Inspiring & Equipping Communities To End Poverty The mission of Move the Mountain Leadership Center (MTM) is to inspire and equip communities to end poverty. Move the Mountain Leadership Center provides transformational leadership and planning programs to align leaders and their organizations to high impact strategies that can reduce and eventually end poverty. The Circles Campaign™ was initiated by Move the Mountain to provide transformational leaders a structure to engage the community in ending poverty. Join us on Facebook
 

Press Releases

December 7, 2007

Moving Mountains to End Poverty

Troy, Ohio – December 7, 2007 – An Iowa-based non-profit organization is embarking on a new approach to end poverty in the U.S. Scott Miller, author and CEO of Move the Mountain Leadership Center, will be in Troy on Wednesday, December 12 and Thursday, December 13 to discuss a new approach to eliminating poverty in the U.S. called the Circles™ Campaign, saving taxpayers nearly $80 million per year.

Miller will be meeting with Troy Circle Allies (community leaders who have already volunteered to participate in the program) for a training session on Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. On Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., he will speak to additional community leaders and the public on how to end poverty in the community using this new initiative and asking for their assistance. Both sessions will be held at the Troy Community Room, 405 SW Public Square.

Miller will also present his new book, Until It’s Gone: Ending Poverty In Our Nation, In Our Lifetime. He’ll encourage citizens to lend a hand to fellow community members in need, and explain how they can join the Circles™ Campaign and begin eliminating poverty in Troy.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 36.5 million U.S. citizens lived in poverty in 2006; 12.8 million of those were children under 18. The cost of raising one child in poverty in this country is $38,000 per year, and the total cost of poverty in our country is more than $500 billion per year.

“The poverty rate in the United States is no less than it was over thirty years ago,” says Miller. “Dramatic increases in the cost of housing, transportation, and health care hide the truth that many more millions and millions of families now find themselves in poverty.

“If we continue to expect government and social services to deal with poverty without the help of individuals, there will be little change in its status. That is why we are asking Troy citizens to get involved through our Circles™ Campaign.”

Move the Mountain Leadership Center has partnered with aha! Process, Inc. to engage communities in the Circles™ Campaign, an action plan bringing together the best efforts and resources of individuals, organizations, communities and government in an approach proven to raise people out of poverty.

A Circle is a supportive relationship made of one Circle Leader who is living in poverty and two to five Circle Allies, who are usually middle class volunteers. A Circle typically meets monthly to build friendships and to work on the Circle Leader’s plans and goals. It is already working in more than 30 communities around the United States, and is rapidly expanding into other communities.

“Research conducted with Circle Leaders led us to discover that one of the main things people in poverty are lacking is support,” says Miller. “They told us repeatedly that they need a dependable car so they can get to school to get an education or to get to their job. The Circles™ Campaign helps start them on the right track by giving them community support such as rides to their job, childcare in an emergency and hope for a better life. This campaign is about changing the community mind-set about wanting to end poverty one community at a time.”

Miller’s new book, Until It’s Gone: Ending Poverty In Our Nation, In Our Lifetime, is available at www.ahaprocess.com and www.amazon.com.

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Move the Mountain Leadership Center was founded in 1992 in Ames, Iowa to inspire and equip communities with knowledge, provide training, and offer technical assistance and consulting services to leaders and communities who are focused on ending poverty. For more information, visit www.movethemountain.org.