EHAS and Cornell

Youth Empowerment Academy

Using adversity to find passion and purpose

Cornell Bunting is an author and motivational speaker who connects to his audience through his words. The power of his writing inspires and entertains children and adults alike. But few know the catalyst behind his brilliant writing, poetry, and inspirational speaking. It is because of his own harrowing story, one of survival, inspiration and motivation, that Bunting found the urge to reach as many people as possible. He has extended his reach through his nonprofit organization EHAS. EHAS is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.

Because Bunting believes in the possibility of using this organization to create self-reliance and a growth mindset for disadvantaged youths, he set upon a mission to empower the youths to create a healthy mindset of value and self-reliance. The vision behind that goal is to teach the youths how to use the adversity in their lives to find purpose through their unique stories.

Bunting is no stranger to adversity. Years ago, he was framed and spent time in jail for a series of crimes he did not commit. The crimes comprised 16 felony charges that put Bunting behind bars for ten months facing 32 years to life in prison. During that time in jail, while things were first confusing to him, Bunting witnessed a miracle. His life suddenly came into perspective and he was able to acknowledge his purpose. In jail, he would come to understand the importance of writing his stories, sharing them, and seeing how those around him had their own stories despite the crimes they committed. He understood that their current situation did not cancel their purpose. There was always a reason why they went astray. He wondered if he could develop some sort of intervention at that important intersection point, he could help many kids never have to grow up to see the inside of a prison cell.

He decided to open an organization to help at-risk youth. T h o u g h t EHAS, he could spare many of these young people from a terrible fate. More importantly, they would be able to share their stories and help even more youth. Because of how he reconnected to his writing while he was behind bars, Bunting developed the ability to listen to the young mind in prison.

They were raw and undeveloped, but had great promise and potential. From that, he knew how important it was to develop. This was not just about lessening crime and imprisonment. That was the bonus. The real prize is that youth were guided in discovering their purpose and the many ways they could add great value to society.

This was the impetus behind EHAS and the force that gave birth to its mission. Bunting wanted to ensure the organization would empower storytellers who are creating or expanding self-sustaining communities that benefit other youth. The organization would also cultivate a purpose-driven mindset through mental wellness and financial literacy. As he built his team, he searched for people who would help reach the younger mindset. He partnered with other organizations to help bring great value to his vision. The story creators program started to take shape as a program that consists of four initiatives:

Using adversity to find purpose

Developing Critical thinking skills

Valuing Friends and family

Learning Financial literacy

This program/workshop will help youths understand how their mindsets contribute to their success and failures. The workshop will help to fix broken mindsets that seek to convince kids that their minds are inherently negative. Instead, they will learn a growth mindset — one that helps the youth to trust and believe in their qualities and supports them as they develop over time through hard work and dedication. Practicing, they learn, is the key to mastery. EHAS will help youths look for opportunities to challenge themselves to learn and improve. They will utilize feedback as a tool for growth. The result of this program will be that young people and adults alike will embrace a mindset for better relationships and more motivated, productive, and resilient lives.

Because of how Bunting suffered in his life and nearly lost is all, he knows that life is about one thing above all else: purpose. For the one who has found purpose, life is beautiful. For the one living devoid of purpose, life can be intolerable. The program centers on purpose in those four key initiative areas to kickstart the growth mindset. It starts with Bunting’s Book “Escaping the Darkness” which has ten chapters and ten lessons on how to use adversity to find purpose. The users will be given examples of typical life challenges and will be provided with practical tools for dealing with them. It also contains practice questions and discussion topics from the workshops.

Users learn how to change the narrative of their lives by finding passion and purpose from their adversity. The course goes into how to help youths think critically which includes a full spectrum of understanding the decision-making process. Study of decision- making is combined with rich discussion topics from the workbook. They will gain insight on their life choices and what consequences those choices bring. They will understand how important it is to strive when they and their families have the support they need. This program will help youths understand how to engage, support, and partner with their parents and other trusted adults to achieve the best outcome.

The final part of the program will help them with foundational principles and effective tools for financial management, budgeting, and investing so they can have an appreciation of their relationship with money, providing the opportunity to improve quality of life.

Bunting and the EHAS team seek to partner with organizations and individuals that understand the value of youths and what it looks like to help develop their mindset in these critically important areas. Anyone who is interested in supporting this worthy cause can email cornell@ehasinc.org or visit their website www.ehasinc.org