I was chatting with a Christian non-profit director about his work in Florida. His organization has a large facility that holds donated clothing and food, has a good core of committed volunteers and has a wide outreach that gives to the poor in their community. And yet, this director wasn’t happy. “We’ve had the same …
Through our research and study of poverty, we’ve come to see that the best way to fight poverty is to provide dignity affirming work. Hand-out charity is only of limited good. But opportunities to earn? Those make the real difference. That’s why we actively recruit fair trade brand ambassadors for our products. Our business started …
(This post was first guest published on Such as Time as This blog) I was recently chatting with a Christian non-profit director about his work in Florida. His organization has a large facility that holds donated clothing and food, has a good core of committed volunteers and has a wide outreach that gives to the …
It’s time for our semi-regular compilation of book reviews for the world-changer’s reading list! These books stand out on the bookshelf because of both the topics covered are important and the deeper insight the authors give into issues that are very relevant for those concerned with social justice. As a side note, while this list …
She was so excited. A car had been donated for her to use. But after the title had been transferred, the keys handed over, she prepared to drive it. And the car that was donated stopped working. “Surely it’s not a big repair,” she reasoned. “I just got it!” But the mechanic broke the bad …
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” the mom said, with a catch in her voice. I sat there, not sure how to respond. “She just keeps getting in to trouble.” I struggled to come up with words to respond to the desperation in my friend’s voice. Her daughter WAS struggling academically and socially. …
We LOVE the work of Hope International. They provide Bible-based microfinance services to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Based off what they’ve learned through Hope International’s field work, Created to Flourish provides a practical look at the importance of business based solutions to fight poverty. As we’ve seen in our work among the US poor, …
I grew up in a small town in a midwestern state. As is the nature of a mainly farming and rural area in that part of the country, the population was fairly homogeneous. My parents spoke to me often of the evils of racism and did a great job of training. But that still didn’t …
Photo by Mario Mancuso, Used under Creative Commons license If you’ve read this blog for a while, you are probably somewhat familiar with the principles in the excellent When Helping Hurts, by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett. In summary, this book reminds us that we are to serve the poor with an attitude of mutual …
