Why Doing Good Is Sexy

Doing good has never been hotter. Everybody's talking about their desire to make a difference, and volunteerism and civic participation are suddenly as high as they were in the 1960s. This fact is not lost on the two U.S. presidential candidates, who have made public service a centerpiece of their platforms.

If Alan Khazei is right, it's about to get even more exciting. We're about to see a renaissance of altruism across the United States and around the world.

Alan is the founder of Be The Change Inc., an organization whose mission is to help people come together around big ideas for change. I just got off the phone with Alan, a passionate guy who credits an insight from his former partner, Michael Brown of City Year, as the motivation behind this new organization. "Michael realized that there are all of these people with powerful visions -- like Wendy Kopp of Teach for America, which aims to create educational opportunity for every citizen in this country -- and because these people are focused on building their organization, they find it hard to participate in larger movements. So what I'm trying to do with Be The Change is to make it easier for social entrepreneurs like Wendy and citizen leaders to come together around some big ideas for change, to build coalitions, and energize citizen movements."

Sounding sexy yet?

The name for his organization came from Gandhi's well-known phrase, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." Alan talks about applying the three legs of Gandhi's theory on how to build a fair and just world -- the ballot, the spinning wheel, and the jail. "The ballot refers to political rights and activity -- our right to vote. The spinning wheel is about doing things to create a fair and just society -- caring for the elderly, teaching people to read. And jail refers to people coming together in large-scale citizen action."

So, what does this look like in practice?

ServiceNation is their bold first step. It's a national campaign of more than 100 organizations that collectively represent some 100 million Americans. A really interesting cross section of non-profits, such as Habitat for Humanity, United Way, AARP, NAACP, American Jewish Committee, America's Promise, YouthBuild, Points of Light and many others.

The campaign will be launched with a summit in New York City on September 11th (a deliberate and fitting choice for such a positive initiative). Hundreds of American leaders will gather to draft a blueprint of voluntary citizen service. Alan talks about the potential of such a plan. "We need to dramatically increase the opportunity for everyone - from kids in kindergarten to retired people -- to get involved. And to find a way for everyone who wants to to have an opportunity is his or her lifetime -- perhaps in our right of passage years -- to take time off from work or school to focus on solving problems, here in America and around the world." Imagine what it would be like if our individual and collective energy were called on to address some of the biggest challenges -- in education, the environment, poverty, disaster relief, and on and on?

Sounding sexy now?

And that's just the beginning. Two weeks after the summit, on September 27, ServiceNation will host a National Day of Action to engage tens of thousands of people like you and me in events across the country. To demonstrate the impact that service has -- and could have -- on our communities, and the power of citizens to create large-scale change. A Declaration of Service will be available on the National Day of Action -- and posted on the Internet -- in the hopes that hundreds of thousands of people will sign it. "That's inspired by the way the Peace Corps got started," Alan told me. "JFK threw out this idea late one night in the middle of his campaign, 'How many of you would be willing to go to Africa, to Asia, to Latin America?'. And within a week, he was presented with a petition from thousands of students who said, 'I'm willing to go!'."

New Radicals salute these citizen activists, and are moving across the landscape with them. The difference is that we don't want people to take time off work to do good -- we want to see service integrated into the workplace. For New Radicals, how we earn our living becomes the way we give back. In fact, Alan is a great example of a New Radical Entrepreneur -- he started an organization whose core mission is to make the world a better place (for more about the New Radicals, see archived articles).

Last week I wrote about the kinds of things emerging New Radicals need to add to their CVs in order to be ready to step into a life-changing and world-saving role. I mentioned that becoming a volunteer is a great way to gain experience in a new field, and to discover which issues and causes really capture your heart and mind. Which is why I was delighted to hear about ServiceNation this past week -- the National Day of Action seems like a great starting point for New Radicals-in-the-making.

I'd love to hear what you think of ServiceNation. Whether you might take part in the National Day of Action (and, if you're not American, whether something similar is happening where you live). Talk to me about the joys and frustrations of finding volunteer or service opportunities, or deciding where to focus your desire to do good.

And here's a special offer. I will send a free copy of my book -- WE ARE THE NEW RADICALS: A Manifesto for Reinventing Yourself and Saving the World (McGraw-Hill, New York) -- to the first person who shares a true story of someone using the question, "Where do you serve?" as a pick-up line. Because then we'll know for sure that this movement is red hot.

Comments

[Kcameron]

Volunteerism levels the field. Each person is unique and has some talent or gift to contribute. How sexy is that? As an aging hippie child I embrace opportunities to make a positive difference in my community. Besides is just feels good. For those of you less touchy feely than others, how about a study on how many endorphins are released when volunteering! My guess is quite a few. For me there is an intangible sense of giddiness when working on a volunteer project. I believe I receive far more return on my investment than those I serve.

[cruisepuppy7452a]

Ever hear of random acts of kindness, just because? I believe in this. Not only do I believe in it, I walk the walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Some who want to call it sexy, ok, whatever, not why I do it. Voluntering is something else that I love to do, that is totally cool. You meet so many neat people, kind, good hearted people, that are down to earth.
I cringe when I see people like Angelina Jolie acting so aint we great, we do our share. Um, its sexier when you don't have to show off about it. Just do it. It comes off shallow, fake when it has to appear in a rag magazine. Those of us who really do walk the walk, never give our names, or info.

[jahzilla]

Telling

[cinemaven]

There's nothing so rewarding as volunteering. The returns are always so much greater than your output and the people you meet while doing it are usually exceptional.

[mbjesq]

Damn right volunteerism is hot!

Financial philanthropy is, no doubt, an important engine of social service and humanitarianism. Many wonderful programs could not exist without monetary support (though many more that think they can't actually can -- but that's another story), so it's good that folks are writing checks to the nonprofit organizations of their choice. But the truth is: writing checks is easy, no matter what your income level. It gives expression to one's instincts of generosity, and may even help create positive change in the world. But service -- the giving of your time and talents -- is personally transformative in a way that check-writing can never be. That's why service is sexy!

In the midst of the I-want-it-all-now 90's, CharityFocus www.charityfocus.orgg) blazed new trails in the fostering of collective volunteerism. Now, that same group is leading the way in incorporating awareness, compassion, and action (the sine qua non of service) into broader aspects of modern life, such as promotion of the gift-economy. It is even demonstrating how micro-philanthropy (gifts of, say, $10-$100) can change the world in ways that normal charitable check-writing never can. You should check-out this foxy, hunk-o'-hunk-o'-burnin'-love organization!

Even gotta-make-a-buck business people are getting it. It is clear that service is a great value-proposition http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com/2004/11/13/service-an-entrepreneurs-perspective//). And everyone knows: sex sells!