On this week's How We Connected from the US Chamber of Connection, hosts Charlotte Massey and Aaron Hurst kick off conference week at the Council on Foundations annual gathering in Seattle, where they're hosting a breakfast to make the case that connection is the next major frontier in philanthropy. They cover Charlotte's week in a Colorado cabin, an unexpected friendship struck up in a Pilates class, and Aaron's tequila-fuelled failure with balloon decorations for his son's 18th birthday. This week's feature interview is with Ethan Bryan, author of A Year of Playing Catch, who on January 1, 2018 was dared by his daughters to play catch every day for a year. He tells the story of how that single act unlocked a grassroots movement, why catch is uniquely human (it uses both sides of the brain at once, which lets the conversational gatekeeper drop), and the school mentee who had never held a glove. Aaron and Charlotte close the episode by going outside to play catch in an alley.
0:00 - Introduction
0:30 - Welcome and Conference Week
3:07 - Gifts, Outfits and Weekend Updates
12:56 - Introducing Ethan Bryan
16:11 - The Year of Playing Catch
28:15 - The Movement Grows
36:17 - Dreams for the Future
41:34 - Hosts Reflect on Playing Catch
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How We Connected explores the conversations that power communities across the United States. Aaron Hurst and Charlotte Massey share what they’re building at the US Chamber of Connection and speak with leaders whose work strengthens local connection. Episodes offer human stories, practical insights, and ideas you can use in your own community.
Aaron Hurst, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, is a longtime entrepreneur focused on purpose and community. He founded Imperative and the Taproot Foundation and wrote The Purpose Economy.
Charlotte Massey, Co-Founder of the US Chamber of Connection, leads community programs nationally. A Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree and former organizer and founder, she works at the intersection of civic life and entrepreneurship.
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Ethan Bryan, Author and Storyteller
Ethan Bryan is a Springfield, Missouri-based author and storyteller whose work centers on baseball, play, and the people who make community happen. On January 1, 2018, dared by his daughters at the dinner table, he set out to play catch with someone every day for a year. The experience took him across ten states and roughly twelve thousand miles, throwing a ball with public school teachers, veterans, journalists, nurses, entertainers, athletes from every level, and members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The resulting book, A Year of Playing Catch, was a Casey Award finalist and is now the seed of a quiet grassroots movement of people doing the same thing in their own cities. Ethan lost his hair to alopecia at age six and has often described that early experience of being on the margins as foundational to the way he approaches connection now. He works at Community Partnership of the Ozarks, where he uses catch to mentor students, and he is building a curriculum to train others to do the same. His writing has earned him invitations to the White House and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He lives in Springfield with his wife Jamie and daughters Kaylea and Sophie, and still dreams of playing for the Kansas City Royals.
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Read the book:
Heylo
Heylo is a community-management platform built for real-world groups of every kind, giving leaders a clean, branded home base to run events, manage members, communicate clearly, and handle payments without friction. It brings scheduling, RSVPs, waivers, announcements, topic-based chats, and membership tools into one place so clubs, teams, and interest groups can stay organized and connected without the noise of traditional social platforms.
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