Africa

Today I met with a partner, Mildred. Mildred is from Zambia. We have been trying to partner for 15 months now. She's been here obtaining her nursing degree so her and her husband can open a teaching clinic in Zambia.

Giving Children Hope does our best to try and bring resources into our organization so we can serve many different projects with the product we receive. That means we try and bring in funding to the organization, but we can't fundraise for each individual project that we want to take on.

Now this model works well in many instances. For instance, when the Rotary group comes and wants to do a project I give them a fundraising goal and they make it happen. The same happens with a church or other non-profit. But how do you help the national/indigenous group who has no assistance?

This is often my pain. So today, I sat with Mildred. I prayed with her and we cried together. This is a women who can be a leader in her community the way I could never be. She can implement change because of who she is and where she is from. But how do I expect her to fundraise in America? How do I help Mildred from Zambia raise the funds she needs to build the medical clinic and teach her community how to prevent HIV/AIDS, how to fight malaria, and the have the equipment and medicine to treat those whom already have these diseases?

That's a question that keeps me up at night.

Politics

So, we have this rule at work - check your politics at the door.

This is hard for me. I'm political. My faith dictates my politics. But my faith dictates it in a different way than other people in my office. We happen to all be faith people. We happen to all be action people who care about humanity. But we think different. Funny.

One of the few magazines I receive is Relevant. I happen to love this magazine. Today I received my new addition and read Cameron Strang's First Word all about politics and taking action.

Cameron urges us to vote - we live in a democracy. But he does more than that. He says whatever you believe, don't leave it just to politicians. He says to do what you believe with EVERYTHING. That means "our lives, our finances and our actions every day. Not just Nov. 4." I say, "Go Cameron!"

I believe in the political process. Plus, I'm an American. People died so I could vote and I don't want their death to be in vain. I have a responsibility to vote.

But I agree with Cameron. Vote. But also DO something. Working with so many non-profit leaders around the world and seeing them do it alone breaks my heart. I hear countless stories of leaders, HEROES, changing their communities....alone.

So I am with Cameron. Let's all do something. My friend Bernard in Uganda handles more than his fair share of the burden caring for 1,500 orphans alone. And he doesn't complain. But when he asks for a little help and partnership. Well. We have a responsibility. Don't we?

Human Slavery

Last night I was able to watch the film, Call + Respond which will come in theaters in October. My friend of 5 years Justin Dillion is the director and has partnered with another friend, David Batstone of the Not for Sale Campaign. I have been well aware of the issue for years now, and known both of these gentleman apart from each other. It's funny how small and connected the non-profit sector is. We all know each other. But we need more people getting involved to make a difference.

If you don't know, there are over 27 million slaves in the world today - more than any other time in history. Wow, really! Did you think slavery is an issue from the past? Well, it is isn't! And you probably support the $32 billion industry without even knowing it. Justin is a doer and he's bringing awareness to this issue to say: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! And at Giving Children Hope we agree!

So we hope you'll see the film when it goes into theaters soon. And we hope you'll do something you are passionate about in this world to make a difference.

As we say at Giving Children Hope - this is YOUR world and we are YOUR organization. Don't just be educated - do something!

Partners even in competition

I'm watching the Olympics with so much joy this year! I'm not the biggest sports fan, but the Olympics are something of their own.

Of course, all eyes are on Michael Phelps. I had no idea who he was, and he is really amazing! I watched tonight as he barely won his 7th gold. Wow! I also watched the ladies gymnastics that took place last night, but I opted not to stay up until 3 am. Watching Nastia and Shawn compete, but in a spirit of collaboration as fellow teammates, I think is a wonderful display of sportsmanship.

However, one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship I watched was when Dara Torres went to tell an official that another swimmer had a torn swimsuit and asked to please hold the race. This is amazing for 2 reasons. First, if you can knock a competitor out of the race, even on a technicality, most people do. Why would you help a competitor who could overtake you? Second, spending the extra time waiting on the block can throw off your psyche. It is better for the athletes not to delay. So Dara really went out of the way to ensure that another person's opportunity was not spoiled for a silly reason. I thought it was wonderful when she then came in first in the race. Go Dara!

What can I say, I love watching people working together and looking out for one another!

Community Partners

Some of my favorite partners in doing community development are the partners out in the private sector. Of course, I LOVE our field partners - that is why I love doing my job - but I am continually inspired by the people OUTSIDE of my org who want to do something. So inspired that last year we created an entire space on the front page of our website where we wanted to bring attention and inspire others - it is called the Power of YOU!

At the moment, our good friend Jessica Haley is up there. You can read her story at http://www.gchope.org/the-power-of-you12.html. Jessica is affectionately known around our office as the "bootie lady". The reason is, Jessica, owner of Mia Joie, makes the most adorable baby booties you'll ever find. I've never actually met Jessica, but she is a cool lady and I know that if we lived near to each other we'd be great friends.

Let me tell you about Jessica. She's someone who wants to use her God-given talents to make a difference in the lives of others and she gets to do that by making baby booties. How is that possible you might ask? Well, Jessica decided when she was starting her biz that she wanted to donate part of the profits to a non-profit. She selected Giving Children Hope and decided to give 10% of the profits away. Wow - that's amazing!! Jessica is using her talents in the private marketplace but also using her gifts to bring awareness and needed funding to provide for kids all over the world! She's just getting started, but my guess is that because Jessica has made the decision to give this chunk of money away, that her business will flourish all the more.

Now, if her shoes were ugly, just because she is engaging in cause-marketing, it wouldn't work. However, when you have a good product AND you decide to make a difference, it attracts many people (and often many sales).

So people like Jessica are as much of a partner to Giving Children Hope as are our field partners around the world. It takes so many partners to make projects happen. I am thankful that my job allows me to interact with so many passionate and inspiring people! If YOU have ideas on how others can partner leave a comment. At GCH we just love new ideas.