A Hero's Journey: Building Better Communities -- And Making Some Cash -- Through Design

Gilliam is director of Public Workshop, an organization that works with youth and communities to design and build projects that transform neighborhoods. Will, the caller, is one of a group of young adults who worked tirelessly to build a pop-up skate park on a vacant lot in their Camden community last summer. It had rained heavily the night before, causing damage to one of the ramps, and Will was insistent that they fix it as soon as possible. Will and the volunteers who helped build the project are known as Building Heroes. They lead Public Workshop's community building projects throughout the Philadelphia region, learning valuable design, building, leadership and entrepreneurship skills through the organization's Building Hero Project incubator. (The program is an outgrowth of this initiative.) Click here to read more.