Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Belmonte.
Patrick, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I guess the Change is a Simple journey for me started when I met Lauren in 9th grade where we eventually became high school sweethearts. We both worked with kids at local camps and were interested in environmental issues in high school. We went off to different colleges, both majoring in Environmental Science; but I couldn’t quite visualize my next step in that field and I eventually switched to marketing/business.
A few years after college, we reconnected back to Beverly and began our careers and life together. At 27, I was working in marketing and was far from passionate about my work and was drawn to all things health, kids and planet. I was even volunteering to be the tour guide for school groups that visited my company. Lauren was working as an environmental scientist handling environmental destruction and pollution.
Although this work was important, we both knew it was reactive. Much of the destruction was caused by our consumer lifestyle. She was frustrated, and her stories would frustrate me. We started asking ourselves ‘why do we both have strong environmental values and care so much?’ And we both traced that source back to our elementary years. Her 5th-grade teacher and my parents sparked that passion.
Over a typical Sunday family dinner at my parent’s house, Lauren and I began asking my brother, a 4th-grade teacher, what was happening in schools to instill environmental values. His response was alarming: “Nothing. And we don’t teach much science either.”
So that’s where it started: we led one lesson at North Beverly Elementary, in my brother’s classroom. We weren’t an organization; just two people using our professional experiences and passion to reach some kids. We thought that even if we got through to one or two kids, it would be a victory. But they were all fascinated! Parents started telling us how kids were making changes to the foods they ate and the products they used.
One classroom turned to 3, then 10 when a friend wanted us to visit his son’s classroom, then to 20, to 100, to 700. But we couldn’t do it alone and found the perfect pool of volunteers: college students. Training 40+ college students has helped us reach over 20,000 elementary students in 25 cities since 2011. They are incredible role models for kids, allowing kids to see sustainable behavior as cool and smart.
In 2013 we received a Cummings Foundation grant. Change is Simple was only 2 years old and the smallest organization to get the award. The grant allowed us to hire two people that were volunteering with us at the time and, all of a sudden, we were working in about 15 schools. This was a turning point for the organization and we haven’t looked back since.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I was the smallest guy on my college football team, my coaches were ex-marines and I returned punts. I was hit hard and often, had two reconstructive knee surgeries and that was a cake walk compared to this journey. This has been the most challenging 8 years of my life. Lauren and I went down to one income for 4 years and have had to make a lot of personal sacrifices. We’ve gotten denied by more grants than I care to even share. But it has all been worth it because we believe wholeheartedly in the work we do and the program we’ve created with our incredible staff and college mentors.
The good far outweighs the bad. We’ve received major grants, won local and national awards, have amazing the most amazing donors, and most importantly our students are making real change for the planet and achieving greater academic success because of the program. Year after year, the students are what keeps us moving forward.
We have dealt with many skeptics of the husband & wife business too. But I can’t imagine a better partner. We support each other 100%. When I am down, Lauren lifts me up, and vice versa. We can be honest with each other about the work and we keep each other in check. But the biggest thing is we are both so passionate about the mission that when we are writing grants until 2 am or working on the weekends, we know it’s worth it. Plus we genuinely enjoy working together and that makes things easier.
Fast forward (over the bumps, windy and, at times, dead-end roads), and we now have an incredible team that we feel so lucky to work with and we are partnering with 40+ schools all over greater Boston. We are also working with some corporate partners to bring some really exciting projects to fruition that could take Change is Simple to a Global scale…
Overall this journey has been incredible. I’ve met the most amazing people, and our family and friends have supported us every step of the way. Every day I learn something new about the world, business, about Lauren and myself. We have good days and bad, as I am sure most entrepreneurs can relate to, but the organization is continuously growing and it sure is exciting. I wake up in the morning charged to keep moving forward and continuing to see the change happen in more kids.
Please tell us about Change is Simple, Inc…
Environmental issues have typically been perceived as an annoying, trendy topic served with a hearty side of guilt. We change that conversation and make it positive with simple messages that provide an understanding of why and how every person can be part of the solution.
Change is Simple’s STEM program transforms classrooms into construction zones and ecosystems, and students into engineers and scientists working toward a common goal- innovation for a better world. Our multi-year program has our team bringing exciting hands-on learning workshops right into classrooms, several times a year. Our focus is on elementary and middle schools.
Children learn alongside experts and college science students. Our program focuses on the sustainability of things relevant to kids; their food, the energy that powers their XBox, the products they use and put on their bodies, and the systems that run our modern world. They finish each unit of our curriculum with a concrete way to live healthier and more sustainably. Environmental education is often about whales, bugs, oceans, and rivers, and all of those things are important.
However, Americans spend 93% of their lives indoors, which is where they (we) make the most impact. Cars, grocery stores, Amazon, and iPhones aren’t going away, so we flipped things around. We designed a program in which students explore their classrooms, homes and communities to connect their actions to human health and the health of the planet.
We wanted to reach as many kids as possible so we designed the program to fit into any school by integrating required curriculum objectives. After each workshop with our team classroom teachers are provided with several activities, projects, videos, and challenges that continue the learning on the topic and activates students in using Math, literacy, social and science skills in real-world ways. Classroom teachers report student improvement across the board.
We strive to connect with kids and provide experiences that build their skills and confidence. They’re also taught to give support to their peers and those in need, whether that is a friend, a neighbor, a creature, or someone across the globe they’ve never met. Change is Simple kids learn they are part of a much bigger picture.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
There are times when I wish we had focused more attention on fundraising early on to help build the resources needed for faster growth. We put almost 100% of our time into running the programming in schools. That was our number one priority.
I would drive the team to schools, starting at 7 am each day, arrive back at the office at 3 pm and begin prepping the next partner school visit. We focused on quality and details for each classroom. Fundraising was an afterthought; something we were tentative to do as a young organization. But in hindsight, advocating for donors and corporate partners sooner would have been a powerful catalyst to the program.
Pricing:
- Consider joining our exclusive ChangeMaker Society, a philanthropy program that has individuals sponsoring a classroom for an entire year for $1000. This provides each child in the class with about 10 hours of mentoring, 40 hours of STEM learning, and 4 environmental projects that impact their community.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8 Enon St. Beverly, MA 01915
- Website: www.changeissimple.org
- Phone: (978)344-2155
- Email: patrick@changeissimple.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changeissimple/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/changeissimpleinc/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/changeissimple1
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6sskC3senFm1JDeAOuwYGw/videos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=0
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