Social Innovation - Sandy's Thoughts

This week was focused on the finances of organizations that tackle social issues.   We covered various sources of revenue and the advantages / disadvantages of each.   In Michael Porter's TED Talk, he talks about how businesses do not profit from causing social problems, but from solving them.   I can see his point here.  When a company creates a safer working environment and doesn't waste resources, it avoids accidents and makes the business more profitable because it's a sign of good processes. Unless an issue is a really big one, most people don't even know, or figure that it's just a cost of doing business.  However, when they are the star of the show and working to create social change, they become the hero. Does money buy happiness?  Can money change the world? Money does not buy happiness, but it can be a means to create change in the world.  With money, it becomes more possible to reach an audience through purchase of media or other fo

This week was a focus on measuring the impact of social organizations. I enjoyed taking a dive into our social topic and finding an organization to review.  It gave good insights into how to be effective. The article, "Starfish Hurling and Community Service" claimed to disagree with the idea that, "I made a difference to that one" when referring to tossing the starfish.  I do understand the idea of doing research and being aware of the consequences of any action, however, I think that there is a way to accomplish both.  We can make a difference to the "one" just like Christ sought to find the lost sheep.  

This week, we began thinking of ideas and solutions to address our social issue.  I went through many possibilities, but settled on an educational campaign to address the dangers to children and youth. I wonder if there is a way to make it more embraced by youth.  I can remember the youth of my day making fun of "Just Say No" and other campaigns since.  So, I think that the key would be be figure out that piece. Why is design thinking an important skill in social innovation? Design thinking is the process of coming up with a creative solution to address a problem.  It is important because it involves coming up with something that is new and never done, at least in this way.  Otherwise, it would have already been done. The skill of "thinking outside of the box" is one that not everyone can do.  I know many people who have an attitude that is closer to "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".  They aren't really interested in trying new things

This week, we went through a process to select a topic to write about throughout the semester.  I struggled with picking only one topic.  After reviewing several lists of possibilities and doing some research on a few, I narrowed my list to a handful.  I was interested in the topic of felony disenfranchisement.  I have worked in the criminal justice field for many years and have seen lives devastated because of a mistake.  I considered obesity, or more specifically, childhood obesity because it has become a growing problem, at least in the United States.  I went through the options of the death penalty, voter apathy, #metoo and video game addiction as possibilities as well.  Each of these had potential as my choice.  In the end, I chose to write about the legalization of Marijuana.  I have chosen this topic because I have seen in my family the challenges that it creates.  I have seen how destructive this substance can be and wanted to explore the attitudes that have allowed its legali

This week, we covered many of the ways in which someone can work towards social innovation and how they can be effective.  It was noted that jobs don't really exist in social innovation, rather, you work on social innovation in whatever field you work.  I am reminded of a journalism class that I took in college many years ago.  It was my first Journalism class towards a journalism major.  I was so excited.  Then my professor told the class that good journalists don't major in journalism.  They major in political science or history or or fields that give them information to use in their writing / reporting.  I've always remembered that. I enjoyed the video titled, "Inside the Mind of a College Social Innovator".  I liked hearing the perspective of 4 different young people who found their way into making a difference.  I was inspired to know that anyone can be the change that the world needs.  I have no excuses. Jeffrey Thompson's article, "What

Week 1: I'm intrigued by the topic of social innovation.  I love the thought that each of us can help to change the world and make it a better place.  It is through each of us that we can be the change that we want to see in the world. I just finished reading the book, "Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman" by Yvon Chouinard the founder and owner of Patagonia .  In the book, Mr. Chouinard tells the story of how he came to start his company by just creating better climbing tools that he was using and making them more affordable.  Now, he is proud of the company that he has built and especially that he has been able to focus on social issues that he is passionate about.  In particular, in tells a story of how when they began to look into how their supplies were sourced, they offered organic cotton items, but stopped there.  It was years before they looked further to find how and why the supplies were listed that way.  They had to loo