“Start Something” & Tiger Woods Fulfill Kids’ Dreams
By Tom Kertes

“Start Something”, an educational program born out of the cooperation between the Tiger Woods Foundation and Target Corporation, encourages kids between the ages of 8 and 17 to identify a specific personal desire or goal and begin taking actual and specific steps toward achieving their dreams.

It all started when Earl Woods, Tiger’s father, wrote a book that propounded the theory that all kids carry something special within themselves. “As parents and educators, it is our role and our duty to help kids figure out their goals and then show them how they can achieve them,” Earl Woods said.

Woods partnered with Target Corporation, a socially-minded company that spends 5 per cent of its taxable income – around $ 2 million a week – on the community, particularly on children and their education. Thus, in the year 2001, “Start Something” was born.

When Tiger first described to kids the spirit driving the project he said, “I challenge you. I dare you. I challenge you to be a winner in whatever you choose to do, whatever you care about. I challenge you to make a difference in the world, to reach higher and farther than you ever imagined. I challenge you to “Start Something.”

“Start Something” offers 10, two-hour sessions that students can attend individually or in a group. The first five sessions help kids think about their dreams and goals in order to come up with an Action Project, which is based on those ideas. Sessions six and seven are devoted to completing the Action Project. During sessions eight through 10 kids have an opportunity to reflect upon their efforts.

Upon completion of the program, the students can apply for scholarships ranging from $100 to $5000, which are used to fund their special interest or hobby. Over the course of the year, over $300,000 are awarded in scholarships.

“Start Something” aims to build character, to help kids learn to care about others and to teach them right from wrong. Though many of the children’s goals and dreams involve buying an instrument or attending music or soccer camp, some has dealt with providing medical support to a village in Africa or traveling to Australia to speak at a conference on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.

“We’ve had a great success so far,” said Ann Aronson, director of Community Relations at Target. “Over 77,000 children are participating in the program this year, led by teachers, coaches and a host of other volunteers.”

Dr. Richard Gallagher, the noted child psychologist who is the director of the Parenting Institute at the New York University Child Study Center, is a great supporter of the program. “Start Something” is special because it engages kids in the active pursuit of concrete goals,” he said. “Other programs may talk about goals in a positive way. But most never challenge kids to actually do something about them.”#

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