Change the World
A friend recently told me about something that inspired me. She put her own twist on it, and I don’t think her twist matches the reality. But, I think her twist is actually better than what’s being planned. She told me there would be a meeting of a million women, women in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, who want to change the world. At the meeting, each of us would get our “assignment” and off we’d go.
If you have comments, or would like to contribute information to this site, please send an email to wisdomtoshare@kittyco.net.
How you can change the world
www.howyoucanchangetheworld.com
How other people are changing the world
abcnews.go.com/Technology/TenWays/
The Millionth Circle Initiative
millionthcircle.org
Fifth Women’s World Conference Initiative
www.5wwc.org/
Habitat for Humanity
www.habitat.org/
Jean Bolen’s website
www.jeanbolen.com/
Habitat for Humanity was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller after visiting Koinonia Farm near Americas Georgia. There the developed the concept of “partnership housing”, “where those in need of adequate shelter would work side by side with volunteers to build simple, decent houses. A link to their site is provided in the links section below.
The Tipping Point, How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcolm Gladwell
This book is full of examples of how individuals can affect their environments and make change happen. The author discusses the characteristics of epidemics - “one, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes can have big effects; and three, that changes happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment” - and gives examples of how people can effect change, and how change happens when the dramatic moment, or tipping point, is reached. One of my favorite examples is how the act of cleaning up graffiti on New York subways helped tip the scale of crime. This book is full of examples of people “tipping” their environments to make a big difference.
Alliance for Sustainable Communities
www.beinginplace.org/
Project for Public Spaces
www.pps.org/
Congress for the New Urbanism
www.cnu.org
Smart Growth America
www.smartgrowthamerica.com
Profiles of Cities with Great Streets
www.greatstreets.org
Natural Resources Defense Council
www.nrdc.org/
ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON CARING FOR PEOPLE
ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON CHANGING HOW WE DO THINGS
ORGANIZATIONS FOCUSED ON SUSTAINABILITY (OF THE ENVIROMENT AND LOCAL ECONOMIES
Covenant House
www.covenanthouse.org/
So Others May Eat (SOME)
www.some.org/
House of Ruth
www.houseofruth.org/
Urgent Message from Mother, Gather the Women, Save the World, by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.
A call to action for women to save the planet, save our society, our families, ourselves.
OTHER LINKS:
AFFILIATE LINKS:
HELP LINES
Samaritans.org
(serving UK and Ireland)
www.samaritans.org/
Befrienders Worldwide
www.befrienders.org
52 Weeks to Change Your World, by Allan Shepherd and Caroline Oakley
A little book published in the UK that prescribes something you can do each week for a year to change the world and help the environment. Clever and useful.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS
KIVA
KIVA lets you lend to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world - empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.
www.kiva.org/
Take a vacation to another country and enjoy “giving back” at the same time. This organization organizes volunteer opportunities in the U.S. and other countries.
www.globalvolunteers.com/
GIVING BACK
Skoll Foundation. “The Skoll Foundation’s mission is to advance systemic change to benefit communities around the world by investing in, connecting and celebrating social entrepreneurs.”
www.skollfoundation.org
SustainAbility. “Working at the interface between market forces and societal expectations, we seek solutions to social and environmental challenges that deliver long term value.”
www.sustainability.com
Heifer International
This organization has a mission of ending hunger and caring for the earth. They have many projects, including providing poor families with cows and Llama Drama, the Heifer Theater Project held in Arkansas each year to inspire young people to bring positive change into the world..
www.heifer.org
amazon.com
BALLE - Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. An international alliance of local business networks devoted to building strong local living economies.
www.livingeconomies.org/
Public companies for sustainability; In Business magazine
www.inbusiness.org/
Plenty - the leading magazine for eco living
www.plentymag.com/
Natural Home Magazine - information for practicing earth-inspired living.
www.naturalhomemagazine.com/
Mother Earth News - the original guide to living wisely.
www.motherearthnews.com/
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |