If you’re a young creative type searching for ways to reconcile your creative talents with your desire to enact social change, consider the month-long intensive courses run by award-winning/grant-winning social change lab Project M. Founded in 2003 by renowned designer John Bielenberg, the organization pushes designers, writers, photographers, and filmmakers to “think wrong,” as they conceive nontraditional projects to help local communities and environments.

During each lab, students devote themselves to establishing and executing one idea. Most recently, a team in Hale County, Alabama created a pie shop. The shop’s goal was to act as a neutral place for community members and Project M members to meet and discuss local concerns and potential solutions. Over a slice of pie, baked by the talented chef Breanne Kostyk, the shop transformed into a casual, unconventional town hall that encouraged communication, activism, and of course, the consumption of delicious pie.

Hale County was the site of another Project M idea, Buy A Meter, which raised money for local families to purchase water meters that gave them access to clean, sewage-free water. Other Project M ideas have taken off in Costa Rica, the Gulf Coast, and Baltimore.

The organization’s next lab will feature 8 lucky wrong-thinkers in Detroit. Although the application deadline just passed, follow Project M’s blog to stay updated on its projects and to find out information on its next lab.