What Others are Saying about Visionaries Change the World
“This book brings together the ideas and work of innovative and compassionate individuals who are striving to make the world a more peaceful, secure and happier home for all. I hope this book will sow the spirit of volunteerism to serve humanity in our own small ways to make a bigger difference to the problems facing the world.”
-- Queen Dorji Ashi Wangmo Wangchuck, Queen of the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan
“I couldn’t agree more with Doris Lee McCoy—visionaries do change the world. Read this book and absorb its content, and maybe you, too, can become a visionary who changes the world. Think BIG!”
-- Ken Blanchard, Co-author, The One Minute Manager® & Leading at a Higher Level
“I don't know how she does it, but Dr. McCoy always gets interviews with the most interesting people. Her questions draw out answers that are sometimes unexpected. If you like to think, and like books that are a quick and easy read, this book is worth it. Watch out Barbara Walters!”
-- Jess Todtfeld, SpeakingChannel. TV, Formerly with Fox & Friends
“One of the people that I really admire is Doris Lee McCoy, who has interviewed over 3,000 experts, authors, entrepreneurs and world leaders. Take advantage of what she has to offer and learn from her.”
-- Steve Harrison, Publisher, Radio TV Interview Report magazine.
“I'm very optimistic about young people -- sure, there are some dregs, but I also run into so many high school and university students who are working passionately on behalf of the less fortunate at home or around the world.”
-- Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times columnist, two-time Pulitzer Prize winner
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VISIONARIES CHANGE THE WORLD
Making Commitments and Taking Action
Book II
DORIS LEE McCOY, Ph.D.
American Spirit Foundation Publishing
La Jolla, California
Smashwords Edition
Visionaries Change the World
Copyright 2012 Doris Lee McCoy, Ph.D.
All Rights Reserved
No part of this book may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recoding, or by any information storage and retrieval system whatsoever without permission in writing from author or publisher (except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages and/or show brief video clips in review, or in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles.)
For information address:
American Spirit Publishing
5758 Beaumont Avenue
La Jolla, CA 92037-7306
ISBN: 978-0-9773-777-4-9 (Paperback)
Visionaries Change the World is a trademark owned by the author.
The author’s website: http://www.dorisleemccoy.com.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
~~~
Is Dedicated To:
Princess Diana
Joan B. Kroc
Nelson Mandela
Oprah Winfrey
~~~
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Obviously this book could never have been written without the help of those who were interviewed. We are all grateful that they shared their deep, important, candid remarks with us.
- Debra Evans – who edited with care and enthusiasm
- Terri Zumstein – printer extraordinaire
- Felicia Jin, Jane Lee, Priscilla Wan, and Jun Yin – my amazing assistants
I would like to extend my gratitude to Scandinavian Airlines for making it possible to attend the United Nations Women’s Year Conference in Nairobi, Africa.
Also, much thanks to Continental Airlines and Peggy Mahoney for allowing me to go to Beijing.
- Shane, Shanna, Connor – and all the children of the world who will inherit our earth
I am grateful to God for putting this goal on my heart, and giving me the energy to follow through this, at times hard, but never boring and incredible opportunity.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Her Majesty Queen Dorji Ashi Wangmo Wangchuck, Queen of the Fourth King of Bhutan
Doris Lee McCoy, Ph.D.
PART I – VISIONARIES AT THE LEADING EDGE OF PHILANTHROPY
Chapter 1 … The Power of Non-profits
Helen LaKelly Hunt Ph.D., Founder Sister Fund, co-founder Hunt Alternatives Fund
Marilyn Tam, Founder Us Foundation, Corporate Visionary
Steven Hilton, President and CEO, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
President Chissano, Former President of Mozambique
Kenneth Kaunda, Ph.D., 1st President of Zambia
Joanne Wolf, Ph.D., Co-founder, Kids Korps USA
Conrad Prebys, Successful Businessman and Philanthropist
Rebecca di Domenico, President of the Compton Foundation, Artist
Richard Enright, Businessman, Non- Profit Consultant
Chapter 2 … Entrepreneurs Collaborating with Non-profits
Brendon Burchard, Combines partnerships of corporate and non-profits
Tom Peters, World Wide Leadership Management Consultant
Mark Victor Hansen, Co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series
Chapter 3 … The Media: Past, Present, and Future
Al Neuharth, Founder of U.S.A. Today
Larry King, Legendary host of Larry King Live
Richard Parsons, Former Chairman of Time Warner
Bob Safian, Editor of Fast Company Magazine
PART II – THE WONDERS OF THE NATURAL WORLD
Chapter 4 … The Spirit of Exploration
Kenneth Kamler, M.D., Author of Surviving the Extremes
Sir Edmund Hillary, New Zealand, first to reach summit of Mt. Everest
Lorie Karnath, Explorers Club President
Don Walsh, Ph.D., Holds underwater diving record with Jacques Piccard
Josh Bernstein, Explorer, Educator & Environmental Advocate
Chapter 5 … Saving Endangered Species
Jhang Hemming, Ph.D., Director of Wolong, China Panda Research Center
Vanessa Bezuidenhout, Executive Director, Cheetah and Wildlife Trust in South Africa
PART III – HAPPINESS: THE ULTIMATE SOLUTION
Dr. Robert Schuller, Founded of the Crystal Cathedral Church and
The Hour of Power TV program
Barron Hilton, former CEO Hilton Hotels
Ernestine Dillard, Renowned Gospel singer
Les Paul, Father of the Electric Guitar
Audrey Geisel, President and CEO of Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Philanthropist, “Mrs. Dr. Seuss”
Art Linkletter (dec.), Legendary TV host and author
Chapter 7 … Another Kind of Visionary
His Majesty King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, Fourth and former
King of Bhutan
His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Fifth and
current King of Bhutan
His Royal Highness Prince Jigyel Ugyen Wangchuck, Prince of Bhutan
Dorji Penjore, Senior Researcher, Gross National Happiness
Her Majesty Queen Dorji Ashi Wangmo Wangchuck, Queen of the Fourth King of Bhutan, Founder, Tarayana Foundation helping small villages
Other Non-Profits Making a Difference
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FOREWORD
VISIONARIES CHANGE THE WORLD, by Dr. Doris Lee McCoy, is a book you just have to pay attention to for what you can learn from it.
I wish I had met Dr. McCoy earlier than when I did in 2009. She is a special lady with an extraordinary determination to make a difference in the way we look at improving lives. We can do this by devoting ourselves to improving situations using everything within our means and disposal.
I told her during our meeting that she has been divinely touched to bring together the ideas and work of innovative and compassionate individuals who are striving to make the world a more peaceful, secure and happier home for all.
I hope this book will sow the spirit of volunteerism to serve humanity in our own small ways to make a bigger difference to the problems facing the world.
Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck
Queen of the Fourth King of Bhutan
Founder and President, Tarayana Foundation
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INTRODUCTION
Many of these visionaries are planting seeds of which they may never see the final results. Yet, these Visionaries believe that their ideas will materialize and develop in the years to come…with or without them. I think you will be excited, as I continue to be, in discovering their stories. I am proud to have talked with them and honored to have them in this book.
Why is this book important, particularly to businesses?
The following is paraphrased and quoted from an article titled “The Brands that Survive will be the Brands that Make Life Better.” By Morgan Clendaniel on FastCo.exist.com
Companies must build a responsible reputation for delivering products that consistently improve people’s lives to cultivate lasting relationships with consumers. Umair Haque, Director of Hayas Media Labs and Harvard Business Review blogger studies how businesses can create real value and observes the growing consumer demands for impactful products.
“The Meaningful Brands survey—which spoke to 50,000 consumers in France, Spain, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Argentina, China, Japan, India, and the U.S.—found that only 20% of the brands they interact with have a positive impact on their lives. And they feel that 70% of brands could disappear entirely without them noticing.”
Haque believes that the trick to make a brand meaningful is to focus on the outcome, not the output. “Did this brand actually impact your life in a tangible, lasting, and positive way?” instead of “did this company make a slightly better product?”
“More than half (51%) of consumers want to reward responsible companies by shopping there; 53% would pay a 10% premium for products from a responsible company. And they want companies involved: 85% of consumers want companies to be engaged on global issues, but only 22% think they’re getting enough. Haque says that if companies don’t start responding to these trends, they will be punished.”
The surveys show that people have concerns about their future, and this book will provide some examples of what others have done to further some of these causes. No matter where you are from—which country or continent—this book is for you. You may find yourself laughing and maybe even shedding a few tears as you encounter the many ways that people are caring for one another. It is taking place right now – even in the midst of economic crises, natural disasters, political uprisings, and profound change.
I have talked with people throughout the world, and I can say unequivocally that all of them want to make our planet a better place. They want a world in which their children and grandchildren can grow up, be healthy, and have better lives than they have had.
"Is it possible?” you may ask. Each of the Visionaries you will meet here have shown that by putting effort to the challenge, life can be—and should be—better for all people in need.
“The most important and beautiful gift one human being can give to another is, in some way, to make life a little better to live.”
– Ellen Browning Scripps, Founder Scripps Memorial Hospital/Scripps Metabolic Clinic, 1924
Doris Lee McCoy, La Jolla, California
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PART I – VISIONARIES AT THE LEADING EDGE OF PHILANTHROPY
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CHAPTER 1
The Power of Non-Profits: People at the Leading Edge of Philanthropy
HELEN LAKELLY HUNT, Ph.D.
Helen LaKelly Hunt has been very active in the women’s movement for over 25 years. She is the founder of The Sister Fund, which is a private women’s fund dedicated to the social, political, economic and spiritual empowerment of girls and women. She has also helped to fund many other groups, including The Dallas Women’s Foundation, The New York Women’s Foundation, and The Women’s Funding Network—national and international organizations that work in partnership with women, empowering them to find respect and dignity in their daily lives. She is recognized for her leadership in building The Women’s Funding Network and was inducted into The National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Doris Lee: Helen, tell us about some of the exciting projects that you’re involved in right now.
Helen LaKelly Hunt: I think I would like to start by noting that we are on the cusp of a historical time for women. Around the world, women are political and business leaders; the world is beginning to be more open to listening to what women have to say. For centuries women have been asking for a place at the table. They’ve wanted to have a voice around policy-setting tables. They’ve wanted to have a say about how their communities are run, yet in the past, most of the world has turned a deaf ear to what women have had to say. But now, people are listening.
You mean men are listening as well as women, Helen?
Yes, men too. Men are curious and want to know: If you’re a leader, how would you lead differently? What would you have to say? People are listening, which is why I also think it’s very important that women take the time to form their thoughts and their views in circles of women, so we can put well-formed ideas out there.
You’re supporting women to tell their stories, is that correct?
Yes. I think it’s important for women to come together and share their experiences with each other. Women often work well collaboratively when developing policies and procedures for running a community, an organization, or a culture. Working in collaboration, these organizations are developed out of experience and community.
Women can bring a myriad of life experiences to the table that are relevant; from the experience of what it’s like to raise a family, to what it’s like to live in areas where some people have most of the resources and others have few. Handling the disparity and discrepancy in the amount of resources and voice in society one has—this is an experience many women can speak to. How do we redistribute wealth so everyone has a chance for a decent education and everybody has a chance for a stable base from which to start your life?
How do you encourage countries where women, particularly girls, are not sent to school? It’s been on the agenda of the United Nations Women’s International Conference for 30 years, but it hasn’t taken hold throughout the world. Do you see a change?
I think solutions can, and will, emerge if women stay in touch with each other across the cultures. Women need to find, or actually found, organizations that do that kind of mentorship—women helping women.
I think there are affluent women who have financial resources and want to help women and girls go to school and succeed in life, but they don’t know how to help. This is the reason I feel like there’s a real onus on the organizations that do this kind of networking, to get their messages out and get the messages out loudly, smartly, and broadly.
An excellent point. Is there information on your website that would be helpful to others who might want to start a group?
I’ll share with you the philosophy of the organizations that I have worked with, which are women’s foundations. When I got involved with women’s foundations over 20 years ago, there were only 14 women’s funds in the world. When we were starting up The Dallas Women’s Foundation, there were only 13 other women’s funds in the world. The first fund was the Ms. Foundation for Women. The Ms. Foundation broke the ground for women’s funds, and the idea began to proliferate. Today there are nearly 130 women’s funds around the globe.
Women’s funds are simply women coming together to pool their resources and leverage one another’s dollars. They pool their money into endowments to support women and girls in their communities. Women's funds often support areas where there have been the fewest resources for women and girls in their communities—including education, medical assistance, violence-related support, and economic justice.
These funds pose the question: Do women have work opportunities so that they can bring home the paychecks to stabilize their families? Do women have the financial opportunities that will allow their children to be nutritionally fed, well educated, and well prepared to emerge into adulthood?
Is there one organization where people can get information about what is being done in specific cities, such as Dallas, New York City or other places?
Yes. There is an organization called The Women’s Funding Network and their website is http://www.wfnet.org. The Women’s Funding Network (WFN) is the overarching organization that works to coordinate with approximately 130 women’s funds worldwide. Currently, there are over 90 women’s funds in the U.S., one in Canada, one in Mexico, one in Central America, and one in South Africa. There are also women’s funds in Bulgaria, India, and Nepal. One of the early women’s funds is in Amsterdam, and we’re all jealous of its name, it’s called “Mama Cash.”
These funds work to pool women’s energies, ideas and resources so they can respond to the needs of women in their communities. Over the last 20 years, they have raised $450 million in assets and endowments. They have also raised $400 million that has gone directly back into the communities, in grants to others. All in all, women’s funds have raised a total of $850 million to help empower women and girls.
There is a group of us that are also currently working to raise the last $150 million to send women’s funds crashing through the billion-dollar mark. Just think what changes a billion dollars for women and girls’ empowerment might be able to create.
This initiative is called Women Moving Millions, and isn’t there a website of the same name where people can find information?
Yes, and the Women Moving Millions initiative is a part of The Women’s Funding Network, and we are working to raise that last $150 million from million dollar donors. The other monies have been raised from women’s fund supporters from across cultural, social, and economic lines—million dollar donors and $10 donors. Every donation to women’s funds is valuable.
Recently however, some of us have been talking about how high net-worth women have been sitting out of some of the most important work that is being done for women. This initiative is an opportunity for women of high net-worth to step up and begin to prioritize funding women.
Are women members of that organization once they’ve made their donation?
That’s a great question. Although it is a funding initiative and not an organization, it does have its own separate website: http://www.WomenMovingMillions.org.
WomenMovingMillions.org is in partnership with The Women’s Funding Network. We’re going out and telling women that it’s time to write the million-dollar check.
I am working with the WFN around this initiative after taking a little time out from my activism work to get a doctorate on the origin of American feminism.
Yes, I hoped you’d talk about that.
In studying early feminism, I learned that the leaders of the suffrage movement were exasperated by the lack of funding for the women’s work. I found a letter that one of the women wrote to her friend, basically saying: “My Dear Elizabeth, I am so frustrated today. I’ve opened the paper and there’s yet another article on another woman who has funded another museum. Why won’t women fund suffrage?”
That’s when I began to wonder, did women fund the suffrage movement? I gathered beside me a couple of 19th Century scholars, and we went back and read every set of minutes from every suffrage organization meeting. The truth is, men were the main financial contributors to the suffrage movement. That is one of the reasons suffrage took so long. The high net-worth women were funding museums, their husband’s alma maters, and houses of worship, but they weren’t funding women’s voices and status in society.
We’re inviting high net-worth women to the table. Women’s funds offer, for the first time in history, the perfect vehicle for funding. Women Moving Millions is working to create a contagion of this energy.
Before we began this initiative, we uncovered about 30 million-dollar donors who had helped fund and support women’s funds over the last 15 years. And since we began the Women Moving Millions initiative a year ago, we’ve raised over $93 million for these women’s funds.
Wonderful. Are you seeing any trends as to how people are getting involved?
Yes, we’re learning what women want; what they want to see in terms of impact studies. And we’re also learning that these women want to meet each other and work together. Women do philanthropy and activism work differently than men. Women do it relationally. Women love to work together. They love to get together for meetings—to strategize together and dream of what’s possible if we unite.
Good information. The doctorate you mentioned was related to faith and feminism. I know you have a book out by that title. Would you comment on that?
I wrote the book as a Christian, because that’s my tradition and that’s the tradition I know best, but the dynamic of the book is true for all religions. Women who are part of faith-based institutions are struggling with one of the most entrenched patriarchal energies in the world. The women’s movement needs to recognize the women in religious institutions who are struggling to lift up women’s voices there as well.
I encourage women in faith-based institutions, as well as women operating and organizing outside of religious institutions or who may call themselves secular feminists, to begin to link together. There is so much we have in common. I’m encouraging women to think of the potential we can create by working together.
Where I came to this thesis was another avenue. It was after meeting with women who wanted to lift up women’s voices and see the potential of women being the fulcrum for social change in the culture. If you talk with these women, many of them are faith-based women, but they don’t feel free to talk about their faith within the women’s movement and its organizations. They don’t bring the voice of faith to the table because there has been a sense that women who stay in faith-based institutions have sold out to a patriarchy, but I don’t think that’s a fair assumption.
Many of these women are insisting that their faith tradition is important, and they’re not going to give up their faith simply because men have dominated its leadership. They’re excited about working with anyone who will dignify women’s roles in religious institutions. After all, women have shouldered most of the daily work within these houses of worship. It’s because of the attendance and work of women that most of these houses of worship remain open, so women should not have a subordinate role within them.
The work we do as faith-based feminists is about a vision, ontology and the sacred order of life. It’s the way life is meant to be—where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and that is what women want in their houses of worship.
Recently, the sermon at the Rock Church in San Diego was that Jesus came to destroy the barriers between male and female, Jews and Greeks, saints and sinners. It’s like there’s something there, but we haven’t claimed it.
That’s right, Galatians 3:28 hits the nail on the head: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Regardless of what countries or communities we live in, how would you encourage women everywhere to make equality possible?
I think every woman has a responsibility to be a part of a women’s organization, whatever organization in your community seems most vital and alive. Women need to stay networked with other women, because we are the majority. If we unite and work together, we will make progress toward the values that we hold so near and dear.
Great ideas, phenomenal work. Thank you for taking the time, Helen.
MARILYN TAM
Founder and Executive Director of Us Foundation and Visioneer HealthWalk
Marilyn Tam is a consultant, speaker, and author. She has had an extraordinary and diverse life, from her beginnings in a traditional Chinese family in Hong Kong to her rise through the executive ranks of the international business world. As the former CEO of Aveda, President of Reebok Apparel & Retail Group, and Vice President of Nike, she became an influential corporate leader and has become a respected humanitarian throughout the world.
Doris Lee: Marilyn, how did the Us Foundation start and what are some of the projects you’re involved with?
Marilyn Tam: Us Foundation really is an accumulation of my many, many, years of working in the non-profit sector, as well as the for-profit world. Having been in the corporate world, but coming from a developing nation, I’ve seen both sides of the equation.
Doing so much work both in the for-profit and non-profit worlds, I’ve always had the dream that one day I would be able to devote more of my energies to giving back, so an opportunity came in 1996.
I started the Us Foundation because the premise was that there is really no “them.” It is only “us” here, and that is why it is the name of the foundation. We work on creating more harmony and understanding between people and the planet. Our mission and purpose is in line with unifying and creating more collaboration and communication among all aspects of life and how we are integrally impacting each other, no matter where we are.
You’ve held many leadership positions in corporate America, including Miller’s Outpost, May Company Department Stores, and Britannia Sports Wear. How did that work translate for you into putting the Us Foundation together?
The beauty of life, I think, is that there is really no separation. When I was doing all those corporate-type jobs, I also integrated the giving back and humanitarian aspects of life into the work. Whatever we did, I always considered what kind of impact we were having on the community at large. This was not only in terms of which products or services we were providing, but also how we were purchasing our goods. We looked at what we were purchasing and how we were affecting the community, so it was all harmonious and connected.
When it came time for me to shift my emphasis between for-profit and non-profit, it was an easy shift because I had been working on the same things all along.
The Us Foundation is still working in New Orleans. Could you say something about that?
Well, Hurricane Katrina and the storms in New Orleans, Louisiana and Mississippi have really impacted the people there. After the large charities came in and did their work, everybody went home and forgot that people there still have no homes.
Also, they still need jobs, support, and guidance on how to redevelop their businesses. Basic things like how to get water back into an area; those things haven’t gone away yet. The large non-profits have left already. Us Foundation, and some other organizations we were connected with, have stayed on and adopted two towns across the river on each side of the two states. We said, “We are going to be staying with you, working with you, until you get back on your feet again.”
It’s really been very powerful. It’s not the glamorous work that you read about in the paper. It’s more just the day-to-day things that need to happen to really make life move forward. You need to find transport to get to work, or you need childcare so that you can get out of the house—fundamental things. We’re still there to help with that.
You’re working on a new project in Santa Barbara, too. Could you speak about that?
It goes back to helping people help themselves. We have a beautiful community here in Santa Barbara, California. Compared to many parts of the United States, it is a safe and healthy environment. Yet we still have youth gangs, young people who feel like they don’t belong in the upward mobility or educational system because of unhappy or dysfunctional home lives. They get very attracted to belonging to a community of any kind, and that’s where gangs come in. They attract our young people into a role that is not a healthy long-term one for them.
After one unfortunate incident with gang violence, several members of the community decided, myself included, to do something. The Us Foundation was a spearhead in this, to create opportunities for young people when they transition from sixth grade into seventh grade. It is an important time when the first break in education comes because children transfer schools and their community from sixth grade is disrupted. They have to go to another school and create a new community, and if the children are not focused or interested in school, they are very vulnerable to joining gangs. What we do is take those students that have that tendency to stray and give them focus and opportunity to do something else.
We are proposing and working with the district educational people, the superintendent of schools, the police chief, and the mayor to create a new system for an apprenticeship program.
In a new school program, for the first half day certain children will attend classes, and then the next half day, we will work with the teachers to help identify areas of interest that these children may have beyond school. There are those who aren’t doing well academically and who are also being disruptive in class. We will find out where they have interests and then help them to become an apprentice to a business for a half day.
They will be paid a small amount of money that will be given to them at the end of their high school years, so they are given an incentive to stay through graduation. That money can go either into vocational training for them when they get done with high school, or it can go into a college or junior college fund, depending on how their interests develop.
What we see, even in these earlier stages, is that children get very excited to have somebody actually focus attention on them. They’re showing a sense of responsibility and the ability to know that they have talent and a way of making a difference in the world. I’m really quite thrilled about this program.
It sounds like a great idea. I would hope that what you are doing can get circulated throughout the country.
You’re reading my mind. That’s exactly what we hope to do once we get this program established, but this is not really a new program. If we look back into Europe, and even parts of Asia, there has always been the tradition of apprentice-type or vocational education for children that may not be on the academic track as we know it.
Also, I don’t want to say that at this age these children have made up their minds. Maybe they are interested in art and they go to an architectural office, and there they discover that they like drafting—and that they actually like architecture. Maybe they turn their interest around and become architects later on.
We don’t know this. We are not making a determination that children are forever shunted off to a specific area of interest, because we still give them half a day of regular school. It gives them a way of expanding their horizons and looking ahead to see what the possibilities are. It might motivate them to go on and really become whatever they want to be…the ultimate of their potential.
In all my studies and interviews, I have found that if young people find their potential, they are home free. They are not dreading going off to work just to pay bills. There is more enthusiasm about the job.
In my corporate life, I work with a lot of Fortune 500 leaders, and that really is the same thing for them. They have to have a passion and love for what they’re doing or else it will be—no matter how much money they’re making—a job that they feel like they have to do rather than one they enjoy. Nobody likes that, no matter how far up or down the scale they go.
Let’s look at some of the things that you’ve done internationally. Last fall-summer you worked with 25,000 Indian children and helped them to attain a healthier way of life. I was overwhelmed when you said you could organize a group this large. How did you do that?
I think it goes back to our premise of being Us Foundation. We know we aren’t the only people on the planet doing this work, so what we do is identify other groups who have interests in the same area as we do, and we collaborate with each group to have them do what they’re best at. Together we can make a bigger difference.
I have another non-profit that I’m associated with that works a lot in India and they have a lot of needs, as you can well imagine. We’re dealing with people who make a staggeringly small amount of money a week—below 40 rupees, which is less than a dollar a week. The children have very little, and there’s a very big health danger in this particular area. It’s close to a much wealthier area, Bangalore, where there are a lot of tech centers that we in America are outsourcing to.
But just about an hour out of Bangalore is this area called Nandi Hills, which is a desperately poor area—under a dollar a week. The children there have a high danger of becoming malnourished. When children do not get enough vitamins between birth and age ten, there’s a very high tendency for nutritional deficiency-caused blindness, as well as all the other ailments that can damage a child, oftentimes permanently.
Working with an organization in India, we collaborated with two more organizations—Vitamin Angels Alliance is an organization that gets donations of vitamins and anti-parasitic medicine from different pharmaceuticals. The Airline Ambassadors is another organization that carries the goods and products that we want to bring to India. There is great enthusiasm about the program and many people are donating their time, resources, and energy to make this happen. Between the four groups, we organized this ongoing health and education program for 25,000 Indian children.
We flew over there carrying bags and bags of vitamins and anti-parasitics. And we organized a health and education training with graphic posters, so that they can understand, because literacy is low in this area. The graphic posters were written in their own language.
Working with teachers, local communities, and the families, we actually dispense anti-parasitics, because there is no clean water and almost all the children have worms and other parasites. Giving them the anti-parasitic medicine first, before the vitamins, is necessary or else the vitamins will just support the parasites. It’s an ongoing program. Every six weeks we have another team going over to follow up to make sure that the program is continuing—to refresh them, not only on taking the vitamins and the anti-parasitics, but educating them on how to eat and on personal hygiene. We show them how to obtain clean water, boil it, and wash their hands before they eat.
All the basic things that we take for granted are not available for people who are on such marginal, subsistence-type living. It’s an exciting program for the Us Foundation, and it’s continuing. We will be starting another one later this year in another part of India. Our goal is to help 100,000 children.
Are there other projects that you’ve worked on with the Us Foundation that you’re excited about?
We have so many exciting, rewarding, projects; I’m so grateful. One that may be very interesting to your readers is that we have an exchange program, more like a pen pal program, between a school in San Francisco and a school in Bhutan. Bhutan is a country between India and Tibet in the Himalayas. We have an exchange program of letters—pen pal information, email—between sixth graders there and a school in San Francisco.
It’s been very wonderful for both sides to get an opportunity to understand another culture, and also being able to articulate and appreciate their own in this exchange. We’ve had this program going for about a year now, and we’ve had American volunteers go over and take pictures, to share pictures of the students between countries.
The appreciation and understanding of each other’s culture is growing. I think that’s the first step to a more harmonious way of appreciating and dealing with other cultures. It is a way for solidifying peace and harmony going forward.
Are there any final thoughts that you would like to share?
I would like to urge your readers, wherever they are, to make an effort to get involved in their community, in their passion of giving back. It is so rewarding, not only for the community but also for you too.
It’s a double win, isn’t it? Marilyn, I appreciate your taking time to explain these projects to us. Others may feel interested in contributing to the Us Foundation or getting some ideas of how they too may give back. Where can people connect with your foundation?
If they want to get more information, just go to http://www.UsFoundation.org.
Great. Thanks very much Marilyn Tam, a woman who is making a difference in this world.
Special Note: Marilyn has also written a book called How to Use What You’ve Got to Get What You Want, a fascinating read where you can learn from Marilyn’s experience and wisdom and be inspired to achieve your highest goals. You can learn how to succeed in your life’s purpose using what you have right now. She has also just released a new book Living the Life of Your Dreams where she reveals the secrets, principles, tools and strategies she and other experts learned and used to achieve a balanced, healthy and joyful life.
Visionary Spotlight –
STEVEN M. HILTON
President and CEO of Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
I was invited to attend the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation annual conference, entitled “Reaching the Bottom Billion: Is There a Tipping Point?” I was so overwhelmed with the prospect that this one-day event could provide answers to this huge question. And after a day fully packed with outstanding presenters from all over the world, it was clear that some of these major issues could indeed be addressed.
Steven Hilton shared this vision for where the Hilton Foundation is headed:
The Foundation’s future starts NOW– by cultivating an organization with competent people who exercise wise stewardship of the assets entrusted to our care and share a passion in carrying out Conrad and Barron Hilton’s philanthropic vision of humanitarianism on a global scale. Following the directive in Conrad Hilton’s Last Will, we will continue to alleviate human suffering with an emphasis on children and the work of Catholic Sisters in serving those most in need. And encourage staff to infuse their efforts with the same entrepreneurial spirit that inspired Conrad and Barron Hilton in making Hilton Hotels a world-class hotel company. At the end of the day, we as a dedicated group of individuals can, hopefully, look back and say that our collective efforts “added value” by translating a visionary legacy into practical and effective programs benefiting those most in need.
Addressing the conference in his welcome, Steve said:
The prize ceremony will be a fitting ending to today’s symposium which is dedicated to finding new ways to help the bottom billion escape from their seemingly endless poverty trap.
It is also appropriate that we are meeting just three days after the World Poverty Day as we struggle with the dilemma that certain countries continue to fail despite years of increased financial assistance and new attempts at interventions. Just two months ago, the World Bank adjusted the international poverty line from $1.08 to $1.25 a day, immediately increasing our bottom billion to 1.4 billion.
The consensus was that all major donor countries have endorsed the Millennium Development Goals, but unless new strategies are embraced, it’s not likely there will be much impact on the 58 countries that continually experience no growth and have the unlucky distinction of being members of the bottom billion.
This is the 13th year the Hilton Prize has been awarded and the tenth Hilton symposium on humanitarian issues. We all remain committed to overcoming the poverty that causes so much suffering in the world, but the problems remain often stubbornly entrenched at the bottom where they afflict the most vulnerable. While statistics mount that point to global triumphs over human suffering, and millions of people continue to realize a better life for themselves and their children, others remain behind, virtually untouched by human progress, falling farther behind and cut off from the mainstream. The very fact that there has been so much progress casts a glaring light on those left behind.
To contact Hilton Foundation, go to http://www.hiltonfoundation.org.
- Visionary Spotlight -
Pres. Chissano & DL
PRESIDENT CHISSANO
Former President of Mozambique
Joaquim Chissano served as the president of Mozambique for 19 years, from 1986 until 2005. In 2006, the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed President Chissano the Special Envoy to Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan to resolve conflict there. He worked with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and with the International Criminal Court.
President Chissano spoke in Geneva, Switzerland at the Conrad Hilton Foundation event on the topic of Reaching The Bottom Billion. While there, I had an opportunity to ask him about the landmines that still need to be removed his country so that the people can begin to utilize their very fertile ground for raising food crops. I was interested in this topic since a group of patrons made eradicating landmines in Africa one of their major projects: Sir Richard Branson, John Paul DeJoria, Nelson Mandela and his wife, all featured in an earlier chapter. President Chissano confirmed that they continue to work on this crucial issue.
- Visionary Spotlight -
KENNETH KAUNDA, Ph.D.
Dr. Kenneth Kaunda was the president of Zambia from 1964 to 1991, in its first years as an independent state. I met Dr. Kaunda at a Project Concern International event in San Diego, California. He was being honored by Project Concern as an outstanding leader. Having faced great struggles and overcome many obstacles as the first president of Zambia, he is a man of grace, wisdom, and good humor. It’s worth noting that Dr. Kaunda is still very positive about the future.
- Visionary Spotlight -
Joanne Wolf & DL
JOANNE WOLF, Ph.D.
Former clinical psychologist, founding member of Kids Korps USA, and one of the authors of the book Teaching Kids to Care
In 1995, a visionary group of women came together to show their children how to care about the world. Born into relative privilege, they wanted to give their kids the opportunity to contribute to the well being of others and the welfare of their communities. Inspired by the Peace Corps model, they founded Kids Korps USA.
One of the founding members is Joanne Wolf. I have been fortunate to know Joanne for a few years now. Although her own children are now grown up, Joanne graciously goes about her continued support of the organization. She recently co-wrote a wonderful book called, Teaching Kids to Care: Nurturing Character and Compassion. The title says it all.
Kids Korps USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit youth volunteer organization that engages young people, ages 5-18, in community service. Each year, thousands of youth freely give their time to engage in community service efforts to make the world a kinder, better, safer place—activities such as: feeding the hungry, building or restoring shelter for the homeless; removing graffiti from public buildings; visiting seniors; and participating in environmental conservation projects.