A College Enterprise...

A great, innovative enterprise to feed the hungry:

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"On one hand we have people who need food, and on the other we have us... who don't need all this food... so we kind of put it together..."


Simple concept- big impact.

Mentors Inc.

Many of our Seminar students expressed interest in youth issues.  We had discussed various ideas, but how about a structured mentorship program?  A few days ago I went to a celebratory dinner for Mentors Inc., a Washington DC mentorship program, and was moved by the impact the program had on all participants- mentors, students, and staff.  

Since 1987, Mentors Inc has matched 4,000 DC public school students to mentors.

The mission of the organization is to increase the graduation rates and success of Washington D.C.'s public high school students by pairing them with caring adult volunteers in structured and enriched mentoring relationships that promote their personal, academic and career development. 

See their website for more information:  http://www.mentorsinc.org/

Would an organization like this be able to make an impact in Jeddah?  If so, who could the audience be, and would the mentor-relationship be welcomed or pose a challenge to cultural norms? 

One for One

In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, was travelling in Argentina and noticed that children were lacking one simple thing that could improve their health: SHOES.

He decided to create a company (TOMS) that would give away a pair of shoes to a child in need, for every pair that he sold: "One for One"

Later the SAME year... Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by TOMS customers.

Since 2006, TOMS has given over 140,000 pairs of shoes to children in need through the One for One model. TOMS plans to give over 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world in 2009.

Why shoes? Read THIS.




TOM's
More about their Movement

Art in Public

A number of students from the Introductory Seminar had expressed an interest in "Youth issues"... I've been keeping my eyes and ears open for interesting ideas and programs, so here is one for you:

Voices of Youth: Art in Public



The competition seeks to identify ideas that will generate well-designed, sustainable public art that expresses the voices of youth in Pittsburgh.

Could something like this work in Jeddah? If so, how could Art be integrated into the Saudi cultural context?

Beyond Profit

There's a new magazine out, and I am lovin' it so far...

It's called Beyond Profit, and their mission is:

"... to bring you the most interesting and unique stories, people and ideas from the social enterprise sector. Learn about the individuals who are working to change the world through social entrepreneurship and find out how they are doing it."

In the current issue, they address 3 interesting topics:

• Shaping For-Profit Enterprises Through Disruptive Innovation
• Can We Teach Social Entrepreneurship?
• 10 New Ideas That Can Change the World

Preview it here!

Get funding for your social enterprise!!

Last week I attended the Accelerating Social Entrpreneurship Conference co-hosted by The Phoenix Project and Corporation for National and Community Service.

The conference focused on the theme of opening doors to social innovation through technology, and convened a "who's who" of social enterprise in the United States. I was proud to share our experiences from Saudi Arabia.



One of the many wonderful people I met at the conference is Ian Fisk, head of the William James Foundation. The Foundation "supports entrepreneurs who are launching and running mission-driven businesses." They are best known for their premiere and effective model for Socially Responsible Business Plan Competitions. Theirs accepts plans from all over the world.

Their 2009 competition just ended, and entries for 2010 start in October, so keep your eyes peeled to their deadlines and your thoughts open to how your social enterprise might qualify to be the next big winner! Prizes include cash and in-kind donations from marketing, legal, financial, and business planning experts.

The first prize winner this year is PowerMundo, an organization that is committed to the triple bottom line: measuring returns in profit, environment, and social contribution.

The Power of Local Stakeholders

In the book Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson leveraged local support and committment to the schools he was building. One man in particular is a great example of the impact of dedicated local contacts:

Zaman, a local contractor, turned down a construction job for the army and led the effort to build a beautiful U-shaped stone school... Zaman did an incredible job. In one of the most remote villages of northern Pakistan, he built a school in twelve weeks that was vastly superior to anything the Pakistani government could have built, and at half the cost of the project that would have taken the government years to finish.

While this can be interpreted as a private V. public sector argument- it seems pretty clear that governments (as well-intentioned as they may be) can often slow the process of implementation. By hiring a local stakeholder that believed in the program, Greg was able to build schools in record time in one of the most challenging environments in the world...

... just think what you can do- you ARE the local stakeholders...