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.