Tag Archives | Poverty

I Am Only One But Still I Am One…Lesson Learned.

By on February 6, 2013 in Building a Social Venture, Education, Poverty, Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey, Women's Empowerment

Helen Keller once said “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do”.  This has been the most challenging concept I have yet to face and accept in [...]

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Dignity – A Basic Human Right

By on October 29, 2012 in Building a Social Venture, Education, Social Entrepreneurship, Women's Empowerment

I recently watched an online video that criticized the way in which ‘Africa’ and ‘Africans’ are portrayed by well-intentioned charities and not for profit organizations (Binyavanga Wainaina).  I have always prided myself on being aware of the many stereotypes that exist in the world and in particu lar regarding those living in African countries. However, [...]

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Black Girls Rock! 2011

Fueled by Naivete & Idealism: My Road to Social Entrepreneurship (part 3)

By on October 12, 2012 in Starting the Journey, Stories of Impact

Going back to the drawing board basically meant going back to Google. I needed to restructure. We needed a new approach. Our mission was the same: eradicate poverty through education using university students, but how did we do that in an innovative way that could actually provide some lasting change. After a few weeks of [...]

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Fueled by Naivete & Idealism: My Road to Social Entrepreneurship (Part 1)

By on September 28, 2012 in Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey

It was 1:00am on the second day of Spring Break 2010 when I decided to create “Bookbags With the Basics.” For about two years (after seeing Invisible Children for the second time) I had been trying to find my place in the world of philanthropy. I’d joined Habitat for Humanity and Amnesty International chapters at the [...]

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Design + Social Change

By on September 26, 2012 in Social Entrepreneurship

Fields that have traditionally dealt with social change such as International Development and Non-Profit Management are changing. They are adapting to a competitive environment that has forced social leaders to adopt new approaches, new measurement tools, and new models. Because of this sea change, many professionals who have otherwise been absent to this space are [...]

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The Magic of Neighborhoods

By on September 17, 2012 in Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey

Having spent time in Athens, Mexico City and Dubai, I’ve always been drawn to big and complex cities. Working in a former villita (squatter settlement community) in Buenos Aires only served to increase my level of curiosity about urban challenges like low-income housing. So I’m naturally drawn to Zackary Canepari’s print from the Kathputli slum [...]

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How Inspiring My Daughters Inspired Me to Create Change

By on September 10, 2012 in Social Entrepreneurship, Stories of Impact

Even as a young child, I was passionate about making the world a better place. Whether it was organizing bike riding marathons with friends to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund or standing up for neighbourhood friends who were bullied, Ialways felt a strong desire to help those in need. That passion stayed with [...]

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An Unlikely Path to Social Entrepreneurship

By on September 5, 2012 in Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey

My path to social entrepreneurship is probably an unusual one. Two years ago, I had never heard of the term, let alone have any interest in it. But one thing has stuck with me for the past several years—a commitment towards public service. I am now a Global Health Corps fellow working in a very [...]

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A New Paradigm

By on August 31, 2012 in Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey

I am a social entrepreneur.  I believe that for-profit business models will solve the world’s problems faster, more efficiently, and more sustainability than purely non-profit efforts. Taken a step further, I believe true business cares about its environment and its community as well as its net income and that by caring, I earn a greater return [...]

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The Accidental Entrepreneur

By on August 22, 2012 in Featured, Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey

I was working in New York City on “Madison Avenue” at a huge, international advertising agency living out my first dream, but I couldn’t let go of this calling to go to Africa. I felt unsettled, undecided, and knew that I had to take action. I decided to take a sabbatical from work and had [...]

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Diving, Sinking, and Swimming

By on August 7, 2012 in Featured, Social Entrepreneurship, Stories of Impact

A month before my 24th birthday, I was fatigued, directionless, and jaded from role playing in a life that wasn’t my own. Up to that point in my life, I made a lot of safe decisions, many that weren’t directed at my happiness. I decided to change this habit and made the rash decision of quitting my stable, [...]

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Design, Capacity and Change

By on August 7, 2012 in Featured, Social Entrepreneurship, Starting the Journey

In the early winter of 2007 my partner, Kate Hanisian, and I would recap our work days over a glass of wine in the window of our apartment in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati. She was working as the Development Director at a local non-profit that focused on criminal justice reform and I was working [...]

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