Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see
~Brandon Heath
The lyrics above are from one of my favorite songs by Brandon Heath. It’s always been my heart to help ones less fortunate than myself. However, with five children to raise, feed and educate, that has only been possible on a limited basis. Many times I’ve contented myself by saying my mission was to invest in my children and raise loving, responsible adults that would give back to the world through their gifts and talents.
Now that our family is more into the season of starting careers and families, I’m finally able to revisit opportunities to “pay it forward.” But now, with limited time and resources, plus the climate of financial impropriety, taking action can seem complicated and challenging. I can easily feel discouraged that my contribution isn’t going to make much of a difference anyway. So when Karen Whitehead told me how she was managing fund-raising for her documentary through micro-financing, I was intrigued.
Innovation or Enterprise?
The concept of the “social entrepreneur” is not new. In the late 1970’s, Bill Drayton, founder of ASHOKA, first coined the phrase, “innovators for the public.” In his vision he saw the need for the emergence of individuals with an entrepreneurial spirit driven to bring about social change. At about the same time, Michael Young introduced what he called “social innovation.” In the beginning, Drayton focused on the concept of a social business model while Young’s emphasis was on the innovative solution to social needs. Today, most people in this field recognize the importance of meshing the innovative solution and the entrepreneurial business model together to achieve success. This winning combination gives us all the opportunity to become supporters of the causes that matter to us the most.
Problems or Opportunities?
Not sure about where the world is headed? The global challenges of poverty, finances, freedom, et al, can be overwhelming. How can I help? In a recent article in the Washington Post, several pioneers of social entrepreneurism were interviewed. Premal Shah, of kiva.org, had this to say, “If we talk about the world’s biggest problems, it becomes disempowering, and you don’t even know what step one is. Step one is doing the smallest possible thing in this moment, and then step two will present itself.” Greg Dees, co-founder of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship at Duke University states, “We see our government struggling, and that’s true around the world. We need private resources and private resourcefulness.” Kriss Deiglmeier of Stanford’s Center for Social Innovation explains, “Philanthropy is just the money side. To drive a social innovation to scale takes a person with the right skill-set—people who are systems thinkers, collaborators, empathetic innovators.”
Wanna Help?
For many of us, the biggest obstacle to participation in philanthropy and social change is time and technology. Here’s a list of five organizations and links to make it easier for you to get started:
www.kiva.org — is a company that facilitates the lending of money to small businesses in poverty-stricken countries. The tag line on their website encourages, “Empower people around the world with a $25.00 loan.”
www.toms.com — is based on the concept of “one for one.” The company was started by Blake Mycoskie, when he saw the overwhelming numbers of children in South America without shoes. “With every pair you purchase, TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need.” Want to do more? Host a “sole” party by inviting friends to buy a pair of shoes and decorate them together at the party.
www.one.org— started as a grassroots campaign against extreme poverty, ONE advocates for your involvement in global issues to promote change through advocacy. One of their most popular campaigns is “No Child Born with HIV.” To view their inspiring video, click here.
www.volunteermatch.org — is about making connections in your local community. They have a search function on their website that allows you to find out about volunteer opportunities in your area.
Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship’s J Gregory Dees, is a renowned author and social entrepreneur. In his article “Creating large-scale change: Not ‘can’ but ‘how,’” he states that we need to ask “how can” we do something, instead of “can” we do something?
That’s A Wrap
One of the great benefits of the world-wide-web and social media is that the world has suddenly become much smaller. We are connected to one another by so many threads—conversations and pictures, personal and global, by fiber optics and technology. Premal Shah, President of Kiva, was referring to that human connection when he said “I think the world is moving from wanting to own and earn things to wanting to feel and belong to something bigger than ourselves.” We just need to get started.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING from all of us at Slice!
