3 Places and Ways We Give Back
For a living, I get to tell the stories of remarkable people through their career progression. It’s a joy to my heart to hear people are in roles they once only dreamed of and thriving with more confidence than they thought a piece of paper could give them. And this is a big deal for me as a personal growth coach because we spend one-third of our lives at work!
I also deeply appreciate having a small platform to beam out my love for three organizations close to my heart — because I own the place!
Below you’ll find three ways I give back locally, nationally, and globally. Click each arrow for more information and join me!
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According to their website — “Meals on Wheels San Francisco is committed to the belief that all seniors have the right to live independently with dignity and respect in their own homes for as long as safely possible. It is our mission to provide isolated homebound older adults in San Francisco with nutritious meals, daily human contact, and supportive services to prevent their premature institutionalization.”
Sing the song of my heart! Because of how close I was with my grandma (she helped my mom, as single parent, in raising my brother and I), I still can’t volunteer with Meals on Wheels but I can donate on the regular. BUT WHY don’t I volunteer?! Wouldn’t this mean I’d be even more apt to do so? Well, transparently, because seeing people lonely breaks my heart. So much so I can’t even watch a video without unleashing the waterworks.
And I’m not what it’s all about so there’s no need to have a focus on my antics in the moment, right? There are amazing men and women who meet these clients right where they are in daily and weekly deliveries of healthy and perfectly designed meals. They are heroes. They are earthly saviors. They put in the work.
Now, Meals on Wheels is a national organization and you can find one in a locality near you! So join them. Donate. Whatever it is, I encourage you to get involved. Theirs is the work of angels.
I started donating to Meals on Wheels (MoW) five years ago in honor of my grandma. I wanted to honor her legacy by investing in an organization working diligently to combat the loneliness our elderly community members feel. I saw this firsthand as she got older (and she lived in the cottage behind my mom and saw my brother and me weekly!).
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Advancing Real Change, (ARC) Inc. promotes justice by ensuring the life histories of people charged with crimes are at the forefront of their cases.
To begin this story, we need to go back about just over a decade to my first company, hiip.
Well, when we began, we were a one-for-one company who served our homeless neighbors in San Francisco. About six years into business, though, my heart passion transitioned to prisoner advocacy and my journey into social justice and mercy was born.
ARC advocates for individuals who are facing the most severe punishments available under the law. These clients (primarily adults facing the death penalty or juveniles facing life without parole) are all too often represented by resource-constrained public defenders who do not have the time or ability to adequately uncover their clients' life histories - a critical factor in juries' sentencing decisions. ARC employs best-in-class practices to investigate these life histories to help decision makers inflict fairer, more compassionate sentences.
I knew I needed to be involved because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of those who are often forgotten in society (remember what I said about loneliness up there in the MoW section?). I talked more with Liz and it was clear I wanted to put my hands and knowledge to work. Just a few months later, I was elected to the Board of Directors and assumed role as Secretary, responsible for all our director onboarding. I love it and it will forever be the greatest work of my life.
In 2019 I contacted my exceptionally talented and intelligent friend Liz, who happens to be the Executive Director of ARC, Inc., and asked her about this organization she was running. It seemed to be what I wanted to get involved in. I flew to Baltimore, joined one of their mitigation trainings (I took this picture!), and learned about their world-renowned team who advocates for the human dignity of clients facing the severest of sentences.
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From their website — Since 2008, we have made it possible for orphaned and impoverished children to become college graduates. More recently, we are also helping prepare vulnerable young women to enter the workforce by providing them with business and marketing training.
The mission of Make a Difference (MAD) is to lift youth out of poverty by providing them with quality education and training so they can become independent, thrive, and give back to their communities.
You see that picture down there? Not one of my favorites but definitely one of my proudest moments. In 2011 I summited Kilimanjaro after raising $5K for MAD at the kids at the orphanage. Now, these kids are graduating from places like Duke!
In 2013 I also trekked the Inca Trail in support of the organization an in early 2023 took to the mountains again in Patagonia, to raise money for young women in Central America to begin their own businesses.
I’ve climbed for a purpose for just over a decade now (though Covid has thwarted a few of my trips!) and am always proud to see how MAD impacts the lives of kids all around the globe. This past year I took on Patagonia with a gal pal, and, God-willing, after nearly a decade, I’ll soon be off to Everest basecamp.
