While I'm not trying to raise money for charity with my work, I did think it would be worth checking out some videos and projects that do deal with just that, in the sense that they're made with similar good intentions. I wanted to look at how they tackled the issue of charity, and the different, often times opposing opinions towards charity, and our interpretation of it as a society.
Ending World Hunger, One Grilled Cheese at a Time: Kristin Walter & Talis Apud-Hendricks
Kristin Walter and Talis Apud-Hendricks are passionate about ending world hunger in our lifetimes. After meeting in college in 2004, they co-founded FeelGood as a student organization with the belief that even something as small as a grilled cheese can make a difference. FeelGood is a volunteer youth movement of changemakers committed to ending global hunger in our lifetime. Around the country, people are raising money for the end of hunger by running FeelGood Grilled Cheese Delis on college campuses. Every penny raised is invested in hunger-ending organizations with a proven track record of success.
"Kristin has been FeelGood's Executive Director since graduating in 2005 with a Finance Degree. Under her leadership, FeelGood has grown from a single-campus initiative into a vibrant national movement with over 29 chapters and 17 more currently seeded. FeelGood partners with over 1200 student volunteers, impacting the lives of thousands and raising over $1.4 million for the end of hunger. Talis manages the inovation for FeelGood's education and technology programs. With an M.S. in Innovation from the Monterrey Institute of Technology, she has pioneered an online platform for meaningfully connecting FeelGood's many student communities and developing their educational and entrepreneurial goals. Before coming to FeelGood, Talis was a professional athlete, qualifying for the Mexican Olympic team in 2008. She has over seven years experience as a consultant in intercultural management."
A beautiful quote is made in this Ted talk. "We hurt, because we care." which highlights the fact that the reason bad things affect us in the negative ways they do, is because deep down, we all have compassion and wish for such things to end. Not all of us have the tools though to help in the ways we so wish to, but you could argue it's our duty to do the best with the tools we have, which is part of my own reasoning for such projects like the one I've set myself here.
I'm nowhere near Mexico, the actual issues surrounding the Train of Death don't affect me, and it's something I will probably never get close to. But to see so little done about so much suffering is upsetting, and while I certainly don't expect to change the world with a single video, if I can shed just a little bit of light on the topic and help make just a few more people aware of it, then any time spent making it will be beneficial to the cause.
Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong
Activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta calls out the double standard that drives our broken relationship to charities. Too many nonprofits, he says, are rewarded for how little they spend -- not for what they get done. Instead of equating frugality with morality, he asks us to start rewarding charities for their big goals and big accomplishments (even if that comes with big expenses). In this bold talk, he says: Let's change the way we think about changing the world.
To me, Mr. Pallotta makes a lot of sense. Passionate, competent people get things done, but competence itself requires hard work. In our world, money and recognition motivate hard work. Maybe we should stop deluding ourselves into thinking that waiting around hoping for the changes we dream of happening, won't happen by themselves. And maybe we ought to think about rewarding such change, and the ones who dare step up and make it.
No comments:
Post a Comment