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Riding off into the sunset…

Posted by dana on March 11th, 2008

Dana

(thanks to my lovely Menlo Park hosts and project leaders extraordinaire, David and Haydi Sowerwine)

After three years, two months, and twenty-odd days, the time has come for my departure from the GlobalGiving team and I will be wrapping up my work here in the next few weeks. It has truly been an extraordinary experience working at GlobalGiving these past few years-more so than I could possibly sum up in one blog post. All I can say is that it has felt more like an adventure than a regular ol’ 9-5 gig, and for that I am immensely grateful. From our early days above the thrift store in Bethesda, to our current hipper than thou historic rehab digs on U St, we have grown a lot since I started working here…but I think (or at least hope) that we have maintained the “GG spirit” throughout. The passion, dedication, intelligence, humor, friendship and (at times) totally crazy commitment my fabulous co-workers have demonstrated over the past few years will stick with me for a long, long time.

In addition to the amazing co-workers, I also feel privileged to have been able to work on the supply team with all our fabulous project partners. There wouldn’t be a GlobalGiving without our partners doing courageous and important work on the ground all over the world, and I loved getting a window into their world and supporting their efforts even from thousands of miles away. And yes, that’s me riding a pedal-powered electricity generator from the project “Give Pedal Generated Light to Millions of Nepalis“!

I better cut this short before it devolves into a sappy highschool yearbook-esque farewell note…and while I won’t actually be in the GG office after next Wednesday, I’ll always be a GG alum, donor, and perhaps even project partner in my new role at the International Youth Foundation. GlobalGiving will also be hiring to fill some very important roles around the office, including Ping Pong Champion, Biggest Eater, Fastest Runner, and Doggy Clean Up Patrol…so let me know if you think you fit the bill!

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It's Not Easy Being Green (Or offsetting carbon emissions)

Posted by dana on February 27th, 2008

A day at the beach - GlobalGiving styleOur fearless leader (Dennis, not Dixon) often talks about how energized he feels after trips to California.  The GlobalGiving team makes it out to the left coast fairly often due to many funding and partner relationships, and this week it was my turn to spend a few days in the Bay area. 

Maybe it’s all this mid-February California sunshine getting to my head (such a welcome break from the icy east coast!), but I’ve found myself agreeing with Dennis on the California vibe-full of energy, optimism, inspiration, and a sense of what’s possible.

I’m here in San Francisco attending the Carbon Forum America conference-one of the largest gatherings in North America related to climate change and carbon markets.  You don’t have to be Al Gore to know that climate change is one of the largest and most serious problems facing society today, and without a similarly large and serious response to turn this ship around we could find ourselves in a heap of trouble. 

But when faced with such a daunting threat looming over our shoulders, how can any one of us know what to do, or if any actions we could take will have an effect on such a huge problem?  Can CFL light bulbs, driving a Prius, purchasing carbon offsets, or calling Congress actually dig us out of this global warming hole we find ourselves in?

I stayed with a good friend in Berkeley on Sunday night before the conference and I asked him about what it was like living there.  “It makes it easy – to ride my bike, buy local food, carpool to work, or use alternative energy sources – because these things are available and supported by the community.” 

And while GlobalGiving isn’t exactly available at your local farmer’s market, I connected his point to the work we’re doing with supporting international projects.  By making solutions available, and easy to find and support, it can drive people to take action that they might not otherwise feel empowered or inspired to take. 

Although the prospect of climate change is scary, a speaker today pointed out that one benefit of needing to address climate change is the power to force new levels of cooperation between people across national or international boundaries.  And finding these collective solutions will drive new levels of business creativity, entrepreneurship, problem solving, and empathy. 

I don’t pretend to have all the answers about the climate change monkey on our back, but I am excited that-like health care, education, technology, and women’s rights - it is a global issue that uniquely impacts developing countries, and GlobalGiving is hoping to provide donors with even more impactful ways of addressing climate change in the coming months.  By providing climate change solutions that our community can support, we just might uncover some powerful new strategies for change. 

Stay tuned…

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10 (not 53) places to go in 2008

Posted by dana on January 10th, 2008

My parents were Peace Corps volunteers in the early 1970′s, so I usually blame DNA for my frequent urges to travel. Despite growing up in homogenous suburban central Ohio (with a lovely Canadian island as my only international adventure as a kid), as soon as I headed for college I was able to indulge my need for adventure and interest in learning about new places, cultures, and geographies. From 1999-2003 I spent every summer south of the equator (thus making my summers actually winters) traveling to Tanzania, Bolivia, Madagascar, and South Africa. I even managed to snag a hiking job in the French Alps as my first gig out of school!

Living with the travel bug that my trip leader in Tanzania called “itchy feet”, I was particularly interested to see the recent NY Times travel article about the 53 places to go in 2008. Although most of the swanky destinations they listed are far out of my price range ($70,000 for a week at a Swiss chalet? Seriously?) I was interested to see 10 of their 53 locales overlap with places where GlobalGiving has projects. GlobalGiving loves having volunteer travelers tack on a project visit when our friends, colleagues, donors, and readers find themselves in places where our partners work– so if you want to get an up close and personal look at development in action and meet some fantastic project leaders– let us know. And take me with you!!

Bonus prize– if any intrepid readers can identify all 10 places in the NY Times list where GlobalGiving projects, I’ll send you a $10 GlobalGiving gift card (email me your answers at dledyard@globalgiving.com) I’ll even give you the first one for free…

Renovate 3 Elementary Schools in Laos

Double bonus prize if you can guess where my parents served in the Peace Corps (and yes, it’s on the NY Times list!)

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Over the river and through the woods…

Posted by dana on November 21st, 2007

As Thanksgiving approaches, I can’t get these holiday carol lyrics out of my head. Working on the project team at GlobalGiving, I have the privilege to work with the amazing project leaders and innovative organizations that list their work for funding on our website. This also means I get an up close and personal look at the challenges our partners face on a daily basis. Here is one description of the journey to send an e-mail in Malawi:

“Well, first I leave the school and hop on my bicycle. After riding my bike for two hours over dusty, bumpy roads, I arrive at the internet café. Then I write out my e-mail carefully by hand and give it to the owner. Assuming the internet isn’t broken that day, he logs on to the only computer in the village and sends the e-mail for me.”

Rather than braving the river and woods to get to grandmother’s house, each day our project partners face challenges ranging from lack of electricity or internet connectivity, natural disasters like floods and earthquakes, health crises including malaria and HIV/AIDS, non-existent transportation infrastructure, or unstable political environments. Tasks that seem like no big deal to those of us in the U.S.—sending an email, turning on the lights, making a phone call—can be time consuming and difficult.

With all of these challenging circumstances it’s a wonder that anything gets done at all! But the most exciting part of my job is that not only is stuff getting done, our partners are tackling the most difficult challenges our world faces right now and achieving great results. It’s a testament to the determination, creativity, passion, and insight of the projects listed on GlobalGiving that each day I get to read updates from the field like this:

“The Roteang Village children have nearly completed the immunizations…” from "Provide 570 Children with Lifesaving Vaccines" in Cambodia.

“One of our a pioneer teachers at Nyaka told me last year that because of his job at Nyaka, he has been able to buy land, take care of his twin sons and daughter, and take care of his aging mom and dad…” from "Nyaka School for Children Orphaned due to HIV/AIDS" in Uganda.

“Through these two projects, we secure transportation and safe passage for women who are fleeing their homes to reach the shelters or other refuge…” from "Safe Houses for Iraqi Women" in Iraq.

Whether arriving via the back of a bicycle, the dusty Indian mail service, carrier pigeon, or solar-powered dial-up email, project updates keep donors informed about all things (good and bad) going on with the project on the ground. Clicking “submit” isn’t the end of a donation to a GlobalGiving project—it’s the beginning of an adventure!

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