On one late Thursday, the non-profit Catalyst Collective hosted a Guys Movie Night Out at the Moviehouse & Eatery in Northwest Austin. The meet up began with an hour of discussion and drinks, which was then followed by the viewing of the action movie Bloodshot. Although the movie night was a guys centered event, there were still around 20 participants who showed up. Listen below to hear how the night went:
This is only one of the many events that Catalyst Collective is known to host all the way from Middle School students to young adults. The non-profit’s main goal is to help individual find their unique purpose in life. Catalyst Collective achieves this through a variety of programs, including after school programs for students, discussion nights and get-togethers for young adults.
However, recently with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, Catalyst Collective has had to re-evaluate how it connects with it’s community. Since gatherings of more than 10 people have been banned in the Austin area, the non-profit has had to find other digital outlets to continue reaching their goals. Join me as I sit down with Catalyst’s founder and executive director Joe Elliott as we discuss the non-profit’s activities, goals, and troubles dealing with COVID-19:
COVID-19 has caused great trouble for Catalyst Collective, being that one of their biggest programs “After Hours” directly deals with students who go to the Middle and High Schools of the Austin area. Since COVID-19 has caused many school closures, Catalyst Collective has been unable to capitalize on their largest programs. Take a look at the data below for more details:
As it can be seen in the Flourish Data above, Catalyst Collective has had to think of other ways to continue their business. Some examples could stem from the interview I had with Joe Elliott, such as hosting online workshops for business via video meeting software (Zoom being an example). Or one could look at the Twitch Fortnite stream Catalyst Collective put on for students unable to go to school during COVID-19.
It is non-profits like Catalyst Collective who have had to step up their efforts during the COVID-19 outbreak. It should also set an example to other smaller organizations and institutions, that there are still ways to keep a community strong, even through a pandemic.
