SOCIAL IMPACT
Shared Experiences USA is in the business of doing good.
Proceeds go directly to people in the community and the organizations they support. We also provide mentorship and job training; our staff is comprised of current and former Teach for America teachers, Delta State University graduate fellows studying social entrepreneurship, Meraki Roasting Company fellows and other students.
Our mission is to strengthen community and to connect people with one another.
Shared Experiences is:
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Personal. We create human connection. We've built not classes or tours but experiences that welcome conversation, and connection.
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Intellectually curious. We're nerds who love learning, and assume you do, too. Our experiences don't dumb anything down; they connect you with experts in their field, and ensure you walk away knowing more (history, culture, technique...) than before.
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Archival and experiential. We curate history without walls. We believe you don't need a museum to share your stories. AND that the past is best understood in connection with the present -- sometimes by literally walking in the footsteps of those who came before us.
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Fun. We're also kids at heart. We love adventures, goofing around, and rocking out. We know each traveler took a day off work, or a few dollars out of travel-savings, to hang with us. We appreciate that, and take your vacation seriously! Most Shared Experiences are built to ensure you have a good time (and leave with great pictures to prove it).
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Local. Who says fun, educational experiences should be only for tourists? Come "play tourist in your own backyard!" Wine & Paint Nights ain't just for city slickers anymore. Locals welcome, too.
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Kind. We believe the world could use more human connection and kindness. We create and share it every day.
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Patriotic. We love our country. All of it. This big, beautiful place has such a diversity of states and people and perspectives. In sharing experiences, we share ourselves...and can better understand each other. This company was founded to invite Americans to get out and meet our fellow countrymen – with whom we can both disagree and share so much.
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Social impact. We believe business can be an engine for good. We financially support and raise awareness for the organizations doing great work in our community. We also employ and train young people here. (Our saddest and proudest days are when they leave us to work somewhere else!)
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Economic development in action. We collaborate closely with other local small businesses, as an ecosystem bringing foot traffic, business, and life to downtown revitalization efforts.
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Community-based. We created this after listening to the needs of both locals (wanting to connect with tourists, but not having infrastructure to do so) and visitors (needing more daytime options, and wanting to connect more deeply to the bluesmen, culture, and history here), and have grown organically based on community feedback ever since.
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Old-school innovation. We are proudly rooted in both Silicon Valley and the Mississippi Delta. We blend modernity – like online booking platforms and social impact research – with tradition. Like putting your phone away, going out, and meeting people.