with behavioral disorders and learning disabilities. Rachel’s Challenge and WT work together to promote each other’s missions and programs. The WhyTry Program is now in use in over 4,000 schools, 500 school districts in 48 States, Canada and Australia. It has now been demonstrated in a variety of research settings to reduce truancy, improve academic success, and increase graduation rates. Christian Moore has become a internationally renowned speaker, addressing over 100 conferences and workshops each year. The WhyTry organization he started is growing dramatically with the single aim of helping people overcome their challenges and achieve success in school and for the rest of their lives. www.whytry.org

BATON ROUGE AREA FOUNDATION!
BRAF and the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana have provided guidance in working with our leadership team in developing a comprehensive 5 year strategic plan which defines Rachel’s Challenge Mission objectives and yearly priorities for implementation. They have contributed numerous hours in assisting us with our evaluation plan including the empirical data that sets Rachel’s Challenge apart from other school/ community based programs. Their CEO, John Davies donated time and personnel in order to assist Rachel's Challenge with the advancement of our mission and programs. Baton Rouge Area Foundation www.braf.org
Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana www.foundationswla.org

Q: How much of the money you make goes back to your program?
A: We’ve gotten the message out very efficiently. On average, it costs us $2.59 per person to deliver our programs. In 2008, 98.4% of our revenues were generated from fees. Only 1.6% came from outside donations. Of every dollar spent, 87.7% went back into program development and delivery. We spent 2% on fund raising and only 10.3% went to overhead.

Q: Is there a lot of focus on the Columbine Shootings in the presentation?
A: The tragedy at Columbine is an important part of Rachel’s story, but we choose to focus on her life more than her death. We want the world to know that positive things have sprung from this event as well. Now more than ever, it is important for people to know that hope can come out of challenge and adversity. There are many circumstances in this world over which we have no control. Rachel’s Challenge is something we can all do – help change the world by starting a chain reaction of kindness. It's free, it's easy and it's empowering to realize that one person can make a difference.

Q: Your presentation concentrates so much on Rachel. What about the other people who died that day?
A: While our program was inspired by Rachel, we honor and respect all of the families impacted by the events of Columbine. We have simply used Rachel’s particular story as a way to help create positive change.

Q: Was Rachel a Christian?
A: Rachel was a person of faith, but that is irrelevant to our mission. We are a non-religious, non-political, non-profit organization. Kindness and compassion are a universal virtue for people of all nations, faiths and backgrounds.

Q: How much does your program cost? Are there scholarships for schools that cannot afford it?
A: The amount a school pays for the program depends on what parts of the program they decide to implement, whether or not there are other schools in the same geographic area that can help offset travel and speaker costs, and how much they are capable of paying or raising from other funding sources. We have never turned down a school because they were unable to pay. As a non-profit, we aren’t in this for the money; we do it because we want to live in a less-violent world and we believe the best way to accomplish this is to help you and other students with simple, practical ways to change the climate and culture in our schools. Please contact our marketing department for more information: 1-877-895-7060

Q: Does Darrell Scott profit off of Rachel’s Challenge?
A: Rachel’s Challenge in a non-profit (501c3) charitable organization. Full time employees at Rachel’s Challenge, including Mr. Scott, are paid in accordance with the generally accepted practices for non-profit organizations. We want our staff to be able to pay the bills, but no-one at Rachel’s Challenge will ever get rich working here. This is monitored both by the government (who issues the 501c3 non-profit status) and by our board of directors; whose responsibility it is to govern our actions and make sure we are acting with the utmost integrity.

Q: How can I get another banner?
A: Prep area on website or by emailing product@rachelschallenge.com

Q: When will we get our resource box?
A: 3-4 weeks before presentation in most cases
Q: Who needs to be at the FOR training?
A: It is open to all students. You can either have a sign up sheet or allow anyone to go that wants to. Also, at least 6-8 adults should be in attendance.

Q: Where should I display the banner for kids to sign?
A: In an area where students will be able to congregate without causing a traffic jam. It can be available after the assembly for the rest of the day to give students plenty of time to sign.

Q: Being a FOR/Chain Links Program do we get a discount on Rachel's Challenge product?
A: Beginning next school year, all schools will be able to get product at a discounted rate using the Wholesale Order Form. There will no longer be an overall FOR/Chain Links Discount.

Q: How do I gain access to the FOR/Chain Links Members Area on the website?
A: Please contact your RC Coach for the URL that will direct you to the location for registration. At that time you'll enter in your schools information. Your username will be your email and your password will be one you create in the process.

Q: What do we need to do to change our date or add an extra assembly to our contract?
A: Please contact your original marketer so an addendum can be issued. Call 1-877-895-7060 and press 0 to talk to Kelly if you are unsure who your marketer is.

Q: Will I be able to get a hold of the speaker if something comes up?
A: Your speaker will contact you 24 hours before your scheduled event when he/she is in town. You can call your Program Coordinator or your Marketer if anything comes up.

Q: Can I get the presenter's cell phone number?
A: We do not give out our presenter’s personal information, but he/she will contact you 24 hours before the event. If you need to contact the speaker, please go through your Program Coordinator.

Q: Can you tell me about the speaker who will be coming to our event?
A: There is a presenter bio page on our website where you can look up your speaker. Please note that speakers are subject to change up until a few days before your event or in an emergency.

Q: Would the speaker prefer a wireless or corded microphone?
A: Our speakers prefer a wired microphone as it is more reliable. If you have to have wireless, please make sure extra mics and batteries are on hand.

Q: What tech requirements do we need for the training session?
A: Please look in your Rachel’s Challenge Program Preparation Guide for a full list of presentation technical requirements. The guide is available on the DVD in your resource box as well as in the Program Planning section of our website. For login information, please contact your Program Coordinator.

Q: What do you mean by a projector? An overhead projector? What if we don't have one?
A: Rachel’s Challenge requires a projector that can project computer images and video. An overhead projector will not work. The presenter will bring their own projector, but we request that you have one available as a back up. We require at least 3000 lumens. Please see the technical requirements for more information.

Q: What if our screen is not 10 by 10 feet?
A: Please use the biggest screen available. You may also consider renting one from another school or business in your area.

Q: How do we get the word out about the community event?
A: There is a Community Event Invitation available online in the program planning part of the website. You may also use pictures and design your own flyer to be sent home with students and hung on bulletin boards in your school and community.

Q: Are there any activities we can use before/after the presentation?
A: There are pre and post-event materials and worksheets available for teachers to use in their classrooms to prepare students for Rachel’s Challenge. They are on the DVD and on the program planning section of the website.

Q: What will happen during the FOR training session?
A: The presenter will give ideas on projects and events that will maintain the culture of kindness and compassion in your school and community.

Q: What kind of education did you have prior to your career?
A: In college I double majored in Communication (Public Relations emphasis) and Performing Arts

Q: What kind of training did you have to go through?
A: The training process, while intense, was pretty stress free. The first thing that I had to do was LEARN THE SCRIPTS. Then I did a short audition with a small group of RC staffers. After I was evaluated by that group, they invited to return to a presenter training with other potential RC Presenters. There, we learned about the details of the organization, the inner and outer workings, the equipment, the vision, and did more auditions in front of the founders, CEO etc. I did about 3 presentations in front of RC staffers, including the entire hour long presentation at the end. They wanted to see that 1.) I knew the script 2.) I had a passion for what I was saying; that i truly believed in the message 3.) that I had a presence and could speak well and carry myself well. The entire training concludes with a shadow trip. I flew to a location, a school, with an RC full-timer. I watched this full-timer work on the road, and observed what it's like on the road (it's very different than it is in the office). I watched the presenter do a presentation for the students, and then I did the next one. It was practical application of everything that I had learned. Upon our return, I just waited and hoped that I would get a good evaluation and recommendation. If you get a good evaluation and recommendation, then, if spots are available, you will get an offer to represent RC as a presenter.

Q: Is any experience needed?
A: Experience is not necessarily required, but it is very helpful. There are people on staff that had no public speaking experience who do an AMAZING job. There are people like me, that do have some experience, that do a great job. Experience helps with stage fright, technique, and general comfort in front of a crowd. It also helps to already know how to talk to people and be open with others. This can all be learned with practice however.

Q: Are any special skills required?
A: Ability to speak clearly, and with matching emotion. You have to be able to really connect with the message, if you are disconnected, an audience will catch on and thus be disconnected. You have to have the ability to talk openly with people, and in front of large crowds. These are special skills because many never learn people skills. But if you are dedicated to it, then you can learn people skills without a problem.

Q: What about traveling?
A: There is a lot of travel involved. During the busiest seasons (usually fall), a speaker could be on the road 3 weeks out of a month. During the slow seasons, it slows down considerably, but there may be opportunities for occasional travel.

Q: Are there any physical requirements?
A: Not really. It takes some stamina because travel can be exhausting. And you have to be able to tote or roll a 30-40 pound equipment bag. That's about it.

Q: What hours do you work?
A: The hours really depend on the travel schedule. When you're on the road however, you work 24 hours because you are always representing Rachel's Challenge and honoring her legacy. A typical day you may do 4 presentations (two morning assemblies, a FOR training, and a community event in the evening) at 1 hour each. But between those you are usually talking to people, making connections, being an ambassador for kindness and compassion.

Q: Any extra duties?
A: Occasionally you may be asked to help out in the office or in the warehouse.

Q: Any paperwork?
A: Before you even start working but after you get an offer, you must fill out payment and tax info and get a background check. When you are on the road, and after every presentation day, we are required to complete a report on the day. This report explains where we were, how the assemblies were received, what went well, what went poorly and any stories or contact information we received. At times these reports get tiring, but they are vitally important to the organization.

Q: How's the atmosphere? Are schedules flexible? Is there stress that goes along with it?
A: The atmosphere is AMAZING. In the office, everyone is your friend and on your side. They are supportive, encouraging and positive. Schedules are flexible, especially for non full time employees (except when you are actually on the road, then it is very important to stay on schedule). The only stress that I ever experience is at the airports going through security, and when I have equipment trouble. Equipment trouble does not happen often, but when it does, while stressful, we must be able to think quickly to solve the problem. Some might find constant travel stressful, and that is understandable. I personally don't.