31 Lengths Campaign

Secretariat was a unique racehorse. The legendary horse needed the trust of his trainer to run his race, his way. They didn’t tell him how to race; he chose that on his own.  The result was brilliance: Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by an astounding 31 horse lengths.

The 31 Lengths Campaign is a metaphor of Secretariat’s story and for each of our lives. It is a vision that each of us is unique and, when that certain trait is empowered, has boundless potential. The vision of The 31 Lengths Campaign is to provide opportunities for those fires to be sparked within children who live without sufficient hope and resources to come alive: “Empowering children’s hope and promise by connecting resources to provide commerce through education while subverting strife and reinforcing human dignity.”

The 31 Lengths Campaign began when Lauren and Conor Evans combined their passion and talents for construction with their desire to create sustainable opportunities through business in emerging economies. Conor spoke with many NGOs operating in developing countries during the first year of his Masters of Business Administration program at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. David Murphy (‘80), founder of Better World Books, introduced the Evans’ to the energetic nonprofit, Invisible Children. After a thorough review process and feasibility analysis, the Evans’ decided to partner with Invisible Children’s youth education initiative in Northern Uganda.

Realizing the stabilizing importance of small businesses to a society and through the partnership, the physical structure and program development of an entrepreneurship center is being built, designed and implemented for the Lacor Secondary School campus outside of Northern Uganda’s major city, Gulu. In conjunction with Invisible Children’s on-site engineering staff and their extensive knowledge of the Ugandan construction market, the entrepreneurship center is slated to be complete by the end of the 2012 summer.  In an effort to stabilize and expand the Northern Uganda economy and to support the intended focus, the program development design and implementation entails “Training the Trainers,” a Speakers Series with strategic partners, a MBA summer associate residency and an annual business plan competitions, amongst others.

In total, the construction and program development of the center is estimated to cost $90k achieved through the 31 Lengths multi-pronged, capital fundraising campaign, which targets persons and organizations interested in developing markets.

The Lacor Entrepreneurship Center is in direct alignment with the vision of The 31 Lengths Campaign. Through business education, it will empower children and spark sustainable opportunities.

For more information, please contact Conor Evans atConor@The31LengthsCampaign.com.