Social Change Is More Than Writing A Check

I have written the past few days about what I am passionate about, social entrepreneurship. I'll include links at the bottom of this post in case you want to check them out ;)

So, this is another post along that same line of thinking. Enjoy!

What Is Social Change?

Social change is change that comes around in order to work towards solving a social challenge in our society, like homelessness or making sure third world countries have clean drinking water on a consistent basis. There are so many worthwhile causes that could use support, but not just financial support.

Organizations need money to help them run and cover expenses, so writing a check is great but not all that can be done.

Money seems to be what makes the world go round in most cases but, in the case of social causes, money is not the end all. Heartfelt passion towards the project is oftentimes more important than money that can be thrown at it!

Getting Actively Involved

Getting your hands dirty and rolling up your sleeves in order to support the cause is worth so much more than money when you are in a situation where you really need help.

In my teens and early adulthood, I would help out in Panama outside the city with young mothers that were experiencing parenthood for the first time but didn't know how to properly care for their infants. I spent three summers sleeping on a cot in a room with a dirt floor and it was one of the most life changing experiences for me.

Our group right before we left on our trip

A host family that we stayed with to help with a new baby

I come from a big family with 12 kids with me being the oldest that lived at home so I have experience being around children and the program that I was involved in sent us to school before sending us. I met some of the most wonderful women and families that I still keep in touch with.

Our group had so much fun while we were there but we worked our asses off!

It was not all work though. On our off time, we learned how to do so many things and had so many unique experiences. We learned how to dance, went to the beach and caught crabs, ate sugar cane straight from the cane fields, hung out with monkeys, and learned how to cook local dishes.

The beach we went to almost every day

Overall, we had the best time of our lives and the work was so very rewarding.

Those trips made me realize that I wanted so badly to be able to help other people and started me down the path of social entrepreneurship. It's funny how life starts us on the path that we need to be on, huh?

My parents had sent money for years to the organization that sent me to Panama but it took a change in our lives for me to end up going to Panama instead of just sending money. We were sent videos from friends that had gone to a different South American country with that same organization (can't remember which country) and they looked like they were having so much fun!

The garden where we stayed was beautiful

So, I decided to try it even though I had never left Upstate NY before besides to go to a wedding in Michigan for my Uncle. It was a huge change for me but a life changing experience, for sure.

I still keep in touch with people from that trip years later and have been to many more countries since then working on other projects that have touched lives in much the same manner.

Social Change Is More Than Writing a Check

Helping others to learn new things or improve their lives in some way is such a rewarding experience. Starting a socially conscious business is one way to help others and make money at the same time, so I consider it to be a win-win.