social citizen sighting

Name: Derek Blumke
Current city: Washington, D.C.

1. What was your college experience like after coming back from serving in the Air Force in Afghanistan?

My college experience coming home from military service was difficult, because I did not have the sense of camaraderie, teamwork and sense of purpose I did while serving. I felt isolated because I did not feel like a "peer" with many of my classmates. While my friendships with the people I graduated from college with will last forever, it was the connection to other veterans on campus that made my college experience what it was.

2. How do you think the needs of Iraq and Afghanistan generation veterans are different than those of past generations?

The needs of this generation of veterans vary greatly from those of our past. The veterans who came home from World War II transformed higher education for the better and made themselves into the "Greatest Generation," and continued to transform our country to be what it is today. Other generations after that were not given the recognition, support and resources they deserved, and as result many veterans from the Vietnam War struggled in ways they did not deserve. They should have been thanked for their service, but instead they were degraded and dishonored for their sacrifices to our country. Today, veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are being recognized, thanked and commended for their sacrifices, but they are still disconnected as result of the gap between those who wear the uniform and those who do not. Only 1% of the population serve in the United States military and many of those who have not, have difficulties understanding the life of military service - as much as they may like to.

3. How did you manage to expand Student Veterans of America with your co-founders to more than 300 chapters while still in school at the University of Michigan?

Teamwork. Student Veterans of America was founded not as result of the efforts of one individual, but instead came out of a universal need by student veteran leaders across the country. While I made significant sacrifices making SVA what it is today, so did countless others help in building a nationwide network of support for our returning warriors.

4. How has technology played a role in assisting your chapters and members? And for members supporting each other?

Facebook. Student Veterans of America chapters were initially connected through Facebook. It allowed us to find veterans on college campuses across the country and gave us the ability to help each other transition to college and succeed in growing a support network that helps tens of thousands of veterans successfully transition to college, and attain college degrees.

5. What has been one of your favorite moments since starting SVA?

While helping to pass the Post 9/11 GI Bill through Congress and watching it be signed into law was incredibly rewarding, the most significant moments for me are when I hear young student veterans thank SVA leaders, and myself, for giving them the opportunity to have a new mission,  which is helping yesterday’s warriors become today’s scholars and tomorrow’s leaders.

For more information about Student Veterans of America, please visit www.studentveterans.org

This interview by guest blogger and Case Foundation graduate intern Brannon Cullum is part of our "Social Citizen Sightings" series, in which we highlight how people are using their creativity, idealism, and digital fluency to support their causes ever day.

Pamela Hawley is founder and CEO of UniversalGiving, a web-based marketplace that enables people to volunteer and donate to top-performing projects in over 70 countries. The organization’s vision is to “create a world where giving and volunteering are a natural part of everyday life.” Pamela maintains a personal blog, Living and Giving; the organization also has its own blog, PhilanthroPost.

Name: Pamela Hawley

If you had to describe yourself in one tweet, what would it be? I am passionate about social entrepreneurship, and creating greater relationships of harmony, trust and peace in our world.

Who is your role model? My parents are my best friends and my role models. Service has definitely been a thread throughout my life, which I saw with my parents and how they helped others in so many ways. They were and are models to me of loving, giving people. My father was an astute businessman, my mom is a flutist. Both were very entrepreneurial; both encouraged me to follow my dreams. Over the years, I have learned from them that service is about how you treat people; it's not just volunteering. If you look at the root of philanthropy -- it's not money. It's the love of people. And that's what they demonstrated in their day-to-day actions.

What are you currently reading? Bill George's Authentic Leadership and Unbowed by Wangari Maathai

What does social entrepreneurship mean to you?

Social Entrepreneurship is about running your organization with business principles, and generating revenue. It could be for for-profit or nonprofit. For UniversalGiving, it's extremely important to my vision that we generate revenue to support our efforts. The first level of our service allows people to give and volunteer in more than 70 countries across the world. We don't take a cut on the donation. Our second service, UniversalGiving Corporate, generates revenue. We work with Fortune 500 companies to help them with their Global CSR programs, helping with CSR strategy, operations and NGO vetting. We help them increase their giving and volunteering worldwide and impact on the community, while also increasing their global brand, employee retention, and product adoption.

What has been your most memorable or meaningful personal volunteering experience?

I remember volunteering in the earthquake crisis of El Salvador in 2002. In the uppermost mountains, people were completely isolated. At this time World Food Program and Red Cross didn’t have the time to go up these mountains...there was no food, no shelter, and volcanic fluid was streaming into their water supplies. So with three people, we loaded up one truck. We brought whatever water, rain-sheltering materials and food we could. We arrived up a very steep and chunky hill, our tires almost getting caught in dried and muddy grooves of dirt, barely a road, as we bounced around from side to side. People huddled, starving, shivering, soaked through, under some barren trees and tarps. We gave them what we had. We listened to their hearts and to their stories. We did what we could, and they appreciated our small effort. Most of the time — what we don’t realize — is that we make an impact simply by making the effort to care, to listen.

How do you approach working with three different groups – individual volunteers and donors, nonprofit organizations, and Fortune 500 companies? What can they learn from one another?

UniversalGiving's website is certainly a hub for nonprofits, donors, volunteers, corporations and high networth donors. Each partner is essential. Donors and volunteers have access to our NGOs who are vetted with our Quality Model to ensure the most effective, trustworthy philanthropy and volunteer experiences possible. Corporations are benefitted by their alliance with quality NGOs and the long-term relationships we help them establish. Overall, I'd say everyone is wants, and is expected to contribute, quality. We strive for excellence in all our relationships. Our vision at UniversalGiving is to: "Create a world where giving and volunteering are a natural part of everyday life." Each donor, volunteer, corporations, and NGO contributes to this process of giving and volunteering. And as we do so, we are building a stronger network of understanding, compassion, respect for others. We are building a new world based on greater harmony, trust and peace, which happens through these important one-on-one connections.

In light of the economic crisis, we have heard a lot in recent months that people are scaling back on giving both their money and time to various causes. Given this climate, has UniversalGiving seen a change in how citizens are engaging in their communities and beyond?

To be honest, we have seen so many positive trends in this tough economic climate. Some individuals who find themselves without work have decided to volunteer: One woman who was let go, decided to change the view of her life. She signed up to go to Ghana for a year. Others have been motivated to give gifts with more impact. Most people still want to give, they just don't want to give a $100 shirt. Therefore the demand for our Gift Packages and Quick Gifts has risen, as individuals want to make holiday and birthday gifts more meaningful. People would rather give $25 to buy eyeglasses for a child than another material present. It seems an increased sense of humility and desire to help others has developed out of the recession.

UniversalGiving has a strong online presence. How has the organization been using tools such as Twitter, blogging, and Facebook to engage potential volunteers or donors?

We are indeed very active in social media, and it is a great way to spread awareness about our cause. We maintain a consistent presence on all social media sites, speaking about global issues, promoting our partners, and highlighting ideas and insights in our industry. Through this multifaceted presence, we are able to cross-promote, outreach, and network—thereby inspiring individuals to give and volunteer, and make a unique impact in their own, inspired way

What advice would you give to a college student interested in engaging in service and making an impact on his or her community, but doesn’t know where to start?

I would ask each student to think about what they are passionate about. To truly look in one's heart and see what motivates you. Often it's from an experience in the past, an issue that moves you, or a desire to bring increased awareness about a situation that has personal relevance. Once y you've identified that goal, I'd suggest a search on UniversalGiving and sign up to volunteer. Projects can be as small as signing a petition or as exciting as a year volunteering abroad. There are so many ways to help others. In the process, be open to how you will grow. You may soon realize as I did that you are the one who is truly growing in humility and increased understanding about another community and culture, and grateful for how much the experience is giving back to you.

This interview is part of our "Social Citizen Sightings" series, in which we highlight how people are using their creativity, idealism, and digital fluency to support their causes ever day. If you see a Social Citizen, we would love to hear about what they're doing too. Just fill out this quick form with their name, affiliation and 150 words or less on what makes them a Social Citizen.

 

Name: Decker Ngongang

This interview is part of our "Social Citizen Sightings" series, in which we highlight how people are using their creativity, idealism, and digital fluency to support their causes ever day. If you see a Social Citizen, we would love to hear about what they're doing too. Just fill out this quick form with their name, affiliation and 150 words or less on what makes them a Social Citizen.

 

Name: David Garber

From Mumbai to Massachusetts, the 2009 Class of Echoing Green Fellows announced today, represents a diverse group of 17 social entrepreneurs, many of whom are honing their skills as social citizens and leveraging technology for social change. With 1,000 applicants the competition was intense, but the fourteen projects announced today, represent some of the most innovative ideas in areas from civil and human rights to education and public service.  That’s why we’ll be watching with great interest as these leaders carry their work forward.

We join in congratulating the newest members of Echoing Green’s network of social entrepreneurs who work each day to solve social, economic and environmental problems throughout the world. To see a complete list of the 2009 Fellows, and learn more about their projects, visit Echoing Green.

Also, we know there are plenty of Echoing Green Fellows in the making, and we’d like to feature some of these bright faces and ideas in our new series “Social Citizen Sightings.”  Please fill out this quick form if you have a group or individual you'd like to nominate for the new series.

One of our favorite things about our work is learning how Social Citizens are using their creativity, idealism, and digital fluency to support their causes every day. To share some of these great stories, we're starting a new series called "Social Citizen Sightings." If you see a Social Citizen, we would love to hear about what they're doing too. Just fill out this quick form with their name, affiliation and 150 words or less on what makes them a Social Citizen.

Call+Response is a film that uses music and prominent cultural and political figures to draw attention to the reality that there are more slaves today than ever before. The film’s director, Justin Dillon, is now focusing on using the film to promote community-based activism to abolish slavery. Justin, the subject of our first Social Citizen Sighting, spent a few minutes talking with me about his background, his work, and his vision for Call+Response.

Name: Justin Dillon

If you had to describe yourself in one tweet, what would it be? @justindillon social justice anarchist//change flows from the bottom up

Most recent ipod playlist: Jeff Buckley, Delta Spirit, the Ting Tings…and a few guilty pleasures from Lady Gaga

What are you reading: Muhammad Yunus’s Creating A World Without Poverty

You’ve said you never intended to make a film, so how did you end up creating a documentary to respond to modern-day slavery?
I don’t tend to think in purely linear forms, and that’s found its way into the way we work at Fair Trade Pictures and Fairtrade Fund. We very seldom look for permission and then move. I tend to move forward and then look for the resources to make it work. I’m not saying that’s the way everyone should be, but when you’re trying to do something as audacious as making a film, or more important, making a difference, it’s really hard to find permission, approval and resources right off the bat.

I think that style of working comes from being a songwriter. You know you want to create something that says a certain thing or creates a certain feeling, so you sit down with your piano or guitar and work it.  But once you bring it to the band, it’s always something different than what you started with, and that’s what happened with the film. I knew I needed to point a large part of my life to this injustice because I couldn’t get it out of my head. I was flabbergasted that this was going on and that the general public knew nothing about it. To me, this issue just seemed solvable.   It’s an issue of focus, and if enough people focus on it, it will change.

I started with what I know, which is music.  I believe in its power not just to amuse and entertain, but to inspire and create aspiration in other. The goal early on was to get the music community/business to start focusing on this, which initially led to filming some artists. Then I realized we needed more than just music, we should explain the issue, which led to some undercover work. It just kept building on itself, and about a year into the project, I realized this was a film. It’s never been my goal to be a filmmaker, but a theater was the most obvious connecting point and place for people to experience something like this.

We put the film out in 31 theaters, and it became one of the top documentaries last year. And we did it all with volunteers. That’s an unbelievable feat, but the part of the story that I like is that we were all focused on one thing. We weren’t just focused on simply expressing ourselves or pursuing a career in film.  It was about needing to tell a story and needing this to become bigger than us or our efforts. And that’s what drove the making of the film and what drove the hundreds, no thousands, of people who got behind promoting the film – that was as much the story as the making of the film.