In Canada there are over 300,000 people living on the street and of those a full half are youth. Robb Farago talks about 5 Days for the Homeless at the February 5th Ignite Waterloo 5. You can check out his full presentation here. Robb was kind enough to submit a recap of his experience speaking at our last event. Read his thoughts below, and be sure to read the companion piece by audience member Sudhershi Kularatnam.
Touched by Ignite
My first exposure to Ignite Waterloo presented itself when a friend of mine informed me he was speaking at Ignite Waterloo 3. At that time, I was actively looking for events to attend and get involved in that would get me more in touch with the Kitchener Waterloo community. Ignite Waterloo was exactly what I was looking for. The event itself was inspiring and I walked away with the urge to present my own Ignite talk as soon as possible. The opportunity presented itself with Ignite Waterloo 5.0.
At the time I had recently accepted the position of Executive Director for 5 Days for the Homeless National, a campaign that gets students from universities across the country to live outside for 5 days and nights to raise money and awareness for the issue of homelessness and youth at risk. I knew that this is what I wanted to share with Kitchener and Waterloo.
Preparing myself for Ignite Waterloo 5.0 was a challenge in itself. I have done countless presentations in front of a variety of audiences, but nothing like what Ignite Waterloo was offering. This audience would be the best, brightest, and most active of individuals in their fields. I was nervous and excited to be presenting to such a dynamic and impactful group of people, especially about something I was so passionate about.
The presentation went better than I could have expected. I shared my experiences with the 5 Days for the Homeless campaign to a captive and interested audience. I felt comfortable sharing a personal story to people I had barely gotten to know, if at all. They were fully engaged in everything I had to say. After the presentations were complete I was able to talk to many different individuals who each had their own story to tell that revolved around the issue of homelessness.
The connections I made after my Ignite talk were impactful and worthwhile. Particularly, my Ignite talk inspired students from the University of Waterloo to participate in the 5 Days for the Homeless campaign despite the short time frame before the national campaign began. I was able to work closely with students from the University of Waterloo and helped them exceed their donation goal for the 2011 campaign benefitting two local organizations in the Waterloo region that support homeless and youth at risks. The University of Waterloo will now be an active participant in the 5 Days for the Homeless campaign for years to come and it is all because of the opportunity to present a 5 minute, 20 slide presentation on a topic that I am passionate about.
More information on the 5 Days campaign can be found on our website at or via Twitter at @5days_National. I encourage anyone who is passionate about something to throw their hat into the ring and give an Ignite talk. Presentations are one thing, but an Ignite talk takes everything to the next level. Nowhere else will you be exposed to an audience that can provide so much opportunity and potential.I only hope I can give another Ignite talk in the future.
