Social Impact Social Media

For this Netherlands-based charity a very special set of unique skills, along with passion, are required. And according to founder Pascal van Erp, “It is very important to show the world how big the problem is that we are talking about.” “There are lots of nets out in the oceans.” Each dive costs between $2,000 and $2,700. Thus far the group’s only source of support has come from the Dutch government: $530,400 from a pool created by the sale of lottery tickets. Pascal leads a team of 30 to 40 volunteer divers in the North Sea. His group coordinates and works with a loosely integrated network of like-minded divers around the world. “In the last three years, we have made 100 dives and removed 10 tons of fishing gear from the sea,” he says. The nets are then recycled into socks and other textiles. Their efforts are both difficult and dangerous. “It’s the most difficult type of diving I’ve ever done,” says Heather Hamza, one of roughly 50 volunteer divers who make up ...

Founded in 2014 STEAM Coders has already served nearly 400 greater Los Angeles area students. The Pasadena, CA-based nonprofit   is teaching disadvantaged and underrepresented middle and high school students of color the fundamentals of Science, Technology, Engineering,   Art and Math (STEAM). While ethnic and racial groups that have historically comprised a minority of the U.S. population are growing in size and influence, they remain underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics nationally. 4% of minority students are awarded degrees in physical science while 12% of other students receive degrees in this area. In 2011 National Science Foundation Reports Low Minority Representation on STEM Faculties. And according to the New York Times, in 2013, both women and people of color earned fewer higher education STEM degrees than ever. STEAM Coders is on point to, through hands on activities, field trips and classroom instruction, h...

This organization, a super early player in this field, was started in New York City in 1987 by Steve Mariotti, a former entrepreneur turned high school math teacher in the South Bronx. Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) has worked with more than 600,000 young people from low-income communities in programs across the U.S. and around the world. As of fall, 2014 NFTE operates our successful curriculum in 17 U.S. communities and 10 countries and is continuing to expand. There are opportunities to volunteer in Chicago, Miami, various New York state locations, Los Angeles, D.C., Baltimore and Boston. As a volunteer you have opportunities to support young people in the development of business ideas with positive social impact.   Volunteer roles include becoming a guest speaker, offering to be a field trip host, business plan coaching, mentorship and other options. There are also opportunities to bring the NFTE program to a community you want to support as a NFTE te...

If you didn't have the chance to see it I think  the most beautifully performed and inspirational version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" I have ever heard was performed as  an Internet exclusive onThe Corbert Report. It was a performance by the MusiCorps Wounded Warrior Band. This particular performance  infused  the incredible vocal compliment of renowned performer Aaron Neville with the voice of  Lieutenant   Corporal Tim Donley  . The band has also performed with Yo-Yo Ma and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and The Bleeding Heart Band.  en.wikipedia.org The MusiCorp program, and the band, have been praised in The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post as well as by Congress...... and featured on CNN, ABC and CBS. MusiCorps began when composer and founder of Renovation In Music Education (RIME), Arthur Bloom, was invited to visit a soldier recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The soldier , a musician who had been badly ...

Named for Hiedelberg Street in Detroit The Hiedleberg Project began with Tyree Guyton decorating houses in a  Detroit community that resembled a burnt out war zone in 1986. Today the project uses art to teach community children about art and the environment while instilling a sense of community. Through the organization's ingenuity they have engaged students and professors from Wayne State University to the University of Michigan and Harvard. blac media The photo here is of artwork from Tim Burke's Detroit Industrial Gallery Working with children that walk past rubble, debris, crime and abandon houses day after day The Hiedelberg project networks urban vacant lands into art/play/garden spaces while teaching children the philosophy of  "art-as-life." They have a Young Adult Heidelberg program that is nurturing and mentoring young adults, 18 - 25, to become community leaders and nurtu...

odd-fellows.org   Sitting at "Five," the bar at Hotel Shattuck Plaza in Berkeley, CA I struck up a great conversation about social responsibility and giving back with Chris and Roy-- 2 independent contractors taking a break from their work. Their passion and personal mission is to reach out and help  teens "aging out" of our social services system and kids with terminal illnesses whose parents -- as a result of drug addiction, finances or other circumstances -- really aren't there for these kids. Through our conversation I learned about  a national organization called  Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) and their charitable work including education- literally getting kids to college and striped bass fishing trips - giving many kids  their first experience outside of gang and violence riddled neighborhoods. They even have a summer camp program. What's more I mentioned to Chris and Roy, in passing, my own l...

Started in the UK and spreading  to  25 countries and counting The Robin Hood Tax initiative is a collaboration and partnership between many nonprofit organizations, politicians and activist volunteers in countries including England, Canada, the United States, Spain, Mexico, Norway, Germany, The Netherlands and more. The idea is to turn our global financial crisis into an opportunity to provide funds to address gender equality, climate change, international maternal healthcare.  The thinking is-  as result of the financial crisis  created by  hedge funds, banks and other financial institutions  these issues have gotten worse.  An example from Britain is that according to an IMF report as a result of the global financial crisis 1 in 5 British families has to choose between food or paying for heat. robinhoodtax.org Now think of conditions in  impoverished developing countries that were in the worse economic circumstances to begin ...