History

Simple History

10K0: Growing an idea, planning, raising awareness and funds.
10K1 - Ben Folds: First concert, volunteering only in Johnson County (The University of Iowa only)
10K2 - Guster: The U of I… and a little bit of Drake and ISU
10K3 - Cake: Organization goes statewide with 10K at 7 campuses, 35 high schools
10K4 - Jack’s Mannequin: Replicable, local, sustainable projects in Eastern Iowa, Central Iowa, and Dane County, Wisconsin
10K5 – OK Go: Move it to the Englert Theater: new venue, same show

10K6 - Girl Talk: More hours, more volunteers and 10K goes East Coast at Yale, Bluegrass in Kentucky, and threepeats in Iowa with 10K Quad Cities (added to 10KCI and 10KEI)

10K7 - Howie Day: 2 for 20 let volunteers completing at least 20 hours bring a friend and 10K Exchange allowed volunteer to visit other shows in Iowa.

10K8 - DJ Earworm:

10K9 - Grace Potter:

In Depth History

Sweet and Sour Chicken

The 10,000 Hours Show was founded in the fall of 2002 by University of Iowa undergraduates who believed young people could make a difference now – not just in the future – by giving what we can give now – time, energy, skills, and passion. These students worked within the context of a nonprofit community project incubator they and their peers had created called The James Gang. For the next year, 10K’s founders worked with the Iowa City and University of Iowa (UI) communities to develop a model that met the needs of both young volunteers and community nonprofits.

The first 10K launched in Johnson County in the fall of 2003 as a partnership between community incubator The James Gang and the UI. The inaugural Show netted 13,573 hours performed by more than 600 volunteers who celebrated at an incredible Ben Folds concert.

Statewide Expansion

The 10,000 Hours Show took off from there, with interested communities across Iowa and the country contacting 10K to learn more. The second 10K (10K2) added Drake and Iowa State universities to the mix. That year’s Show included 925 volunteers serving 20,009 hours, and Guster brought the house down at the volunteers-only concert.
During 10K3, AmeriCorps*VISTA grants supported three 10K leaders so they could volunteer full-time for the project. With the additional time, they worked with community leaders across Iowa to refine 10K’s model for continued growth and replication. Concurrently, 10K3 worked with 8 colleges and 35 high schools, with 2,005 volunteers completing 38,123 hours of service to celebrate at a Cake concert in Des Moines.

Doing The Splits

Adopting the revised model, 10K in Iowa split into 10K Eastern Iowa and 10K Central Iowa. The project’s partnership with local campuses and United Ways was deepened, as The James Gang fully spun it off to these community partners. The next step of the model also allowed out-of-state communities such as Madison, WI, whose students had long been working with 10K leadership, to begin launching their own projects.
United Way of America

The 10,000 Hours Show and The United Way of America (UWA) began working together in the fall of 2006. In 2007, 10,000 Hours officially became a part of UWA, giving 10K a long-term institutional home and UWA another exciting program to add to their community impact work. Working within the United Way system, 10,000 Hours is reaching more and more campuses and communities with the message of “You volunteer, you rock!”

10K National

In partnership with United Way of America, 10K National exists to maintain standards, facilitate sharing of best practices, and track outcomes across these local 10Ks. 10K National also supports the development of new 10Ks. Communities interested in launching their own 10K do so through a 10K National process called Invite 10K. A 10K USA Advisory Board representative of local 10K students, campuses and United Way partners, as well as select national supporters, is being developed to manage 10K USA.