Bethania Beray Harrison
Building Communities Where People Belong
Jonesboro Unlimited
How belonging, participation, and local leadership strengthen a community.
Positive local stories, told every week
1st EpisodeWhere Local Impact Begins.
Every community has people making a difference. We give them a place to tell their stories — and local businesses help make those stories possible.
One community. One conversation. One episode at a time.
See the model in action
A real local story. A real community conversation.
NEA Impact, produced for Swept Away, is the proof of concept that inspired 1st Episode.
See what we're building
NEA Impact Became the Proof.
It started with a simple idea: give people making a difference a place to tell their story. NEA Impact is Swept Away's existing local show. It showed us this model works—and inspired the larger 1st Episode vision for new communities.
Mark Morrow
Strengthening Local Businesses and Communities
Arvest Bank
Why healthy local businesses and healthy communities grow together.
Aaron Farley
Empowering Families Through Reliable Transportation
Delta Motors
A local business story centered on service, trust, and helping families move forward.
The mission
Every Community Has a Story.
Some of the most meaningful stories never make the news.
We give the people making a difference a place to tell their story.
They are giving their time, helping someone who needs it, building something better, and giving back without asking for recognition. One community. One conversation. One episode at a time.
Where stories live
Meaningful impact is happening all around us.
Inside local businesses
Owners and teams building something useful while finding ways to give back.
Across nonprofits
Leaders and volunteers quietly meeting needs that might otherwise go unseen.
In schools and neighborhoods
People investing time, energy, and care in the places they call home.
Throughout the community
Everyday people whose personal stories can encourage someone else to help.
Sponsors make it possible
Five Local Businesses. One Shared Mission.
Every local 1st Episode show is supported by just five businesses from the community. Their support allows us to produce and share a new local story every week.
5
Local sponsors
4
New stories each month
1
Community
A simple commitment
Support the stories all month long.
$500 per month.
Your company is not sponsoring a single episode. You are putting your name behind four local stories every month as one of only five primary sponsors.
Sponsor Your Local ShowLocal show sponsorship
One community · one shared mission
WEEK 1
A new community story
WEEK 2
A new community story
WEEK 3
A new community story
WEEK 4
A new community story
$500
Per month
4
Episodes
5
Sponsors max
Why businesses participate
People remember the businesses that show up for their community.
This is not about interrupting people with another advertisement. It is about being visibly connected to something positive.
Association with positive local stories
Recognition across all four monthly episodes
A visible place among only five supporters
A consistent connection to community impact
Support for one new local story every week
A meaningful reason for people to remember your company
The model we are building
One local show. Then another.
The long-term vision is to bring this format to communities across the country. Each 1st Episode show will feature its own people, organizations, stories, and local sponsors. We are building toward that future community by community.
Local show format
1st Episode — [Community]
One new story every week, centered on the people making that community better.
It started with one community
NEA Impact showed us what is possible.
When local people are given a place to talk about how they are making their community better, their stories can encourage someone else to act. Now we are building the model to bring those conversations to more communities.
NEA Impact
The local proof of concept that inspired the larger 1st Episode vision.
Every movement has a first episode.
One show. One community. Then another.
Your community could be next
Help bring 1st Episode to your community.
Each new show begins with local businesses willing to help tell the stories that deserve to be heard.
Five sponsors
Four stories
One community
Weekly conversations
$500
Per month
A simple monthly commitment to support positive stories in your community.
04
New stories
Your support helps us publish one meaningful local conversation every week.
05
Sponsors only
Every local show is intentionally limited to five primary business supporters.
Your Community Could Be Next.
Help us give the people making a difference in your community a place to tell their stories.
Bring 1st Episode to My Community Sponsor Your Local Show