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Denise Vivaldo: Monsanto, Planned Parenthood and Ellen

2012-02-10T20:01:33Z

I have several paying gigs and deadlines that I should be working on but with all the shit storms of last week, I can't focus on "sharing" my favorite chocolate dessert. Like that's what America needs today. Recycle your food magazines from last February; those articles and recipes will still play today. Add a raspberry.

I have writer's block for writing fluff or funny at the moment because I'm angry.

I'm angry that so many Americans appear so fucking stupid, naÃ¯ve or uninformed.

Now, that line is going to get letters. To those right-wing zealots, anti-abortionists, or gay-haters hiding behind religion, I'm gonna take your hits for my team, because I do have a team. I know I am not alone.

There are many of us out there... please say something. And not just on Facebook. Write your congressman, your president, your priest. Put your money where your mouth is.

At 60, I assumed I would get to enjoy my "Golden Years," and yet every day, the news and the politics of this country are tarnishing the limited days I have left.

When the young Occupy Wall Street protestors screamed "help me," I reminded them that I had already fought for civil rights, stopped the Vietnam War on the campuses of America, helped to impeach Richard Nixon, burned my bra so that my sisters might sit on the Supreme Court; I personally fought and slaved in male-only kitchens where I was often the first woman, screamed for the Equal Rights Amendment, and was one of the original subscribers to Ms. Magazine. Gloria Steinem was right: better to bake your own pie than to wait in line for a piece, a taste, or crumb from a generous man.

Legal abortions? You bet, and I believe it is still my right to choose what happens in my uterus. I feed it, and I own it. My God is fine with my decisions.

To think after living through Vietnam and its aftermath, and seeing what Monsanto's Agent Orange did to the veterans of that war: My generation, my friends, my lovers, that now I'm supposed to trust Monsanto and allow them to tell me that they are above GMO testing? Trust them? With their history? Please pass the saccharin. I call what Monsanto is doing rape. Rape is about power, not having a choice and claiming that I'm asking for it. Monsanto is so entwined in our government with lobbyists, politicians and power that it's a fucking orgy. Please, find out the facts and make Monsanto accountable for their actions. Read as much as you can, from people not sleeping in Monsanto's money bed but who are actually farming.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas used to be one of the legal counsels for Monsanto. Does that seem like a coincidence?

Planned Parenthood. A group that has probably touched/helped/counseled at least one out of five women in America today regarding women's health. Planned Parenthood gets paid as much money as a woman can afford. Sometimes it's free. They do not have an obscenely rich board of directors. Whether it's breast exams, birth control, or a pregnancy termination, ALL of those are women's health services. Karen Handel had to resign due to the information that the American public found out about The Susan B. Komen organization this week. The Komen agenda about "trumped up legislation" and not funding "abortions." How dare you!

People spoke with their donations to Planned Parenthood.

I was wrong, we ain't stupid.

When Ms. Handel and her party decide to "support" the children that are born instead of aborted, come back to me. Children need food, love, and education, and sometimes parents can't provide that. As a taxpayer, I'm happy to help because strong children make a strong country and poverty brings us all to our knees and make us less than human.

There are petitions to be signed, donations to send. I'll do more if you will. I may never get to retire! And yes, I am tired from being on this soap box.

I'll close with this: Ellen -- I have worked on your show. I have admired you from afar. I know that you do as much as you can for the world to make it a better place. I got some money; I'm shopping at JCPenney tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that.

Those One Million Moms don't seem to understand the word "love".

Bless you Ellen, and the life and job you work so hard at.

Denise Vivaldo has written seven cookbooks. If you need a recipe or menu for Valentine's Day, she'll be glad to send you one.

Phil Cooke, Ph.D.: What Leaders Could Learn From Clint Eastwood's "Halftime in America" Commercial

2012-02-10T19:58:51Z

One of the big hits of Sunday's Superbowl was Chrysler's two minute TV spot, "It's Halftime in America," featuring actor and director Clint Eastwood. While it's taken some heat politically, the spot, created by agency Wieden + Kennedy, generated such an outpouring of emotion across all cultural, demographic, and political lines, I thought it was worth noting why. Right now, this country is plagued by far too many leaders who can't lead. Leaders across the political, business, and even nonprofit spectrum who arrogantly assert themselves, but who can't inspire those around them. Leaders who look for someone to blame rather than taking responsibility. So what could these guys learn from Clint's spot? Here's a few thoughts:

1. Timing matters. The fact that the spot played during the Super Bowl halftime and correlated that to "halftime in America" gave it context. Leaders don't lead in a vacuum, they speak during specific times of challenge, difficulty, or success. Tie aspiration to physical reality and it becomes focused, timely, and memorable.

2. Admit the current situation. The spot opened with the challenge America is going through right now. No sugar coating or obfuscation. If your organization is suffering or your people struggling, don't pretend it isn't happening. Don't use statistics to stretch the truth, or distract from what's really going on. Be real. People aren't stupid.

3. Stop blaming. The spot never directly mentioned the economy, politicians, or culture wars. Too many leaders are so focused on blaming people or situations, they never provide any answers. We're in a bad situation, and we get that. We're not looking for a blamer, we're looking for a leader. Help get us out, or get out of the way.

4. Speak the Truth. The script called us to "rally around what was right." Leaders today are often so afraid of offending someone, they either ignore the truth or side step it. Sensitivity is critical. Political correctness is suicide.

5. It's about aspiration. Ultimately, the spot wasn't created to assign blame, wallow in our troubles, or discuss what did or didn't work. It wasn't a high minded lecture. Its purpose was to inspire us to be great again. Great leaders are unifiers, not dividers. They call people to a higher vision that's achievable and specific.

On the screen, Eastwood plays characters who are tough, grizzly and not afraid to do what's right. We could use a little of that in executive suites, boardrooms, and government buildings across America right now. After all, when was the last time you heard a press conference, CEO address, or political speech that inspired you like "Halftime in America" did Sunday night?

Amy Russell: Dependency Is Like a Walking Stick

2012-02-10T19:36:23Z

Checking in from Hermanus, South Africa! Our 7000 mile walk across Africa for clean water (through charity:water) has nearly just begun; we are only a week in, taking a rest day in a backpacker's hostel. My comrades, Marty and Aaron are out for a little walk, while I am purposefully NOT walking at all today, if I can help it.

The other day while camping, Aaron found a great branch to use as a walking stick. He whittled it down to the right size and took the external bark off, covering it with a coat of wax to make it smooth. Looks just like something you would buy at the store. As he walked the next day with the walking stick, I noticed the drastically different approach it meant he took while walking. While we were on straight shots of the road, he would walk normally, and you hear the rhythmic clicking of the bottom of the cane against the pavement as he took each stride. But when we approached hills, he would lean into the walking stick, using it and the strength of his arms to propel him up the hill, as to be less taxing on his legs.

Now see, I don't use a walking stick. Because although I know Aaron could just as easily walk up the hills without his walking stick, I think I would become too dependent on one. And if one day, I didn't have the walking stick, the hills would become more challenging for me. It would not be more challenging because my muscles would ache necessarily; although the walking stick does help redistribute the stress to more muscles in your body, the problem is not a physical one. But when you learn to become dependent on something, or expect something to help you, not having that "thing" makes whatever task you are facing immensely harder, mentally.

People have been saying this for years, but perhaps not enough: this dependency is something that we in the nonprofit realm need to focus on more, and something that has been increasingly obvious to me during our time here in South Africa.

I asked our friend Craig at the Warehouse, a local charity in Cape Town about the unique challenges that he finds in working with impoverished communities here, and dependency was at the top of his list. When the common thought is that 'someone else will take care of my needs' there is no motivation for people to try to get out of poverty; they don't think it is their responsibility. To support that further, we met a man named Joe last week who runs a fruit stand. He doesn't make much, but enough to live on. He said that he has tried to offer to others before to buy a bunch of fruit from him and go door to door to sell it so that they can make money. This is a GREAT small business plan that could help him and others in the community. But although he offers, he says people don't want to work for it, that they just want it to be given to them. Dependency.

This attitude in South Africa does not just stem from local NGO's, it's also from the government, the history of apartheid, many contributing factors. But the point is, we cannot continue to just give people the necessities; they need to be involved in the process of their own development. That's why we work with charity: water, because they value sustainable, community-driven approaches to solve the clean water crisis. That's why Craig does great work at the Warehouse, because his volunteers don't just give, but they help to empower and support people building themselves up in long-term, sustainable ways. Although this is something we have noticed here, dependency is a problem all charities must face, all government programs need to consider. We must be BETTER at making people INDEPENDENT.

If we just give blindly, it's like giving people a walking stick that will eventually break or be lost. And when people get to the next hill, they won't move forward. Instead, we need to teach people how to walk WITHOUT one or perhaps how to MAKE them themselves, like my friend Aaron. Then when they reach a hill, they know what to do, and can teach others to do the same.

David Code: A Dog Smells Doubt and Fear, So Do Your Kids

2012-02-10T19:21:46Z

The YouTube video has gone viral: an angry daughter slams her parents on her Facebook page, then her father rebuts her vitriolic letter and empties his .45 into her laptop. Crazed maniac, or the sequel to "Go the F___ to Sleep"?

I wish he'd lose the gun, but I am glad the father said out loud what so many parents are thinking: how did my kid become so sullen and demanding? Where did I go wrong?

Parents, we made a mistake. We believed the popular myth that, "The more attention you give your kids, the better they'll turn out." After interviewing families in 20 countries around the world, I concluded the reality of parenting is something quite different: Humans have forgotten we are animals, and children are like dogs -- either you train them or they train you.

So, your children may be suffering from Attention Surplus Disorder. It started with Freud. People came to believe that the reason they were unhappy as adults was because they hadn't received enough love as children. Now, parents nobly bend over backwards to try and provide the perfect, trauma-free childhood for our kids.

Um, where are the results? Studies show today's parents spend more time with their kids, and yet today's kids don't seem happier, more independent or successful. They seem more troubled, entitled, and needy. If these households seem chaotic compared to the families we grew up in, it's because they are.

The key to understanding sullen kids and distraught parents is a shocker, because it's not about love -- it's about anxiety. When we parents think we're "helping" our child, it may be our own anxiety talking: our anxiety causes us to cave-in, rather than doing what's best for our family in the long run.

You might say that today's parents seem to be marrying their children instead of their spouses. The truth is, we often find it easier to be with our kids than our partners. This may seem child-friendly, but we don't realize we're using our kids as an escape from our spouses, because after all, adult relationships are hard.

Parents may harbor plenty of guilt as they leave their child with daycare on the way to work, so when they come home, they want to be the Uber-Parent and shower their child with love and attention. Parents may also use their kids like crack-cocaine, escaping into the unconditional love and fascination of a baby -- they're so darn cute.

Therein lies the slippery slope. If our kid crosses the line, it's tempting to let a boundary slip and default to what's easiest for now, because we're tired and we just want to enjoy a few moments of being friends with our child. Yet, when we want to be our kid's friend instead of parent we start to slide down that slope, and it only gets harder to get back to that original boundary. Yes. it does matter that she didn't say please just now. Yes, it does matter that she just talked sassy to you.

However lofty and noble our thoughts may be about parenting, we would do well to remember that humans are just animals without fur. The relationship between us and our offspring is more primal than it is enlightened. Your offspring is instinctively programmed constantly test and challenge you--that's their job. It's your job to train them in self-reliance and wean them to successful independence--which means staying calm but firm.

One parent observed, "If my kids complain, I have to stop myself from doing whatever it takes to calm them down. In the moment, I find it easier to give in than to tolerate my kid's upset. I guess you could say I find it too upsetting to be with their upset."

Firm is true love. Our goal as parents is to do what's best for our kids in the long run -- instead of seeking the affection that feels good for a fleeting moment, then leaves both you and your kids empty a moment later. It's fine to be your child's buddy when you're having fun together, but when she pitches a fit about how her hair's done or a blouse she doesn't like, it's not time to calm her down. True compassion means defining what we stand for and doing what's right. That teaches self-reliance and respect to everyone in the family. You're doing your family a favor to introduce calm-but-firm boundaries now, so your kids can grow up to be great spouses and successful employees who can get along with their bosses and hold a job. That's independence--and survival.

Sometimes I think we could learn more about parenting by watching Cesar Chavez on "The Dog Whisperer" than by reading parenting books. Dogs can smell fear and doubt. So can children. You're doing your family a favor if you can overcome your doubts and fears to introduce structure and boundaries into the lives of your children. An investment in calm-but-firm boundaries now can transform your home life from chaos to calm, and your kids can learn how to be citizens, rather than just consumers.

Sandra Taylor: The Key to Global Recovery

2012-02-10T19:19:49Z

As national leaders and economic thinkers met in Davos recently to chart the global market's way out of prolonged turmoil, one billion women -- all potential employees, producers, entrepreneurs and consumers -- continued to go largely unrecognized as perhaps the world's greatest potential drivers of a new global prosperity.

The entry of women into the workforce propelled most of the world's developed economies in the second half of the 20th century. The emergence of the baby-boom generation, coupled with the rising number of women in the workplace, added nearly two percentage points to U.S. growth each year. In Europe, narrowing the gap between male and female employment has accounted for a quarter of annual GDP growth since 1995. Recent data from the ILO indicate that if women's economic potential could be harnessed and leveraged on a global scale, in economies where women have been left out and left behind, the impact would equivalent to the creation of one billion new jobs, with all that means for increased production and consumption and higher standards of life. One billion producers and consumers would shape and stimulate the world economy as much as the billion in India and the billion in China.

It's time, long past time, for change. So the Third Billion Campaign, to be launched in New York this week, will activate a global alliance of corporations, governments, nonprofit organizations, foundations, academics, and individuals to remove the barriers that hold women back. The campaign will build on the pioneering efforts of a growing number of global corporations like Coca-Cola, Ernst and Young, and Goldman Sachs that recognize and seek to empower women as an emerging market of decisive importance.

The fundamental characteristics about "the third billion" point to their enormous promise -- and to the problems that leave it unfulfilled. Over half a billion women in the world today are illiterate, assigned to the most minimal economic roles and the most menial tasks. Yet, when women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, compared to only 30-40 percent for men. Women own 25 to 30 percent of private businesses, but receive only 1 percent of government contracts. In post conflict countries, where women are brutalized in war, but afterward remain the bell weather of society, they are rarely seen at the negotiating table marking out the path to a more peaceful and secure society.

Consider the economic investment story of Victoria Kisyombe in Tanzania. A widow who lost her husband to HIV/AIDS, she founded SERO Lease and Finance Limited, a micro-leasing program with the aim of supporting other widows. Initially, the project aimed at training women only in legal rights, business skills and HIV/AIDS prevention. But when that was not enough, SERO turned to micro-leasing. Women are now able to lease equipment like small tractors, milling machines and water pumps to generate income for themselves and their families. With the assistance of the IFC/World Bank, more than 25,000 women have been supported since 2002, advancing life chances for current Tanzanians and future generations.

Over the next decade, the Third Billion Campaign and its partners will raise public awareness, marshal private and public resources, and function as a global voice for the economic value and economic rights of women. We are already campaigning to persuade the G20 endorse new measures to assuring women's access to finance, as well as encouraging governments to open up the procurement of goods and services to women-owned businesses -- no small task given the cultural and systemic differences around the world. But we know from models in the U.S., Canada and South Africa that this can work -- for women, and for the economies to which they have so much to give, and in which they have a rightful place to claim.

National governments need to legislate to protect women and ensure more equal treatment under law. Violence against women has to be prevented and stopped; property rights and inheritance laws -- which too often today leave women with nothing -- have to be reformed. Women will never realize their potential as "economic engines" if they are subject to abuse at home or can't own or exercise control over property.

As Hillary Clinton famously said, "Women's rights are also human rights." They are also key to global recovery and sustained prosperity. Now more than ever, women's rights are also the best economics. That is the animating principle, and the defining mission, of the "Third Billion" campaign. It is a campaign for women, but in the final analysis, it is a campaign for all of us -- from multinational corporations to labor unions, from workers in developed countries whose continued livelihood depend on new markets and new consumers to the one billion women ready to be brought out of a twilight economy to the sunshine of genuine opportunity.

Bill Gates: Why Our Foundation Invests in India

2012-02-10T19:19:26Z

There is a lot of debate in the UK right now about whether the country should continue giving aid to India, a country that's no longer among the poorest in the world.

It's not my place to decide how the UK spends its money, but the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested more than $1 billion in programs to fight disease and poverty in India, I am pleased with the results of those investments, and we are going to continue to invest more in the future.

There are two reasons for our commitment to India. First, our mission as an organization is to help all people live a healthy, productive life -- and a huge number of people who are sick and impoverished live on the subcontinent. There are 400 million Indians living in extreme poverty, more than in all 48 countries of sub-Saharan Africa combined.

Half of the malnourished and underweight children in the world live in India. These children are in no way less deserving of the opportunity for a good life, even if their country's GDP is growing.

A lot of India's disease and poverty is concentrated in the poor states in the northern part of the country, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, where our foundation -- and the UK government -- focus a lot of our work. If Uttar Pradesh were a country in its own right, it would be the fifth largest in the world. Bihar would be twelfth largest. And both would be among the poorest. We invest in India because that's where the need is, and we know we will have an enormous impact by working there.

Another reason we invest in India is that we've found the government can be a very effective partner, especially by scaling up the very best ideas and sustaining them over the long-term. India started paying for its own polio eradication program and did a great job running it, which is why the country recently marked an entire year without a single case of polio.

Here's another example: One of the first programs we worked on in India was called Avahan, an HIV prevention program that's now reaching millions of the people most at-risk for contracting and spreading the virus. With many international partners, we helped launch the project, refining it and measuring its impact along the way. After the first 10 years, the government of India has decided to take it over.

This is a great example of what collaboration between funders and governments can achieve. Avahan is saving lives, and it would not exist if we hadn't provided funding and technical assistance to test out a promising new idea. However, the Indian government is scaling and sustaining the effort over the long-term. This pattern has been repeated across the country over the past several decades, and aid has steadily become a smaller and smaller portion of the national economy.

I go to India at least once a year to see the progress of the work our foundation is doing there and I'm always struck by two things -- the dynamism of the place, and the tremendous need. Unfortunately, the former doesn't cancel the latter out. The UK has a long history of extraordinary generosity and an established track record of making an impact on the lives of the poorest people in the world. There is no better place to have an impact than India. That is why I believe India is a solid investment for anyone who cares about development.

Bill Gates is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He regularly posts his thoughts about the Foundation's work and other projects on his personal website, The Gates Notes.

Rev. Larry Snyder: It Is Our Moral Responsibility to Give Children Living in Poverty a Chance

2012-02-10T18:41:51Z

This post is part of a series on childhood poverty in the United States in partnership with Save the Children and Julianne Moore. Moore leads the organization's Valentine's Day campaign, through which cards are sold to support the fight against poverty in the U.S. To learn more go here.

We all think we know what poverty looks like, but poverty -- which affects 1 in 4 people in this country -- is all around us. It can strike anywhere and can be seen in the faces of our neighbors, our friends, our family, and particularly, our children.

The rate of poverty among this country's children is startling. While children make up 24 percent of this country's population, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that in 2010 children made up 36 percent of this country's poor. That means there are 16.4 million children living in poverty. To put this in perspective, there are 3 million more children living in poverty than make up the total population of the state of Illinois.

These aren't just numbers, these are real faces. They may come from different backgrounds and ethnicities and may live in different cities across this country, but what they all have in common is that each one is the future of this country and it is our moral responsibility to give these children a chance.

We need to collectively re-imagine the way that America addresses poverty and develop stronger, sustainable strategies to reduce poverty. It is not as simple as just providing a hungry child a meal before school. Nor is it the sole responsibility of one's neighbors, teachers, or families to help. In order to make real change, the responsibility must fall on every one of us to identify solutions that create opportunities that lay the groundwork to help these children lead a life of prosperity so they aren't forced to repeat the cycle.

Decreasing the poverty rate in this country or making a dent in this problem should not be a measure of success. We need to take a stand and say "enough is enough" and work together to eradicate poverty in America. This means that we have to do more than provide children access to good education or after-school programs. While these are each important pieces of the puzzle, real change will only come from looking at the entire puzzle and identifying innovative programs and services that provide support to the entire family.

Life would be so much easier if it were enough to just hand out a warm meal or provide a warm bed, but after being touched by so many heartbreaking stories of the innocent children and families in need, the issue of poverty in this country is not one any of us should walk away from. This is an opportunity for all of us to bring the best of who we are -- our collective creativity, our compassion, and our energy - to identify solutions that can improve the lives of so many in our country who have been pushed to the corners of society, voice muffled and discounted.

It is time for innovation, a bold plan of action that will create a path of hope and opportunity for those currently living in poverty. Looking at these daunting rates of poverty in this country, it is clear that the status quo is not working. It simply is not enough to help people sustain, we should be helping people thrive.

Catholic Charities has served the poor and vulnerable for the past 100 years and will continue that service well into the future. But given the challenges facing our nation, it is not enough for Catholic Charities to remain resolute; nor is it enough for the entire nonprofit community to unite to tackle these seemingly daunting challenges facing our nation. Only when we effectively engage government, the private sector and individuals across the country in the moral responsibility associated with developing pathways for opportunity for every child in this country will we find success. Catholic Charities remains firmly committed to the goal we set in 2007 to reduce poverty in the United States by 50 percent by the year 2020 and anxiously look forward to growing partnerships to ensure this comes to fruition.

Danielle Nierenberg: Innovation of the Week: Rewarding Farmers for Providing Ecosystem Services

2012-02-10T18:39:34Z

The Sasumua dam supplies Nairobi, Kenya with 20 percent of its fresh water, but land use changes have started to contaminate this important source of water. Forests and wetlands are being converted into agricultural land and commercial plots. This reduces water flow during the dry season and increases surface runoff during the wet season. It also increases soil erosion and the run-off of chemical and biological pollutants from agricultural fields. This negatively impacts the livelihoods of both city dwellers and smallholders living in the watershed.

Pro-poor Rewards for Environmental Services in Africa (PRESA), is a research project created by the World Agroforestry Centre to improve livelihoods by enhancing ecosystem services. PRESA works on eight sites in the highlands of East and West Africa and collaborates with national partners, research institutions, universities, and NGOs to generate and share information that supports payments for ecosystems. By rewarding environmental stewards, instead of punishing wrongdoers, PRESA uses market-based approaches to induce behavioral change among ecosystem stewards to reduce poverty and conserve the environment.

The market-based system works by rewarding the individual or community that provides a certain environmental service. Building a grass waterway 20 kilometers long and 3 meters wide in the Sasumua watershed, for example, can reduce soil sedimentation by 20 percent. This amounts to savings of US$23,000 a year in purification costs for the Nairobi Water Company, which operates downstream and provides the city with clean water. The cost of maintaining the waterway is only US$3,000 a year for the 500 households involved, making it a win-win scenario for both farmers and urban residents.

Rewards can come in many different forms. The community-based rewards can be a powerful incentive for protecting the environment -- schools, roads, and wells can be built in return for using sustainable farming techniques. The farmers in Sasumua prefer assistance to implementing land conservation measures over cash payments, and want the Nairobi Water Company to help them establish rain water harvesting techniques.

The major issue is setting a price that is agreeable to both buyers and sellers. In many cases, it is difficult to establish a price for an environmental service, and because buyers can't choose their suppliers, the two parties must strike a deal. But PRESA's work in Africa shows that rewarding communities for environmental services can be a very effective way to support rural livelihoods while conserving the environment at the same time. Supporting poor rural farmers and including them into business discussions can have big payoffs for all -- especially the environment.

Mathias Terheggen: The Wealth Gap Challenge

2012-02-10T18:33:05Z

Philanthropy and the wealth gap challenge

Economic growth and the question of its "if and when" is a very popular topic these days. Analysts have been providing outlooks on 2012's economic development. But in their attempts to foresee the future one thing is already clear: regardless of how the economies will develop, the outcome is going to be more positive for those who already have and earn a lot compared to the financially less fortunate. This phenomenon, the "wealth gap," is not new and we have become used to the fact that, with few exceptions, particularly in developing countries the wealth disparity is growing steadily. What is new though is that within developed economies -- among them are some of the strongest globally -- the wealth gap is widening too.

Countries as diverse as the U.S., Italy and Germany all have grown their Gini-coefficient, a measure of income inequality, over the last 30 years. And even Hong Kong, whose economy grew by over 6% at 3% unemployment last year, not only holds a global record for growing the number of millionaires but also, or maybe therefore, one for the highest income inequality ratio among developed economies.

An ever-growing challenge

This has given rise to substantial concern. While low levels of economic inequality are desirable to maintain an impetus for individual economic development, a large wealth gap is known to discourage individual economic efforts which, in turn, results in lessened economic power for large parts of the society. Public upheaval and political revolutions as seen during the Arab Spring are only the most blatant symptoms of the detrimental effect on societies caused by limited economic opportunity and unfair wealth distribution. With low-income households statistically producing a higher number of off-spring, strong income inequality virtually results in an increasing number of children slipping off into poverty, poor healthcare and education. The generation responsible for long-term economic growth is hence disengaged, and a society's ability to innovate from within itself jeopardized. Ultimately, this will limit the future economic potential also of those on the more fortunate side of the wealth gap, too.

Donating doesn't do the trick

The economic crisis of 2008 caused a tightening of public budgets which, in turn, has resulted in reductions of social welfare. This has led to a more critical public view on the financially successful, and so the wealthy nowadays have both an intrinsic and an extrinsic motivation to re-consider their role in dealing with the wealth gap and related social issues. It comes by no surprise that therefore the past years have seen many wealthy go public with their social engagement and openly demand more substantial measures to foster social equality from their peers. The public response has been very mixed with reactions reaching from friendly acknowledgement to acid accusations of fig-leaf efforts.

A closer look at the role private philanthropy can play in closing the wealth gap might therefore be appropriate. One myth to make away with at the outset is that donations to the poor won't solve the wealth gap challenge. While total global private giving is estimated to exceed USD 600 bn annually, this amount represented less than half of the wealth transferred from the bottom 80 to the top 20 percent of households in the US during the financial crisis from 2007 to 2009 alone. Hence, private philanthropy by wealthy individuals must play a different role if it means to prevent societies from getting destabilized.

An entrepreneurial approach

Indeed, philanthropy can have a catalytic role in encouraging and supporting social innovation: being liable to their own preferences and requirements only, as opposed to donors like most public fund-raising non-profit organisations, philanthropists can take higher risks like funding interventions and organizations in early stages of development. Philanthropists can afford the risk for a project to default, e.g., through a project owner's unexpected death, knowing that the draw-back will be off- set by other successful initiatives within their portfolio. In addition, today's private donors are increasingly seeking ways to make their social engagement not only more strategic and long-term in order to achieve systemic change, but they go far beyond their mere financial contributions. Building on their professional success they leverage their knowledge and network, engage non-financial capacities like companies and employees, and most importantly, they apply their mind-set and experience as an entrepreneurs and investors to their philanthropy. Addressing social issues with an entrepreneurial approach including the idea of revenue generation through the provision of social products and services has resulted in efficiency and scalability and triggered some of the most remarkable recent trends in the social sector. On the giving side Venture Philanthropy and Impact Investing have taken giving beyond grants towards actual investments that include the expectation of a financial return for the investor. The ratio of social versus financial return generated by the investment may vary depending on the social investor's priorities. But the mere fact of making an investment, rather than giving money away, has a groundbreaking effect on the recipient's commitment, not least as it is an explicit sign of trust in the recipient's abilities. All these trends yield social interventions that often address social issues that weren't addressable before. But in all cases they increase the efficiency and effectiveness thereby growing the social impact.

Enabler and catalyser

It is through this role as enabler, supporter and advocate of social innovation that private philanthropy addresses the wealth gap challenge: not only do they deliver new social interventions, but by using their extensive networks and acting as figures of public influence they promote what ultimately will be adopted by larger non-profit organisations and, increasingly, by governments. Especially the latter are turning towards private philanthropy on their search for social innovation that enables the public sector to fulfill its social mandate while minding the costs. The recent launch of a program by the German bank for economic development, KfW, that provides financing to social entrepreneurs under the condition that they can secure additional funding by private donors, is an apt example of governments trying to harness the innovative power of private philanthropists. These interventions will increase the ability of the less fortunate both in developed or developing countries to have access to appropriate healthcare and education. This will help lay the foundations for future economic growth and participation in it: by linking private philanthropy of the wealthy to the economic participation of the less wealthy, the social fabric that makes for a stable, fair society is strengthened.

Transparency to gain momentum

Private philanthropy will not balance societies that are otherwise challenged in their social cohesion through an overly inhomogeneous distribution of wealth and income. But it can, if done credibly, be a starting point for systemic change -- all the while shaping the future of the wealthy, too. Transparency on individual efforts could create the desired momentum as it allows for discussions on objectives and priorities as well as for collaboration. However, given the reputational risk and the challenges of building a successful philanthropic track record, such transparency may at first only be acceptable within the peer group. Closed conferences, of which there aren't too many yet, but where leading philanthropists, experts and social-sector professionals gather to exchange knowledge and further their philanthropy, have proven to be a very effective means. Very often such gatherings boost alliances around a shared theme of interest, they build scale and subsequently become visible to the broader public including private, public and civil sector organizations.

Christy Turlington Burns: Support Maternal and Child Health -- Donate Your Old Cell Phone!

2012-02-10T18:08:53Z

Christy Turlington Burns, ONE member and founder of Every Mother Counts, shares a resourceful way you can help the world's poorest today.

When was the last time your cell phone saved your life?

In the world's poorest countries, this happens every day. Cell phones help mothers get the medicine they need, babies receive life-saving vaccines and families stay healthy and strong.

As a ONE member and founder of Every Mother Counts, the advocacy and mobilization campaign I started to increase education and support for maternal mortality reduction globally, I've seen these programs in action and they work.

That's why I'm working ONE Campus Challenge to launch their second challenge of the semester -- a cell phone drive in partnership with Hope Phones. Every phone collected from ONE and Every Mother Counts will benefit antenatal care (ANC) programs and ensure safe deliveries of babies in Coastal Kenya. But you don't have to be a student to help -- which is why we're extending the opportunity to help to ONE members across the nation.

Have a phone (or two) to donate? Click here to download a shipping label, and just drop it in the mail! We'll keep track of how many phones ONE members donate from around the country and report back to you at the end of the month. We set a goal of 35,000 phones -- so we need every ONE member to chip in. Think we can do it?

Like Every Mother Counts, the challenge provides a solution to preventable deaths. I'm excited to get started!

P.S. Have questions about any of the above? Email us!

To learn more, visit Every Mother Counts' Facebook page here.

Kevin M. Ryan: Powell Boys Murder: Honoring Caseworkers Who Risk Their Lives

2012-02-10T18:00:00Z

It is hard to imagine something more horrific than the news out of Washington State about Josh Powell, who blew up his two young sons and himself during what was supposed to be a supervised visit on Sunday. Mr. Powell was considered a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of his wife, Susan, whom authorities believe is likely dead.

Mr. Powell had recently lost a bid to get custody of his boys, Braden, 5, and Charlie, 7, from his in-laws. Telling relatives that he could not live without the boys, he methodically prepared to kill them, giving their toys and books to Goodwill and buying gasoline to set the house on fire. The coroner announced this week that he had hacked both boys with an ax before the explosion.

I can't keep myself from reading the news accounts of this tragedy, and, like everyone else, I'm feeling a rock in my gut looking at the blameless, endearing faces of the boys. They are close in age to my youngest child. The pictures of them in Halloween costumes, next to the pictures of their charred home, form the cruelest counterpoint.

But I wonder how many people are grieving as well for the eyewitness survivor to the blast, the social worker assigned to supervise the visit. After the boys ran into the house one step ahead of her, Mr. Powell locked the door before she could enter the house.

"This is the craziest thing, he looked right at me and closed the door," she told the 911 operator, whom she called when she smelled gas. "I rang the doorbell and everything. I begged him to let me in." Her blood pressure must have spiked as she tried to describe the lethal situation, while the dispatcher kept asking her questions like "So you supervise and you're doing the visit? You supervise yourself?"

"This could be life-threatening," said the woman, a 15-year veteran of the system who asked the local newspaper not to use her name, though other papers released it. "He went to court on Wednesday, and he didn't bring his kids back and this is really -- I'm afraid for their lives."

Every day, thousands of child welfare workers do the daily, sometimes dirty, often risky work of trying to do right by kids whose homes are considered unsafe. They keep watch over the 254,375 youngsters -- yes, more than a quarter million -- who entered foster care in 2010. Sometimes that means driving them to visits that need to be supervised. Sometimes that means witnessing unfathomable evil.

I worry about this brave woman and how long she will be haunted by what she saw, by what she tried to prevent. Her husband told King5 News that she was "totally devastated and traumatized" by what happened, and that she had met with a counselor. She had bonded with the boys during the many visits she had supervised for them, and told her husband, right after the blast, "They trusted me. They trusted me. They trusted me."

In many of the other countries where Covenant House takes care of abused and neglected children, there are no such caseworkers, as there are no functioning child welfare systems. In the United States, caseworkers are often taken for granted, or worse, ridiculed for how they do their nearly impossible jobs. Too often, their case loads are too high, their training is insufficient, and they lack the basic tools they need to do their jobs well. As a profession, they are dedicated to helping children, and the pay they receive can never match the enormity of their responsibilities. Too often, they are unsung heroes.

Join me in sending condolences and support to this woman, whose life has been jarred to its foundations, just because she showed up to one of the hardest jobs imaginable.

WWII Vet Gets Bronze Star, 68 Years Late

2012-02-10T16:47:18Z

Arno Heller, a Rego Park resident and World War II veteran, earned a Bronze Star for his commitment to duty â it just came a little late.

During a ceremony at the American Legion Post in Forest Hills, Heller was given the medal by U.S. Rep. Bob Turner after decades without realizing he had earned the honor.

New Meaning To Sisterly Love: BOTH Become Surrogates

2012-02-10T16:17:24Z

Tanya, Tara and Cassie give a new meaning to the term sisterly love. When Tanya Ratcliff learned she would never be able to carry a baby, her two sisters, Tara Schamel and Cassie Ripp, stepped up to be surrogates. Now both are pregnant with babies conceived by Tanya and husband Dan. Tara is due to give birth to a baby girl in April, and Cassie to deliver a boy in July.

The three sisters, along with the dad-to-be, appeared on the "Today" show this morning to share their touching story. Tanya and Dan had been trying to get pregnant for months with no luck and decided to visit a fertility clinic. The doctor told the couple that though their sperm and eggs were healthy, "Tanya's womb didn't respond properly to the hormone treatments designed to plump up its' lining" and that "the embryos wouldn't survive if they were transferred to Tanya's uterus."

They were devastated. "I don't think you can ever prepare for a moment like that," Tanya said.

Her sisters, Tara, 35 and Cassie, 26, who both have kids, knew that they had to help. "Cassie and I just started talking behind the scenes about, let's just tell Tanya that we can do this," Tara said.

Both sisters had embryos transferred to increase the chances of one of them becoming pregnant. According to MSNBC, they went through the medically induced roller coaster that is familiar to IVF patients: first medications to halt ovulation and create a menopause-like state, followed by large amounts of estrogen to do what their sister's womb could not.

It worked. Tara became pregnant in just two weeks, and Cassie on her third attempt. Dan called the sisters' loyalty and selflessness "truly a blessing."

When Ann Curry asked how Tanya plans to thank her sisters, she said: "I don't think we ever truly can."

Peak Johnson: Afterschool Program Helps Students Climb to New Heights

2012-02-10T16:16:37Z

An immense collection of books fills the shelves of Tree House Books. From Best American Essays by Annie Dillard to Sula by Toni Morrison to a shelf dedicated to children's author Lemony Snicket.

Tree House Books, a nonprofit organization in North Philadelphia, works to "grow and sustain a community of readers, writers, and thinkers" through afterschool and enrichment programs. Neighborhood children participate in the literacy program called Life With Books.

"I like moving up a reading level," said 5th grader Dominique Cooper. "I like reading and being able to do my homework."

Dominique, along with fellow student and friend, Ajalee Green, attends Tanner G. Duckrey Elementary. Dominique originally learned about Tree House from a friend at Duckrey.

The friends participate in the literacy program, and when a student reads 10 books or five chapter books, their name is placed on the "Limo wall." As a treat, Tree House rents a limo for the students whose names are on the wall, whisking them away to an unnamed destination, only revealed to them upon arrival.

Students work with tutors from nearby Temple University.

"My involvement with Tree House started when I was a graduate student at Temple University in their creative writing program studying poetry writing," said Tree House Executive Director Darcy Luetzow.

In 2006, Luetzow heard that her peers in Temple's program were doing some afterschool writing with kids in North Philadelphia. She jumped at the chance to join, not fully knowing what she was getting into.

"At that time Tree House was just piloting the first afterschool writing workshop," Luetzow said. "This was because Temple professor Eli Goldblatt was able to get some of the graduate students in the creative writing program connected with teacher assistantships at Tree House. They were experimenting with what does it take to do a writing workshop after school with kids."

Tree House was in fact a community bookstore at first, trying out different workshops with kids from the Philadelphia community. Some kids within the community would come, read a book, and then leave.

In September of 2006, Luetzow was brought in as executive director hired at only 20 hours a week. There was no staff beyond her, no financial record keeping, and no mission statement.

That set the point where she and retired community resident Sharon Turner began exploring what Tree House could do.

"So we talked," Luetzow said. "We had no money, few volunteers, but kids get homework. So we thought why not have tutoring time? We have this room full of books and a table. I literally put a sign on the table that read 'Tutoring Time: Do your homework in a room full of books from 3 until 5.'"

That idea was a success. The children from the neighborhood started to come and stay slightly longer than before. Luetzow reached out to Temple students involved with Hyphen Literary Magazine.

Some of the students from Temple who volunteered their time at Tree House decided to stay even after their time at the organization ended.

"That was what we needed at that time," Luetzow continued. "Over time people just seemed like they talked to others about us; students would talk to their roommates and classmates. "

Luetzow and the rest of the Tree House staff and volunteers offer something more to the neighboring children of the community than just homework help and tutoring. It is clear that the students view them as mentors who are urging them to reach for their dreams and set goals.

"I think we get the privilege of working with the most remarkable people in the world, and a lot of people would not necessarily think that of the residents of this neighborhood," said Luetzow.

Duckrey Elementary student Dominique has been able to participate in some of the other Tree House activities, such as helping to feed the homeless in conjunction with The Chosen 300 Ministries.

"I feel good about helping other people," Dominique said.

The feeling is mutual for her friend Ajalee, who stumbled upon Tree House one day when walking through the neighborhood with her grandmother and asked if she could start attending.

"My favorite thing is the limo trips," Ajalee said. "I like reading and doing my homework too."

"Tree House is a lot of things," Volunteer Coordinator Lauren Macaluso said. "We help kids with their reading, writing, and thinking, and we're empowering college students to think of the children in the neighborhood as readers, writers, and thinkers. [We are] creating a space where relationship between college students and kids can happen."

As published in The Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Over 70 Pets, Including Rats, Hedgehog And Chinchilla, Rescued From Fire

2012-02-10T16:10:02Z

MOUNT HEALTHY, Ohio — Several dozen animals have found temporary shelter after Ohio firefighters rescued more than 70 pets from a house fire in a Cincinnati suburb.

Authorities responding to the Thursday morning fire found a menagerie of about a dozen snakes, 18 rats, a hedgehog, a chinchilla, birds, rabbits and others creatures. Most of the animals survived the fire at the Mount Healthy home, although one iguana and a couple of cats died.

Pet owner Nikki Hagaman, who volunteers at The Animal House pet store that also rescues animals, was not at home when the fire broke out. She said she had at least 77 pets.

"I can't say no," she told The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Hagaman told the media she believes a heat bulb used to keep her reptiles warm may have started the fire. Many of the rescued pets were taken to the pet store after the fire.

A Colerain Township family also offered to care for almost three dozen of the animals. Adam Charles and his wife took in some ferrets, guinea pigs, rats and others. Charles told WCPO-TV that the animals are adjusting to their new surroundings.

He said one of the rats has a broken back and the ferrets were coughing and sneezing from inhaling too much smoke.