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Adam Bucko provides youth a stable exit from the social service system

Adam Bucko

Photo: Adam Bucko

Adam Bucko is the co-founder, managing director and spiritual drive behind the Reciprocity Foundation, a non-profit organization that enables homeless and high-risk youth and young adults to exit the social-service system, start meaningful careers and achieve their potential. Before all this, Bucko was a monk. He grew up in Poland, moved to the U.S. at 17 and spent his early years exploring the anarchist punk movement and working for social and political change. His desire for a life that mattered led him to monasteries in the U.S., Thailand and India. His life-defining experience took place when he lived and worked at an experimental “community of the poor” (Sewa Ashram) in the slums of Delhi, India, where he helped create a program for street children that used theater and creativity as tools for outreach and personal transformation. After returning to the U.S., he worked on the streets of various American cities with youth struggling against homelessness and prostitution. His organization offers programs related to career and college preparation; leadership and social entrepreneurship; and integral well-being. Both the mission of the Reciprocity Foundation and Adam’s journey demonstrate the love, care and compassion that have the power to transform the fabric of our society.

Intelligent Optimists: Adam Bucko