THE POWER OF PARTNERSHIP: How Mike Burns and the Community & College Partnership Program Are Rebuilding America From the Ground Up

By Shawn Raleigh | Game Changers Media Network

When you sit down with Mike Burns, Founder of the Community & College Partnership Program (C2P2Works), you quickly realize you’re not just talking to an organizer you’re talking to an architect of change. A strategist. A mentor. A man whose life’s calling is shaping stronger, fairer, and more resilient communities through the power of education, collaboration, and compassion.

Many remember Burns from his years as President of the Henry County Democratic Committee, where he championed civic engagement, equity, and grassroots power. But today, his work has expanded far beyond local politics. His reach now stretches from Alaska to Louisiana, from New York to New Mexico, and even internationally to Canada, Kazakhstan, and the Bahamas.

Through the C2P2 Works, Burns is pioneering a simple but revolutionary model: Communities identify their needs. Colleges contribute the expertise. Together, they solve problems. And the results? Nothing short of transformative.

A Mission Rooted in Equity

The mission of the Community & College Partnership Program is both bold and beautifully uncomplicated:

Provide pro bono technical assistance to poor and underserved communities based entirely on their self-identified needs no politics, no bias, no barriers. “It doesn’t matter if you’re White, Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, Democrat or Republican,” Burns says. “If you’re underserved and you ask for help, we help. Because the real division in America isn’t race or party it’s the unequal distribution of resources.” That philosophy guides everything the program does. Communities define the challenges. The program finds the college experts. Students gain hands on experience. Residents receive professional grade solutions for free. No losers. Only winners. And the impact multiplies year after year.

How the Program Works

Burns has built relationships with over 85 colleges and universities, from elite institutions like Stanford and Columbia, to HBCUs like Grambling State and Alabama A&M, to powerhouse public institutions like Georgia State, Georgia Tech, and University of Florida. Graduate students, seniors, PhD candidates, and professors take on real community challenges as part of:

Senior design project, Capstone assignments, Practicum coursework, Research initiatives, and Service-learning requirements. Once a college commits to a project, the community and school are connected directly.

Every partnership ends with a formal, public town hall presentation where students deliver their findings, answer questions, and hand over the final product anything from a communication plan to a building design to a public health assessment. Burns says it best: “Both sides win. And that’s why the program works.”

Changing Lives in America’s Most Overlooked Places Alaska: Heating Homes, Saving Lives

One of the most astonishing stories comes from a remote Alaskan village where families lived in 50-year-old homes built with no insulation in Alaska. Electric bills reached $850 a month, even though homes struggled to stay above 50 degrees.

Burns connected the community with the University of Florida, one of the nation’s top housing programs. Students and professors took multiple trips, conducted assessments, and helped the tribe develop a competitive EPA Community Change Grant application. They won $20 million. The funding is now being used to:

Construct new insulated homes, Rehabilitate existing structures, Develop long-term environmental and infrastructure plans, A community that was freezing is now rebuilding. Philadelphia: Turning a Brownfield Into an Urban Farm In West Philadelphia, an African American entrepreneur bought a contaminated brownfield site with a dream of creating an urban farm. His biggest barrier? Electricity was too far from the greenhouse location. C2P2 Works partnered with a university to design a solar-powered greenhouse, complete with: Component lists, Engineering schematics, and Cost-effective installation plans Today that greenhouse not only grows food for the neighborhood it teaches local residents how to grow their own.

New Mexico: Giving Youth a Reason to Stay

In Farmington, New Mexico, young people were leaving in large numbers. With no economic opportunity, no creative space, and no support, the future looked bleak. C2P2 partnered with a university to design and help build a dual maker space: One side technical (computers, design software, AI tools), One side mechanical (3D printers, fabrication tools, production equipment) Now, youth can: Test business ideas, Build prototypes, Launch small ventures, Stay in their own communities and thrive .The maker space is still active today. Louisiana, New York, Indigenous Nations & More. From supporting Indigenous communities in Louisiana and New Mexico, to helping tribal groups in Canada preserve endangered languages using AI audio technology, the program has proven one thing: This model works anywhere. For anyone. On any issue.

The Birth of a National Movement

Burns didn’t always see this as his life’s calling.

“I thought I would help locally,” he says. “But sometimes God places you where you’re needed, not where you expected.” When COVID hit, everything changed. Travel stopped. Proximity no longer mattered. And Burns had an epiphany: “If schools can help communities from 1 mile away, they can help them from 1,000 miles away.”

So he expanded his mission. And the world responded. Today, CCPP is working in: Alaska , Mississippi, Georgia , Louisiana , New Mexico, New York, Canada , The Bahamas , and Kazakhstan. Projects range from environmental protection to housing, education, agriculture, technology, and cultural preservation. One powerful example: A C2P2 Works supported environmental study in the Bahamas became the scientific foundation for the country’s first-ever environmental protection legislation in 50 years. Building Bridges Between Cultures. Perhaps the most moving impact is the way C2P2 brings young people together across cultural, racial, and political divides. Burns shares a story of a 17-year-old son of a Columbia University professor who joined a project in Mississippi: He raised funds , Donated 40 laptops, Built a music-production app, Flew to Jackson to teach high school students, Donated equipment and Continued mentoring them monthly for two years. “Those kids don’t see him as a White kid from New York,” Burns says. “They see him as their partner.” And he sees them the same way. That’s the heart of the program.

A Legacy That Teaches, Heals & Unites

It’s rare to find a program that:

✔ Strengthens education

✔ Transforms communities

✔ Empowers youth

✔ Builds cross-cultural understanding

✔ Creates nationwide impact

✔ Costs communities nothing

But that’s what the Community & College Partnership Program delivers every single year. As Burns often reminds his students and communities: “There’s only one race the human race.” And through this work, he’s proving that when we invest in each other, we all rise together.

A Game Changer for America

From the moment we met Mike Burns back in 2016, we saw the potential in his ability to mobilize people, inspire youth, and build partnerships that matter. Today, he’s not just transforming local neighborhoods he’s reshaping communities across the nation and the world. His mission aligns perfectly with our own:

Educate the Mind., Elevate the Spirit., Eliminate the Stereotype.

This is what real change looks like. This is what leadership looks like. And this is why the Community & College Partnership Program is a true Game Changer.

Mike Burns Talks About The Power of Partnership On VOTV

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