Justin David Brink (BS ’01, Secondary Business Education) was watching the 1989 motion picture Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure when he got an idea. Near the end of the film, one of the characters advises a crowd of people to "be excellent to each other"—and that was when Brink decided to start The Proper Possible Movement.
Brink had been working in advertising for J. Walter Thompson, moving from city to city. He met his wife, became a step-father, and decided he wanted to do something positive— but something creative, meaningful, flexible, and service oriented. He had always liked the word "proper" and realized no one was really using it anymore.
The Proper Possible Movement was born. It's difficult to define what proper does, but maybe that's because Proper has an open-ended, fluid mission. "I want people to define their own proper, so they can own it, " says Brink. The organization's tagline is simply "Do something proper."
Think about it as choosing to do the right thing, or leaving something better than how you found it. If a sign says "no left turn," don't turn left; treat animals with kindness; and ‘be polite to the people around you,’ are just a few simple examples of how to be proper. The Proper Possible Movement encourages people to take the high road, and it’s catching on.
The Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, a charter high school in Detroit that believes education in the city must play a critical role in transforming the community, recently kicked off Project Proper. Rather than establishing new programs and new curriculum, current curriculum is infused with a proper theme.
You'll find Proper active on Facebook and Youtube—and for two weeks in mid-November, you could find them in the Proper Lab in downtown Kalamazoo. Downtown Kalamazoo Incorporated 'gifted' a space for two weeks, and Proper held a social experiment. The space, an old Secretary of State Office, would otherwise seem drab. The large room with worn carpet, dated wallpaper, and virtually no furniture became a safe space to be creative with an open-door policy.
Anyone was welcome to drop in, relax, work on homework, or to create. Kindergarteners came in to do Yoga. An arguing mother and daughter stopped in and were able to calm down. A homeless man came in and found help with his desire to record music. A discussion was held on the positive and negative messages in rap and hip-hop music—among many other heart-warming and positive experiences.
Alec, a local college student working with Brink at Proper received a text message from an otherwise stranger he invited into Proper, who turned out to be homeless. “I know you don’t know me very well but you have changed my life in a way you will never understand. You showed me the Proper way to live and I thank you.”
"It pops up in ways you wouldn't expect," said Brink. "We are all able to connect on this common, proper theme."
Each day, a log of activities was kept written on large pieces of paper hung around the large room, so that the Proper Lab had full documentation of everything that occurred.
Proper creates videos promoting a positive, proper lifestyle and sells apparel, but one day, Brink hopes to turn Proper into a capable, transformative organization from which he can make a living. He envisions a storefront with a coffee shop and a large lab-like area for action. Perhaps a Proper Lab will pop up in your town.
To learn more about the Proper Possible Movement, please follow the links below:
Proper Possible Movement
Facebook— Proper Possible