Sangha of Auspicious Companions

July 15, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Global Trends in Social Good

There is a rising consciousness to do good in a world recovering from recession and facing global challenges. But what does social good mean? Traditionally, it is a good or service that benefits the largest number of people in the largest possible way. As more and more organizations and individuals wake up to the groundswell of social good, the realm is expanding. Many innovations are emerging, whether in business models, products and services. Some are aided by technology, others have their roots in building communities both online and offline. Here is a look at social good in action from the perspectives of consumers, communities, businesses, public institutions, and nonprofits { read more }

Be The Change

Take part in doing something for the positive change. Check out OpenIDEO, a collaborative online platform for social good. { more }

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July 14, 2011

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Reading, Writing and Revelation

Whenever the stabbing pain in her knee becomes unbearable, 17-year-old Mackenzie Bearup picks up a book and starts to read. While previous treatments — painkillers, physiotherapy, acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen therapy — have failed, a self-prescribed reading cure works. “So far, books have been my only medicine,” Bearup says. Reading and healing have an age-old association. In ancient Egypt, libraries were known as psyches iatreion, “sanatoriums of the soul.” During the Renaissance, the poetry of the Psalms was thought to “banish vexations of both the soul. Now, science is starting to prove what readers and writers have long known: Words can help us repair and revitalize our bodies as well as our minds. And as a result, bibliotherapy — reading specific texts in response to particular situations or conditions — is becoming more and more popular among psychologists, physicians, librarians and teachers. { read more }

Be The Change

Mackenzie Bearup realized that there were many others kids like her, struggling with pain, and that reading could help them. To date, she has donated 38,000 books! Her site for collecting books for homeless shelters: { more }

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July 13, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

9 Interviews with Creative Visionaries

“I love a good interview. To me, there’s nothing so useful for demystifying the creative process as hearing an artist or entrepreneur speak from a very personal perspective about how, and why, they do what they do. This weekend, I combed through my archive of epic and inspiring interviews and came up with this shortlist. Straight talk from Ernest Hemingway, Dieter Rams, Patti Smith, Steve Jobs, Ansel Adams, Tina Brown, Chuck Close and more.” { read more }

Be The Change

Apply visionary thinking today, to circumstances ordinary and otherwise. On balancing vision and routine: { more }

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July 12, 2011

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A Creative Use of Plastic Bottles

When former Peace Corps volunteer Laura Kutner was asked to help find funding to finish constructing two classrooms in the elementary school where she worked in Guatemala, she decided to use — or rather reuse — a common piece of trash. Kutner used what was known in environment-friendly circles as “eco-blocks” — plastic bottles stuffed with inorganic trash — and encased them in chicken wire. Once covered in a few layers of cement, the bottles provided cost-efficient and eco-friendly insulation for the classroom’s walls. “They stay cooler than traditionally built schools and have even inspired new community initiatives to find everyday solutions to trash management,” Kutner said. { read more }

Be The Change

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

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July 11, 2011

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Impossible: Breaking the Four-Minute Mile

In 1954, England’s Roger Bannister ran the first sub-four-minute mile. Today, of course, the it is routine among the top runners, but until Sir Roger (knighted in 1975) accomplished it, it was considered beyond the realm of human possibility — like climbing Mount Everest or walking on the moon. Bannister though, being a medical student at Oxford at the time, recognized it more of a global, psychological barrier. Sure enough, after he broke the record, within 3 years, 16 others had done it. He disappeared from the track scene shortly after his record run, and upon graduating, devoted his life to medicine. A near-fatal car accident in 1975 kept Bannister from running again, but gave him perspective. “The car accident said, ‘Well, if there’s something you want to do, you might as well do it, because after the next car accident, you might be dead.'” { read more }

Be The Change

An article from Wharton: “What’s Behind the 4-Minute Mile, Starbucks and the Moon Landing? The Power of Impossible Thinking” { more }

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July 10, 2011

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The Science of Self-Control

In the classic Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, researchers gave children a choice between one marshmallow right away, or two later. Most struggled to resist the treat and held out for less than three minutes. “A few kids ate the marshmallow right away,” Walter Mischel, the Stanford professor in charge of the experiment, remembers. “They didn’t even bother ringing the bell. Other kids would stare directly at the marshmallow and then ring the bell thirty seconds later.” About 30% of the children, however, successfully delayed gratification until the researcher returned, some 15 minutes later. These kids wrestled with temptation but found a way to resist. The most interesting results came years later: children who waited fifteen minutes had SAT scores that were, on average, 210 points higher than those of those who waited only 30 seconds. This New Yorker article delves into the mental processes behind self-control. { read more }

Be The Change

Make an effort to remain “in your own power” today.

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July 9, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

The Gift Economy

“Want to fix the economy? Next time you buy coffee, purchase a cup for the person behind you. Or as you grind your way through the morning commute, pick up the tollbooth charge for the driver behind you, draped over his steering wheel and ranting at the long delay. You’ve heard that famous Gandhian quote about being the change, well these are good measures to start with, packing more punch than you might imagine. This approach to life starts with the following premise: What exactly did I (or you) do to deserve to be alive? If you can process that question and come out thinking it was a gift that you can’t ever pay back, then beginning a life of greater giving is the only logical and remotely reciprocal way to go.” Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Van Slambrouck reflects on the gift economy. { read more }

Be The Change

Think of an experience of gifting (either receiving or giving) that has stayed with you, and share it with others here. { more }

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Wind Powered Art!

Amazingly, these machines are made completely of recycled items. The ‘stomach’ of the sculpture is made with retired plastic bottles that capture the air pumped by the wind. To harness the wind, Jansen employs bicycle pumps, plastic tubing and rubber rings! Witness beauty through ingenuity 🙂

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July 8, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

High Schooler Pays Forward $40,000

They wanted to show kids in Compton, CA, one of the most dangerous cities in America, how to create community spirit, and so organizers put on a basketball contest for top academic students. But following a tear-jerking gesture from the winner — it appears the true lessons learned were by the adults. Senior Allen Guei won in front of a packed house. And three months after winning the $40,000 top prize, he donated all of his winnings to the seven other finalists. Guei, a star player on the basketball team has a full scholarship, and wanted to give his classmates a chance to make their academic dreams come true, too. “I’ve already been blessed so much and I know we’re living with a bad economy, so I know this money can really help my classmates,” he said. “It was the right decision.” { read more }

Be The Change

The next time you receive something, consider how you could share it.

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July 7, 2011

a project of CharityFocus

Bill Moyers: Naomi Shihab Nye

Renowned poet Naomi Shihab Nye writes about button-hooks, onions and her grandmother’s tea. Her poems speak of ordinary things — things we take for granted until it’s almost too late. For her poetry is a “conversation with the world, conversation with those words on the page, allowing them to speak back to you — conversation with yourself.” The daughter of a Palestinian father and an American mother, she’s lived in old Jerusalem, in St. Louis, and now with her own family in San Antonio, Texas. Bill Moyers carries a poem of hers in his wallet, and interviews her here. { read more }

Be The Change

Ponder on the power of words. A poem of Naomi Shihab Nye’s, “Before You Know What Kindness Really Is:” { more }

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