WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS PRESENTS
T H E
GIVING BACK I S S U E
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Washington Square news | monday, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 | nyunews.com
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Dear Readers, Like most of you, I have a lot to be thankful for this season. Every day I walk through the diverse streets of this city, I am reminded of just how fortunate I am. But these streets that are the sidewalks of success stories also serve as the concrete mattresses for the homeless. This urban habitat is itself a dichotomy — it is a portal to the pursuit of dreams, but it is also the domain of dreamers who have lost their way. Amid the people who have it all are those who barely have enough to get by.
Washington Square News
vate you to give back this season. Included are events to attend, organizations to become involved with and donation ideas to fuel a feeling of generosity among our readers and to help get you started.
Editor-in-Chief JAYWON ERIC CHOE Managing Editor
KELSEY DESIDERIO Deputy Managing Editor
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the talented team of writers, photographers, designers and editors who have helped me put this special issue together. Not only have they made my job easy, but their efforts are a constant reminder of how lucky I am to work with such a great staff.
RUSSELL STEINBERG Assistant Managing Editor
KIRSTEN CHANG Creative Director
FRANCIS POON Features Editor
Falling somewhere in between those two extremes, I have the power to give back — and so do you. This issue is designed to not only tell you how, but to acknowledge our NYU peers who are already on their way to making a difference.
So before getting enmeshed in holiday madness, take the time to check out how you can give back to the community. We have done the research. Now it’s up to you to ignite a charitable fire and bring warmth to this chilly holiday season.
AMANDA RANDONE advertising business manager
REBECCA RIBEIRO sales manager
We belong to a community of philanthropic visionaries who are changing not only this city, but the world. From Greenwich Village to Ghana, from the Lower East Side to Lima, NYU students are giving back in the most innovative ways. We are sharing their stories to moti-
Stefanie Yotka circulation manager
MEagan Driver
university sales coordinator
Emilia Mironovici
— Amanda Randone, Features Editor
sales representatives
Kaitlyn O’Brien, MICHAEL RYAN, Melissa Ynegas
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EVENTS TO DO YOUR PART November 22 - 24
Think that all volunteer opportunities involve serving food at a soup kitchen? Think again. With Thanksgiving coming up this week and the holiday season right around the corner, here are a few fun and creative ways to give back to the community. — Katya Barannik
November 28
December 2
December 4
December 17 - 18
Winter’s Eve
5:30 to 8 p.m. | Broadway and 63rd Street
Volunteer and Help the Homeless with the Bowery Residents’ Committee All day | Various locations throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn
This Thanksgiving, the Bowery Residents’ Committee is looking for volunteers to help with dining room setup, dinner service and after-dinner cleanup.
Join one of New York City’s most famous holiday festivals. The festivities will begin with the tree lighting at 5:30 p.m. at Dante Park. Then, from 6 to 8:30 p.m., a handful of Lincoln Square restaurants will offer free or discounted samples of delicious food, ranging from soups and drinks to desserts for between $1 and $5. There will be street performers all night and a concert by The Klezmatics. Although the event is free, attendees are encouraged to donate a gently used coat to Dante Park to support the New York Cares coat drive.
Whiskers in Wonderland
12 to 6 p.m. | Metropolitan Pavilion
Kevin Powell’s Annual Holiday Party and Clothing Drive
Miracle on Madison Avenue
Enjoy live art, DJ’s, short films and free massages, all while supporting the Safe Horizon/ Streetwork Project, an organization that donates truckloads of supplies to homeless youth in the city. Admission is free, but only if you bring new or gently used gloves, scarves or coats.
Shop at some of the more than 80 participating stores on Madison Avenue — 20 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Children’s Aid Society. There will also be live music performances starting at 12 p.m.
7 p.m. | Le Poisson Rouge
All day | Between 57th and 86th streets
What better way to get into the holiday spirit than to add a new, furry little friend to the family? Whiskers in Wonderland is the city’s biggest pet adoption fair of the year, featuring cats, dogs, bunnies and other small and lovable creatures. Even if you don’t plan to adopt, why not stop by to just play and spread some love? There will also be holiday carolers, gift ideas for pets and pet lovers and advice from animal experts.
ONGOING SUS Holiday Stocking Project
Until Dec. 14 | 305 Seventh Ave., Seventh Floor If you’ve secretly always wanted to be Santa’s little helper, now is your chance. The Service for the UnderServed Holiday Stocking Project involves filling individual, personalized stockings with gifts, which will be delivered to people suffering from mental illnesses, developmental disabilities or HIV/AIDS.
Holiday CardMaking
Until Dec. 1 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Kimmel Center, Seventh Floor Stop by Kimmel to decorate a holiday card or gift bag for senior citizens with the Center for Student Activities Leadership and Service at NYU.
nyunews.com | monday, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 | Washington Square news
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PURCHASES THAT PAY IT FORWARD By mAximíliano durón
‘Tis the season for giving and getting gifts. When finding the perfect present for family and friends, consider these options which, upon purchase, contribute to a greater cause. You will find that even the simplest tasks, like snacking and surfing the web, can help you give back.
PHOTO CREDITS: TEA: File photo by Lauren Strausser; Feed: via feedprojects.com; CURE: VIA TWITTER.com; FREERICE: via freerice.com; kiva: via kiva.org
Argo Tea
During the holiday season, Argo Tea partners with a different non-profit every year to donate a portion of its proceeds to that organization. Argo focuses on the promotion of healthy living and education and has a new location in NYU’s Academic Resource Center. This season’s partner is the Alzheimer’s Association — a foundation that works to eliminate Alzheimer’s through research while also providing care to millions of people affected by the disease. Instead of your usual cup of chai tea, try a seasonal tea — 10 percent of the cost of the drink goes directly towards the Alzheimer’s Association.
FEED
Started by model and activist Lauren Bush, granddaughter of former President George H. W.
Bush, FEED is a nonprofit organization that sells tote bags, accessories, clothing and teddy bears to benefit the United Nation’s World Food Programme. This line of designer goods makes the consumer’s contribution to help ending world hunger tangible by providing a physical reminder of the good they’ve done. Each product is marked to indicate what cause your purchase will go to, like providing five school meals to the WFP’s School Feeding Program. With beautiful scarves and burlap totes, FEED is one way to help hungry children throughout the world.
Cure Thrift Store
A quaint East Village store on 12th Street across from Founders Residence Hall, Cure Thrift Store offers a wide variety of apartment and kitchen furnish-
ings, books, music, men’s and women’s clothing and jewelry. Founded by Liz Wolff, who was diagnosed with Type I Diabetes when she was 11, the Cure donates 100 percent of all profits to benefit research that works to find a cure for diabetes. When shopping, go for a vintage and one-of-a-kind look by allowing yourself to get lost in the experience that is this two-story Manhattan fashion destination.
Free Rice
This website is pretty basic. It’s a mini-quiz site that asks for synonyms for different words. The synonyms might not match very closely, but the other options are pretty far-fetched, making it easier for the website’s users to get a correct answer. For each correct answer, the website will donate 10 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Programme
FRESH PHILANTHROPY ON CAMPUS By Erin Kim It is never too late to get involved with NYU clubs. With new groups establishing themselves throughout our community and all across campus, clubs are looking for students to help develop their organizations. Immerse yourself in these expanding philanthropic opportunities. These on-campus options are too convenient to pass up.
Make Music
Two years ago, then-Stern sophomore Christine Lo sowed the seeds for this established nonprofit club in Los Angeles, now in its first year at NYU. Make Music’s mission is to raise money and awareness for music education for underprivileged children. The club works with the Harmony Project, founded by Presidential Citizens Medal recipient Dr. Margaret Martin. The Harmony Project incorporates camps, clubs, orchestras and ensembles to provide arts education to all children. Lo said the club aims to provide an “artistic catharsis” for “anyone who believes in music,” and volunteers are not required to be musicians themselves.
Ground Up
Born and bred from NYU students’ study abroad experience, Ground Up is a new volunteer group dedicated to ensuring
improved living conditions and secure development in the third world. Teaming up with SCHEFO (the Shelter Clothing Healthcare Education Food Organization), Ground Up conducts multiple campaigns, including the Kitchen Project, which aims to serve clean and nutritious meals. They are currently researching a new initiative that will allow NYU students and professors to record their lectures to share with Ghanain students. Ground Up seeks students interested in learning more about developing nations, gender equality and the transferal of classroom knowledge into real-world experiences.
Bidawee
Embracing the loving relationship between man and his best friend, Bidawee — a nonprofit organization dedicated to bettering animal welfare — is in its first year of coordinating events with volunteers from the NYU Civic Team. As the team’s only animal interest group, NYU’s volunteer group for Bidawee aims to build relationship between animals and humans. The group is always looking for people to volunteer with off-site adoptions and I-Team volunteers to work directly
with the animals by caring for them and cleaning their cages.
Face AIDS
To encourage students to fight the stigma of HIV and AIDS worldwide, Face AIDS has a new chapter at NYU, stemming from a national nonprofit organization. Face AIDS currently aims to raise $4,000 by May to renovate the Nyamirama Health Center, which serves approximately 18,000 individuals for every doctor. For a $5 donation, Face AIDS sells colorful, handmade African pins. Every Friday at 4:30 p.m. general meetings are held, where students plan for future events like a potential Dance Marathon this spring.
The Supply at NYU
This nonprofit organization founded in 2010 aims to make education self-sustaining in other countries. The group is currently looking to set up a stable secondary school in the slum village of Lenana, Kenya, so students will continue to receive an education after eighth grade. The Supply hopes to implement a learning service program to inform students of major world issues. Erin Kim is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.com.
to help end world hunger. The site has donated over 90 billion grains of rice to date by bringing people closer to the issues that face our world and making them activists to fight for change. As straight forward as it seems, the questions get addicting and are a fun way to pass the time. Instead of going on sporcle.com or some other distracting website, try freerice.com this semester to make the world a better, less hungry place.
Kiva
Since being founded in April of 2005, Kiva has grown in 61 countries to a network of over one million users who have lent over $255 million. The company was founded with the basic ideas of social entrepreneurship and micro-lending in mind. The system works with lenders giving loans as small as $25 to a business in
a developing country. The borrower will then use that money to help fund their business or family life. Once the borrowers have spent the money for the goods and services to advance the business, he or she will pay it back in full to the lenders. This cycle continues, so lenders can help fulfill as many needs as they want while getting reimbursed for it. The website gives a breakdown of the risk factor of each borrower and the expected time when the loan will be paid back. By allowing the borrowers to purchase what they need to thrive, Kiva gives people in developing nations the opportunities to make a difference in their own lives through a stranger’s random act of kindness. Maximilíano Durón is a staff writer. Email him at mduron@nyunews.com.
DONATING WITH STYLE By Jessica Littman With over 5,000 students, staff and faculty participating in NYU community service events each year, the university community is certainly devoted to giving back. But many students do not have the spare time or the money to donate to their favorite causes. No matter what your resources are, you can give back by donating old clothing and other things that you don’t want but that are still in good condition. There are several shelters and charity resale stores within walking distance of campus. Some will even come and pick up your donation. There are two main types of charities to which you can donate clothing: shops that resell used clothing to raise money for charitable causes and organizations that give used items directly to people in need. It is easier to find the former option, which includes well-known charities like the Salvation Army and Goodwill. Several of these kinds of stores are located near NYU. One such organization is Housing Works, which has stores in Gramercy, SoHo and the West Village, among other places. Housing Works uses the proceeds from its clothing and accessory sales to provide shelter, health care and advocacy for people struggling with HIV and AIDS. While organizations that give clothing directly
to the needy appreciate warm and utilitarian items, fashionable and designer items can be especially helpful for resale shops. According to the Housing Works website, if the organization can sell your gently used designer shoes for $40, they will be able to pay for ten days’ worth of food for an HIV-positive mother and child. Dropping off clothes at these shops is a great option, but busy students can call the Salvation Army to arrange a pick up. The Salvation Army, like Housing Works, uses its resale shops to raise money to help feed, shelter and clothe the homeless. If you’re looking to donate directly to people in need, New York Cares is currently holding its annual coat drive. This year, the organization hopes to collect 100,000 winter coats for the poor and homeless. Organizations that collect clothing to give directly to the homeless and poor always appreciate warm clothes, especially at this time of year. There are many other options to donate your gently used clothing in New York City. For a more extensive list, see the NYC Stuff Exchange at nyc.gov/stuffexchange. During the holiday season, please remember those less fortunate and make an effort to give back. Jessica Littman is a staff writer. Email her at features@nyunews.
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Washington Square news | monday, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 | nyunews.com
GIVING BACK GOES GLO ALTERNATIVE BREAKS
ECUADOR AND COSTA RICA
COURTESY OF CELINE REYES (4)
NYU’s Alternative Breaks gives students the chance to create change, try new things and interact with locals
NYU’s Alternative Breaks — an organization devoted to helping those in need both domestically and internationally — hosts winter, spring and weekend break trips that allow students to spend time giving back while they’re abroad. This year, trips during spring break in both Ecuador and Costa Rica will be focused on social communities abroad. Quito, Ecuador is home to many farms and provides an array of agricultural goods to local and international communities. Rio Muchacho Organic Farm and ProWorld Service Corps are working with NYU’s Alternative Breaks on this trip. While abroad, students will focus on sustainability and the agricultural health of the community. Though the trips are costly, Alternative Breaks does its own fundraising to help offset some of the costs that come with the trip. “We are going to be helping to maintain the farm on a daily basis by harvesting, cooking and doing maintenance work,” said Thomas Valls, a Tisch ju-
nior and site co-leader for the trip this spring. “Aside from that, we will be applying what we learn on a daily basis from the farms and assist in teaching Ecuadorian children. It’s half a sustainability effort as much as it is an educational effort.” While at the farm, the Alternative Breaks participants will be contributing to self-sustainability efforts and interacting with the local community. As a site co-leader, Valls will be working with Steinhardt senior Katrina Arce by hosting nightly reflections on the trip. There are several other spring break trips, including one to Costa Rica in connection with Community Collaborations International. The trip to Costa Rica is focused more on the agricultural community of coffee and the concept of free trade. Both site leaders for Costa Rica went to Ecuador last year with Alternative Breaks and are looking forward to their upcoming trip. “We’ll be learning all about traditional farming,
which means hand picked, not by a machine,” CAS junior Celine Reyes said. “We’ll be learning about how community collaborations and fair trade gives back to the community, and we’ll also be working with schools.” The trip will take place in San Marcos de Tarrazú in the mountains of Costa Rica. Community Collaborations partners with the Coopetarrazu, a coffee farm, and teaches the locals how to make their coffee farming more sustainable. “Do not let money or fear stop you from trying to experience something phenomenal,” said Damaris Sanchez, co-site leader and Steinhardt senior. “The students’ work I collected, the pictures that were taken [during the] trip and the contact information I kept helped me realize that the practice I had at a third-world country is worth teaching other students about.” The Costa Rica trip will also have nightly reflections like those in Ecuador. These will allow the participants to reminisce on what they did that day and talk to one another about their experiences.
OBAL
nyunews.com | monday, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 | Washington Square news
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By Shannon Loughran and Brittany VanBibber
For NYU students studying abroad, there are plenty of community service opportunities. In Italy, students can participate in a weekly park clean-up as part of the Angeli del Bello project right near campus. In Peru, Stern students can combine their studies with community service by providing poor communities with the chance to learn basic business skills. NYU Alternative Breaks will also provide community service trips to Ecuador and Costa Rica this spring break. Charity is an important part of any community, and these are just a taste of the opportunities that are available around the globe. Leaving the Washington Square campus doesn’t mean leaving behind your desire to give back.
NYU StUDENTS MAKING A DIFFERENCE ABROAD ANGELI DEL BELLO FLORENCE, ITALY
Florence mayor Matteo Renzi started the “Angeli del Bello” program last year to help locals and students give back to the community. The program is named in reference to the Mud Angels of Florence, who helped rebuild the city after the 1966 flood of the Arno River. This devastating event killed citizens and destroyed valuable art in Florence, and the Mud Angels worked to rebuild Florence both economically and culturally. In today’s program, students and locals work together to give back to their city by cleaning up local parks and public spaces. NYU Florence has been involved since the program’s inception. “It is a way for any interested student to volunteer without any language requirements,” said Alexa Farah, the programming and events coordinator at NYU
Florence. “All that’s required is a desire to give back.” The program meets once a month to clean up Florence, but according to Farah, “three students have committed to working with a team of locals to clean a park near the NYU Florence campus on a biweekly basis.” SCPS junior Rebecca Mitchel has been volunteering with two other students since September to help clean up the park at Florence’s Stibbert Museum. “After viewing the volunteer presentation during orientation led by [Farah], her enthusiasm regarding this cause stuck with me and inspired me to join in to clean up parks around the city,” Mitchel said. “I believe that if the locals are willing to embrace us during our stay in their nation we should help them, too.” Mitchel also volunteers as a teacher’s assistant at a local in-
COURTESY OF ANGELI DEL BELLO
Florence Mayor Matteo Renzi poses with college students who helped clean up the city. stitute to help teach English to Italian high school students. She sweeps leaves, picks up branches and trash and helps with other assigned tasks. The program is coordinated with Florence’s sanitation depart-
ment to find out what needs to be done for volunteers to be as helpful as possible. Both Mitchel and another student have received praise from the head of the Angeli del Bello project for their work.
STERN INTERNATIONAL VOLUNTEERS LIMA, PERU With its overseas program, “Stern International Volunteers,” Stern has created a fusion of business knowledge and volunteer work The program was created in 2007 to combine the course work with community service. The trip allows students to apply what they’ve learned during the semester throughout their trip. In 2011, students took a trip to Lima, Peru and were assigned to different volunteer locations in the impov-
erished Villa El Salvador. Groups helped teach local students, volunteered at a home for the elderly and even rebuilt homes. “I also came to appreciate Peruvian culture, food and history much more during this trip,” Stern senior Nina Raman said. “I became more grateful for the comforts we have in the U.S. Most importantly, I think I developed a keener sense of the impacts that businesses can have, both positive and negative, on people in poor urban communities.” Raman worked at a daycare center during her time in Peru. There, she taught the children basic reading and mathematics skills. “[As] rusty as my Spanish was, I man-
“Receiving lots of positive feedback encourages me to continue volunteering on a regular basis,” Mitchel said. “Giving an hour to the community a few times a month is not only an easy task, but it is also rewarding.”
aged to have some great conversations with them,” Raman said. “I learned that many of the teenage girls in the school had never left Villa El Salvador, let alone Lima.” Another Stern senior, A.J. Tus, also went on the 2011 trip to Peru but focused on working with preschoolers. “The experience was incredible,” Tus said. “Definitely one of the best things I’ve done in college. Working with preschoolers in Villa El Salvador and watching the boundless energy and enthusiasm of their teachers, even in such poverty, is something that will stay with me forever.” The course is available to Stern freshmen, sophomores and juniors. This year, students will be taking another Stern International Volunteer trip to Latin America.
Other international volunteer opportunities Alternative Breaks Chang Mai, Thailand
For those interested in helping abroad in Asia, the Alternative Breaks winter trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand, is the perfect option. The project works with YMCA International to help underprivileged children and women in the area, and the group will focus on helping children who have grown up living on the streets. NYU students will teach English to the children and help raise awareness in the Chiang Mai community of necessary health and life skills.
Jedlicka institute and schools prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
NYU students traveling abroad to Prague in either the fall or spring can volunteer with the Jedlicka Institute and Schools. Jedlicka invites NYU students to teach physically disabled students between their elementary and high school years at the institute. To take part in the program, students studying in Prague can contact Jedlicka for more information.
BASICS International ghana, africa
Brothers And Sisters In Christ Serving (BASICS International) is a charity in Ghana that brings education and literacy to younger generations. In 1999, Brooklyn-born Patricia Wilkins left the fashion industry, traveled to Ghana and founded BASICS. In 2000, the charity launched the Back2School sponsorship program to increase the number of Ghanian children in school. BASICS International provides opportunities for students to volunteer, intern and mentor.
Autism Awareness Care and Training Center GHANA, AFRICA
Students at NYU Accra can volunteer at the Autism Awareness Care and Training Center. AACT provides support for autistic children and their families. AACT raises awareness about the disease and provides therapy and education for children in need. Students can volunteer to teach, fundraise and help the children improve their motor skills.
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Washington Square news | monday, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 | nyunews.com
AN NYU APPROACH TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP By Kristina Bogos From creating job opportunities in Ghana or New York to showcasing the talent of Indian artisans and local artists, these five NYU social entrepreneurs have turned their passion into successful enterprises. Through hard work and dedication, these students and alumni have worked to promote social change and give back not only in the local community but also around the globe.
Alexis FedoR
COURTESY OF ALEXIS FEDOR
MARIA SCHIRMER
COURTESY OF MARIA SCHIRMER
ALLISON TAYLOR AND NEETU SIDHU
COURTESY OF ALLISON TAYLOR
Not only does Gallatin graduate Alexis Fedor choreograph, perform, write and act, she also runs a full-time social enterprise. In 2009, Fedor established Love + Water Designs, a company that merges artistry and charity with fashion to create “wearable philanthropy” through the work of local and global artists. After running a fashion showroom for four years in New York City, Fedor wanted to launch her own business that gave back to charity while allowing for artistic freedom. Following her research of successful t-shirt companies and crowdsourcing sites, the seed for her company was planted; Fedor realized she wanted a similar business model but with a charity theme. “Paul Newman has been a huge hero of mine by giving back to charity, and I give to charities all the time,” Fedor said. “I wanted the core mission of my company to give a good portion of the profits to
charity. Many of my artist friends felt like giving $5 wouldn’t make a difference, and I wanted to illustrate to them and to others that a lot of a little adds up to a lot fast.” Love + Water Designs is an interactive philanthropic charity where an artist creates a profile online, submits a design, and chooses a charity to receive 50 percent of the profits from each shirt sold. Voters and featured charities also develop profiles online to interact with other artists and offer feedback. In addition to showcasing the work of the contributing artists, Love + Water Designs actively spreads the word about participating charities. “The artist wins a cash prize if their piece is chosen, and their name goes on the back of the shirt alongside the charity’s,” Fedor said. “In doing this, the profit is one element where the charity gets money, but any time anyone is wear-
ing the shirt and someone asks what it means, the charity is advertised. We create shirts as art for the charity, not logos. It creates a discussion for the charity and raises more awareness about the charity in this way.” This past April, Fedor launched a youth division to her company that provides students with an opportunity to make money by creating art expressive of themselves and what they love. “We have a youth board of four high school kids from inner city high schools who do a year-long internship with us,” Fedor said. “They meet once a week to create programs to reach out to other youth throughout the year. They’re also learning about business, goal setting, public speaking and building self-confidence.” For the future, Fedor envisions setting up scholarship funds, forming a music division and establishing a storefront in Manhattan.
Gallatin graduate student Maria Schirmer’s strong theater background influenced her desire for her art to have a positive social impact. “I always had a very political side to me and realized I wasn’t suited to sit behind a desk and do policy but didn’t want my art to not have a social presence and meaning,” she said. “I started to figure out ways to combine those two worlds, to create theater that has a social dialogue. I decided to take the plunge and go back to school to study it formally and NYU was the perfect place.” For her performance-based thesis project, Schirmer is developing a way for her involvement in the theater to speak to issues in the community. “For audience members who witness the piece of art, they can be changed,” Schirmer said. “Through the experience they can create their own dialogue and go
out into the world. I envision a non-traditional form of theater to be coupled with some form of social engagement where we bring in an audience who has a tie to the art and speak to them about the show, whether it’s doing talk-backs during or after the performance.” During her time with Stone Soup, a theater company that performs shows dealing with contemporary social issues, Schirmer interacted with her audience members to inform and entertain. “I was using the theater as education,” she said. “I did workshops so the audience could actually participate and be involved in the art. Right now I fulfill my job as a teaching artist. I feel like the art can go out into undeserved communities like public schools, where art funding is being completely cut. These schools have no access to funds for their creative students, and I go into channels for areas that don’t
have that access. I want the arts to be integrated in their curriculum to build a stronger vocabulary and increase literacy rates.” Schirmer’s current involvement in the theater outside of school has served as the groundwork for her future aspirations. “I have a job at the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, an institutional consortium of activists and artists in the realm of the arts for social change,” she said. “We went out, volunteered and worked for free, and it’s now a job taking me through graduation.” For students looking to pursue social entrepreneurship, she encourages collaboration. “Social change doesn’t mean isolated change, but change within a community,” she said. “Make an appointment to speak with a professor whose work is very much in line with entrepreneur social change spirit.”
During an NYU social entrepreneurship course, Stern M.B.A. candidate Allison Taylor and Gallatin graduate student Neetu Sidhu realized that both of their hopes for a business model to promote social change would work together beautifully. After forging their creative ideas, the fashion line and social enterprise REVIVAL Style was born. With a tagline of high style and high social impact, REVIVAL Style partners with artisan women in India to create quality clothing that fosters a positive social impact on three target communities. “We’re looking at the social impact we’re making on the suppliers side in the production end, so we’re working with these Indian artisans and giving them a new outlet to opening up in the export market,” Taylor said. “We’re partnering
modern design with their very talented craft that not only provides them more money and more employment but also highlights their talent and their skill.” REVIVAL Style also works with Alba Collective, a non-governmental organization that focuses on initiating research to see how providing increased income and increased self worth to Indian artisan mothers will affect the education of their children. “If we get to educate girls in the developing world, there’s a greater chance they’re not going to enter into child marriages that lead to inter-generational poverty,” said Sidhu, who conducted research on the well-being of women living in India. “If you look at the poverty statistics in the past two years, the number of rural Indian women living
below the universal poverty line is close to 60 percent of the U.S. population. That’s close to 180 million people.” REVIVAL Style’s core mission is to economically revive the Indian artisan industry by starting with a small group of women, but it hopes to expand across India in the future. “It’s not about fashion; it’s not about the embroidery; it’s about what this means to them,” Sidhu said. “It’s their livelihood and the only thing they really know how to do.” Taylor strongly urges prospective social entrepreneurs to find a partner who shares a similar interest. “When you have someone else to talk through the business challenges you will face, it helps tremendously. Find a teammate you know well and trust highly.”
nyunews.com | monday, NOVEMBER 21, 2011 | Washington Square news
J. BRANSON SKINNER
COURTESY OF J. BRANSON SKINNER
RYAN WILLIAMS
COURTESY OF RYAN WILLIAMS
J. Branson Skinner came to NYU four years ago with the hope of promoting social change by integrating fashion with education. After spending time in Ghana, Skinner created Of Rags, a collaborative fair trade fashion company that connects people through fashion and creates job opportunities for people living in Ghana. Of Rags established an education program known as the Afutu Project on both the middle school and high school levels to foster these connections and assist the Ghanaian people. The project’s process is simple, but has a profound effect on those involved. Donated shirts and clothing are cut up, sent to Ghana and returned to the United States as one piece of clothing to be sold on college campuses. Every donation of ten shirts leads to a day of employment for workers in Ghana. “We asked ourselves, ‘What world do we intend for our children?’ and in many ways the Afutu Project is the answer to
that,” Skinner said. “It’s this mix-match from all these different backgrounds. To us it means we are seeing how, regardless of our background, we can have this one world together where we can all be included in the process.” This social endeavor not only creates employment opportunities for workers in Ghana, but also builds peer-to-peer connections across the Atlantic. “We build those connections between students and their home community so they can take the knowledge they are learning in Ghana about HIV and AIDS and deliver it to their friends and their families to educate and get more people involved,” Skinner said. “The largest tool is actually allowing them to share their perspective, so we created a digital platform in which students can do that and we sparked that connection through an item of clothing.” Through this digital platform, students
in America can create videos to share their ideas with kids in Ghana. On the college level, students now participate in the actual sourcing of their own clothing. “What we’re aiming for is that it shouldn’t necessarily be a need to give back but should start a little bit before that,” he said. “It should be much more about making the right choices that ultimately include everybody in the system.” His advice for working in the realm of social entrepreneurship is to pursue an organization that piques your interest and find ways to get involved rather than feeling like you have to create your own company. “It’s all about collaboration, all about seeing what’s there, in closing those gaps, and there’s no reason to start from scratch building up a new infrastructure, which is just detracting resources from other organizations,” he said.
From working in the fashion and business sector of the economy, to increasing access to solar energy in markets in sub-Saharan Africa, law student Ryan Williams has certainly dabbled in an array of industries across the globe in an effort to promote social change. “I started working with Indego Africa, a nonprofit social enterprise that partners with women cooperatives in Rwanda,” Williams said. “Women produced goods and we sold the goods in the U.S. with all profits being donated to create training programs for the women.” Williams started to develop an idea for his own social enterprise, one that would ultimately lift people out of poverty by transforming remittance payments into money that would increase the standard of living for families living in destitution.
The way it works is simple. When individuals come in to send money to their families, the standard 10 percent fee from the remittance payment is invested into job-creating businesses in their home countries. Williams said the goal is to “alleviate poverty and essentially reduce the need for remittances in the first place. If we can provide jobs, they won’t need money sent home to buy a pair of shoes.” The model behind this business aims to impact two communities to foster social change: the sender communities and the recipient communities. “On the recipient side, the money is really about creating jobs and opportunities for them in addition to the money they need to survive on a daily basis,” Williams said. “For the sender communities, it’s a strengthening tool that provides a small
source of revenue that turns them into investors in their home country.” More importantly, the business model is what Williams describes as a gateway into financial inclusion. “They’re now in these financial markets, granted the right for checking accounts, savings accounts, debit cards and all these services we take for granted that many people don’t have,” Williams said. For students with an eye for social entrepreneurship, he suggests taking classes in a field that interests you, and using your NYU email address to reach out to people. “Use the interplay between the left and right side of your email as an advantage. The left is who you are, the right your credentials,” he said. “People will always respond to students.”
The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York,times N.Y. 10018 The new york crossword & daily sudoku For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Band with the 22x platinum album “Back in Black” 5 Second-incommand to Captain Kirk 10 State south of Manitoba: Abbr. 14 Mythological hammer thrower 15 Bejeweled headgear 16 River to the Seine 17 Make gentle 18 Innocent ___ proven guilty 19 TV show for which Bill Cosby won three Emmys 20 Squelches early 23 Immigrantʼs course: Abbr. 24 Donkey 25 Ones dealing in futures?
29 Like the sound of a teakettle 32 Move so as to hear better, say 33 Took care of, as a bill 34 Got the wrinkles out 38 Mai ___ 39 Capital of Latvia 40 Queen, en Español 41 Edible seaweed 42 Raptorial seabird 43 Syrup sources 44 Pseudonym of the artist Romain de Tirtoff 45 Likes a whole lot 47 Caveat ___ 49 Stanley who codirected “Singinʼ in the Rain” 50 Bit of song and dance, e.g. 53 “Ainʼt ___ shame?”
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE N I N J A R I E G E T S U L E N S E P A V I D E I C A N A S C A M T A L E O V A L L E S I R K D N A
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54 51-Downʼs talent … or what the circled squares represent? 59 Puzzle with a start and a finish 62 Scent 63 Once again 64 Smart ___ 65 Drainage system 66 Michael of “Arrested Development” 67 Half-and-half carton, often 68 Name of eight English kings 69 Water whirled Down 1 Envelope abbr. 2 Spiced Indian tea 3 Pricey bubbly 4 Lover of Troilus in a Shakespeare play 5 Gobsmack 6 Vessel of 1492 7 “#@*!” and such 8 Breaks down, in a way 9 Former “Meet the Press” host Marvin 10 “Beats me!” 11 Insult, slangily 12 Nile reptile 13 Critical 21 “___ be back!” 22 Like many items listed on eBay 26 Put on a show 27 Theater district 28 One taking potshots 29 Butter or mayo
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Puzzle by Dan Feyer
30 Weave, shag or braids 31 Turkish “dollars” 32 Tenancy document 35 What people think of you, for short 36 Word with baby, bath or banana 37 Uptown dir. in N.Y.C.
41 Stayed with the leader 43 Computer list 46 Turn down, as a manuscript 48 Russian fighter jet 50 Say “O.K.” 51 Circus performer 52 Official with a stopwatch
55 Deep cut 56 ___ a one 57 Anyone who can speak Klingon, e.g. 58 Go to and fro 59 “The Amazing Race” necessity 60 “Prince ___” (“Aladdin” song) 61 Buddhist state
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