Two years ago I had a very unusual opportunity. I had the pleasure of visiting Baden Academy Charter School where one young girl—Kadie—was spearheading an effort to bring Dream Flight Adventures to her school.
We receive inquires about building simulators all the time, but they usually come from teachers and district administrators. And naturally students always comment “I wish my school had one of these,” but that’s usually where the conversation stops. Not so for Kadie at Baden Academy. Over the past two years she has devoted her time and energy to making her “Baden Dream” a reality.
Dream Bigger! That is Kadie’s message. Her story of moving from a small idea to one that has involved much of our school is extraordinary. She communicates an entrepreneurial spirit alongside her earnest desire to make a gift to her school community.
Kadence is an entrepreneur and leader of the online company Baden Dreams. She has spent several years attempting to come up with creative ways to raise money to bring the indoor playground, Dream Flight Adventures, to our campus.
She started out trying to raise money for playground equipment, but during her research she stumbled upon our program and immediately latched onto the dream. When I met with her and told her about how other schools have gone about getting a simulator—a complex process that almost always involves raising grant funding—she was undaunted. She didn’t quite know how selling handmade jewellery on Zazzle.com would accomplish this mighty feat, but she didn’t let it stop her. She’s fearless, and it’s that same unconquerable entrepreneurial spirit that made Dream Flight Adventures come to life in the first place.
We are humbled and amazed at Kadie’s perseverance. Two years have passed, and her homegrown efforts are still going strong. She recently made this TED-Ed Club talk, and we were so inspired that we simply had to share it with the world. If we had the resources, we’d donate an entire simulator to Baden Academy simply on behalf of Kadie and her dream. And who knows, maybe some fairy godmother will hear her story and together we can make this dream come true.