Mustard being slathered on hot dog made with Northern Thai sausage at Big Bite Bangkok

What a great week!

I hope the rest of the year goes as strongly as 2012 started.

Much of the week was spent planning past Saturday’s Big Bite Bangkok, but I did get to spend time with my mentor Marc Gold from the 100 Friends Project.

Marc is a professional at creating smiles

Marc had just returned from helping some terribly desperate communities in the Philippines and went with me to visit a few families we’re supporting in Bangkok. In particular, I wanted to follow up with the woman who had called me after she ran out of food last week.

Together, we spent a few hours chatting with women in two families about their difficulties in Bangkok, managing money, and caring for sick relatives. When our time was up we quietly left, leaving both women with $100 each.

I was glad to have the opportunity to share my work with Marc and we spent a few hours afterwards discussing how to further encourage the women in the families we visited and ways to collaborate in the future. Hanging out with Marc is always encouraging because he has a great deal of helpful input to share from his experience directly helping people and small charities all over Asia.

Starting the year our supporting women with the help of Marc Gold of 100 Friends

Switching to my fundraising hat, we tapped into the city’s foodie community to raise money to continue helping these families more this year.

Sunday launched Big Bite Bangkok with the help about 200 people attendees and 9 vendors with great food. We raised about $850 for our project, which is a great start to the year. We’ll share more pictures and details on the Eating Thai Food Blog later this week if you want to see more food pictures.

Thanks everyone for following and supporting our strong start to 2012!

-Dwight

 Photo credit for the food photos from volunteer photographer Jennica Botonis.

Now I don’t want to seem heartless, but I was a little annoyed when the phone was ringing. I often get calls at random times of the day with random requests. Sometimes it’s the 7am call to say thank you for paying for our rent, a lovely gesture from a few thankful hearts which may drive me INSANE.

I work full time and have my share of a social life, but the nature of caring for people is you can’t really pick your hours. So I always leave my phone on and field calls from families saying everything from, “We miss you,” to the occasional emergency. I’m usually, however, a little happier when they don’t wake me before the roosters.

This week I answered the phone with my ‘what now?‘ attitude only to find out a family had been out of food for a few days.

My heart sank. I shirked the attitude and sent $30, enough to last this family almost two weeks, right away.

Calls like this one really jolt me back to the importance of the work we (me and YOU) are doing together to help families. This is the biggest part of the In Search of Sanuk project and I’m up at 3am writing about it because this year I’m aiming to do more than the $8,000 or so in aid we gave to families in 2011.

To do more for more families in 2012, I’m going to need to stretch myself and this partnership WE have together.

On my end, there will be more nights up late writing updates to share the project with you (some of which are sure to be rewarded with early morning phone calls).

On your end, I’ll need more of what you have to contribute. Whether it’s time, money, prayers or all of the above I’m asking YOU to step up the production this year.

Every month, in commemoration of our partnership, I’ll be updating the following “fun meter” to illustrate how much we’re accomplishing together:

As of January 15th we have given out $1320 in direct aid to the needy. Which means about 87% of what was given went to help families like those you saw in last week’s Children’s Day video report. Awesome! But there’s more to do and we spent about $300 on families I haven’t yet matched with sponsors. In addition to sponsorships we raise money with events like next weekend’s Big Bite Bangkok to cover where the budget falls short.

I hope the monthly “fun meter” encourages more people to visit our donation page and give.

Similar to the sporadic phone calls, I will learn to think these updates not as a shrine to insomnia, but as a privilege and reminder of the change we’re creating in the community. I hope you will too.

Until then, goodnight!

 -Dwight

Saturday afternoon was a great Children’s Day celebration with the Yommarat community.

A pair of awesome volunteers, Pilar and Nicole, organized games and crafts for the kids and about 15 other volunteers who joined.

Watch the video below (Or click here: In Search of Sanuk Children’s Day 2012 in the Yommarat Community)

Volunteers got lots of hands on interaction with the community’s kids, parents, grandparents and passerby’s who heard all the fun we were having.

The highlight for me was being able to help seven families by giving out gift certificates to a local supermarket where they can purchase food and clothing. Actually, we worked with the community to identify ten families who were in need. Since we didn’t have a big enough budget to help everyone, volunteers and I decided to choose the top 3 neediest to sponsor throughout the year. You’ll be hearing more from us about those three families as we get to know them.

Remember your donations will allow us to help them throughout 2012. Make a contribution here.

[Note: See the details on our donation page for US citizens who want to give a tax deductible donation.]

In the next update I’ll describe our fundraising needs for the year and a plan to keep you up to date on how much aid we’re distributing to help families in Bangkok.

What are the biggest needs in your family?

-Dwight

In Search of Sanuk Christmas Party

For the second year in a row, we threw a big party for the families we’ve been helping.

[You can flashback to last year's Christmas by watching this video: Stealing Back Christmas 2010]

The aim of the party is really to provide holiday cheer for families who wouldn’t have much of a celebration otherwise. That meant plenty of food and fun festivities for everyone!

Christmas Angels

[See more photos here: In Search of Sanuk Facebook Page]

The party was a great end to a tough year. While fund raising hasn’t been easy, with the help of supporters who sponsored families and those who helped create a few fundraising events, in 2011 we provided over $8,000 in rent stipends to needy families since last Christmas.

This number doesn’t include the extra gifts of food, groceries, clothing and hours spent encouraging and educating families in need this past year. So I’m confident in 2010 our total giving was nearly $10,000, of which 95% went directly to families in our care.

We’re continuing our support into the new year and will be making it easier to see how your donations are making a difference for families in 2012.

We’re so grateful you’ve been following along from around the world. Thanks also to all my local volunteers, especially those who opened their homes on Christmas Eve.

Finally, enormous thanks goes the International Church of Bangkok, who dedicated their Christmas Eve celebration to our cause, raising about $2,000 for our project with asylum seekers.

Happy New Year Everyone,

-Dwight

As people begin to examine what led to the events that brought Bangkok to a halt, some have correctly identified the role of charitable giving and volunteering in the country’s reconciliation. The cleanup effort that brought the multitudes of Thais and foreigners to the streets of Bangkok to wash the streets stained and charred with conflict helped many realize that any real reconciliation will take a much larger effort than what the government alone is capable of. Real change can happen if people don’t quickly forget this tragedy and begin to expand their concepts beyond “helping the poor” to beginning a conversation between Thais who (at least from the outside) appear to lead very different lives. This type of mindset is what gives teeth to grassroots movements like ‘Sanuk My Saturday‘ whose success is dependent on the ability to engage local Thais as active, regular participants.

While the volunteer teaching won’t begin until next weekend, I did have a chance to visit the detention center this past week. This was the first time I had been since returning from the US. As usual, it is always a healthy exercise in gratefulness. Because so many volunteers came we were able to visit many of the families I had gotten used to seeing before I left. Thanks to everyone who continues to visit and bring food, water, and companionship to them.

Finally, for everyone who expressed interest in the food supplies we sponsored for five refugee families this month, let me give more details. For about $15 per family they received rice, sugar, condensed milk, noodles, cooking oil and flour.  This is only a small way to help them and they still struggle to find other support. For the average family these supplies last about two weeks. Many of the families have already learned to forgo meat in their diets, scrounging to save what they can to pay rent, their biggest expense. So your donations do create small change that makes a big differences in their lives. Please continue to show your support for them so we can duplicate this effort in the future.

This weekend I’m writing from the Burmese border in Mae Sot, Thailand while visiting Future Light Children’s Home. Plenty of photos and details coming in next week’s update.

-Dwight

There are more people out there like Charlotte who are doing and giving what they can to help people. I asked some of them to help explain what exactly “sanuk” is and how they had been involved with In Search of Sanuk. Enjoy reading their great answers.

Chris

“Sanuk is fun; in terms of what we do, sanuk is having a good time while helping out.“

[Involvement] The first thing I did with ISOS was help put together the ‘Taste of Sri Lanka’ refugee fundraiser event nearly a year ago.  From there, I began volunteering at Sanuk My Saturday (in Pinklao).  I was really enjoying it, and Dwight needed more help with the program, so I agreed to become the program coordinator.

[Sanuk is...] Sanuk is fun; in terms of what we do, sanuk is having a good time while helping out.  We want you to come to our events and enjoy yourself.  Volunteering should be fun, a break from your daily (perhaps tedious) day jobs.  We want you to look forward to coming back.

[Top Memory] This is a tough one…there are so many!  Mine is not so much one memory, but two little girls.  Tam and Om, two of the regular Pinklao kids, have a special place in my heart.  They make my Saturdays awesome, and remind me each time of why I’m involved.

Prae

“I believe in making a positive difference in the community that I live in.”

[Involvement] I believe in making a positive difference in the community that I live in. The number of nonprofits is growing in Bangkok but the number of people supporting them is dwindling. With ISOS, there are always opportunities to volunteer but fewer hands to help. I was very happy to be one of the volunteers at Sanuk My Saturday a month ago.

[Sanuk is...] to have a good time, to enjoy myself from the pleasure and joy of doing something good and fun.

[Top Memory] It was the giggles and smiles from the chidren. Some of them sneaked behind me and gave me a big sneak hug!

Becky

“They say they will never forget us all for as long as they live. How often do you get to impact people’s lives like that?”

[Involvement] I am involved with ISOS because a group that I organize has been featured on the web site. I organize groups of people to visit refugee families at the Immigration Detention Center. For each person that visits we can get one refugee out of their room for an hour. Children are roomed with one of the parents, so the other doesn’t get to see them unless they each have a visitor. One of the families has 7 members, 2 men & 5 women, so if we want this family to be able to have a visit, we need 7 volunteers to come sign them out. One of the daughters had a birthday recently, her 13th and what she wanted for her birthday was to get to see her father and brother! WOW, how many 13 year olds do you know who would be asking for that for their birthday? The things we take for granted! ISOS has been instrumental in bringing in a steady stream of willing & enthusiastic volunteers to help with these visits.

[Sanuk is...] I actually have no idea what it really means, but I know it’s Thai. To me it means enjoying life to the fullest in a meaningful way that makes you & others feel good about yourselves. For each of us it will be something different, which is why we each have to “search for our Sanuk!”

[Top Memory] My favorite ISOS memory is the day we had enough visitors to bring out the family of 7 for the first time. The women had not seen their son/brother for 2 1/2 years, because he’d been in detention for that long & the rest of the family was newly arrested. They were all crying & hugging each other. I was overwhelmed by how a simple act of 7 people taking a few hours out of their day could impact a family’s life. Also the letters I get that thank the volunteers for helping them keep the faith in humanity & the knowledge that they’ve not been forgotten. They say they will never forget us all for as long as they live. How often do you get to impact people’s lives like that?

Marc

“Sometimes I funnel funds or contacts to support the work of In Search of Sanuk.”

[Involvement] I am a fellow traveling micro-philanthropist and mentor to Dwight Turner. Sometimes I funnel funds or contacts to support the work of Sanuk.

[Sanuk is...] fun in Thai. So Dwight is having fun while helping others.

[Top Memory] The videos showing In Search of Sanuk in action.

Ryan

“… Dwight and other friends took me to the beach for the very first time in my life.”

[Involvement] The art show and party was the first time I was involved in ISOS. The event was trying to raise money and awareness for urban refugees in Thailand. I was a refugee myself at the time, which made me a beneficiary of the event, so getting involved and helping out seemed to be very logical thing for me to do. Later on, I became a much closer friend with Dwight and started volunteering as much as I could in ISOS’s activities. Eventually, Dwight made me coordinator of some the programs such as Sanuk my Saturday and participating in the planning of some the fundraisers we’ve done in the past.

[Sanuk is...] the Thai word for happiness or something worthwhile to do. The way I think of ISOS is that it’s not just about helping others, it’s also about how you can live differently. To me when I’m helping someone, their happiness is a reward that cannot be replaced by material things. I think “Sanuk” is a life style that each member of the community should embrace and it will have a transforming effect to the world we live in.

[Top Memory] The time when Dwight and other friends took me to the beach for the very first time in my life. Even though it wasn’t officially an ISOS event, but it was the very idea and group of people of ISOS. Even today, Dwight is still saying that my laugh from that trip was the most rewarding thing he received from me.

Om

“Sanuk is the joy that goes beyond our skin encapsulated ego.”

[Involvement] I’m currently a supporter in spirit from overseas (USA), trying my best to input an additional point of view.

[Sanuk is...] the joys that go beyond our skin encapsulated ego. Happiness only real when shared–a quote from the movie Into the Wild.

[Top Memory] Hmm…I haven’t had any direct experiences with ISOS yet (hopefully soon). Anyway, my favorite parts are probably when I hear about how curious and enthusiastic the kids or the communities were about learning or other creative activities, or how much fun they had despite their regular hard days.

Cody

“Volunteering, giving money to charity, and doing good for others doesn’t have to mean complete sacrifice and loss.”

[Involvement] I built In Search Of Sanuk’s website, have helped organize parties and mixers for charity, donated some money through my small business Thrilling Heroics Consulting to ISOS, and gone on volunteer trips with Dwight to Chonburi and Sangklaburi.

[Sanuk is...] fun, and to me, Dwight’s passion and exuberance are a symbol that you can do good things for others and have a blast at the same time. Volunteering, giving money to charity, and doing good for others doesn’t have to mean complete sacrifice and loss. Dwight is making it easy for all kinds of people to help give in small ways in Thailand, and he shows us that when you’re giving to someone else and sharing in the experience, it can put a big smile on your face.

[Top Memory] I think two of the most incredible and rewarding experiences I’ve had were taking a boatload of the kids from Chonburi Children’s Center on their annual trip to the beach and horse-playing with them all day, and visiting Baan Dada, a home for orphaned kids—many of them refugees—and just being influenced by those kids: making music together, playing football, learning from them.

Lola

“It was a magical affair. Plenty of volunteers, lots of creative energy flowing and smiles all around.”

[Involvement] I’m involved In Search Of Sanuk through the Saturday tutoring programs at Yommarat and Pinklao. I’m also helping to raise funds to sustain and expand ISOS.

[Sanuk is...] Fun? Living life as fully as you possibly can. Bearing witness to God’s grace and goodness.

[Top Memory] My favorite ISOS memory was the first “Big Fish” book day held at Pinkloa in January 2010. It was a magical affair. Plenty of volunteers, lots of creative energy flowing and smiles all around.

Paul

“…sharing love with children and people in disadvantaged situations is really meaningful…”

[Involvement] I am a friend of Dwight and enjoy catching up on how he helps people help other people, especially the children in the slums on Saturdays. I have also attended some of his cool fundraising social events.

[Sanuk is...] sharing love with children and people in disadvantaged situations is really meaningful; and it’s really fun when we partner up with others who share this compassion for fellow human beings to help them in a more powerful way than we can by ourselves.

[Top Memory] Dwight organized a team last fall to visit and play with the 35 orphans in Chonburi Center, and to take them out for a beach outing. They especially loved the buffet bbq dinner afterwards! Me too!

Jodi

“Sanuk is the look on a detainee’s face when they are reunited with a family member they haven’t seen in a long time.“

[Involvement] I became involved with ISOS when I arrived in Bangkok after almost 2 years of travel, and wanted to give something back to the communities I’ve been visiting. Friends in Bangkok pointed me toward Dwight and his many worthwhile projects. Having worked on asylum cases on a pro bono basis when I was a lawyer, I wanted to get involved with his
visits to IDC. I’ve been going to the Immigration Detention Centre to bring food, supplies and smiles to those who are there. I’ve also tried to mobilise the Twitter travel community passing through Bangkok to spend a morning in IDC. It’s important to give the regular backpacker a taste of what life is like for the many people who cannot leave the country.

[Sanuk is...] Sanuk is the look on a detainee’s face when they are reunited with a family member they haven’t seen in a long time. And for me, sanuk is being able to take something so decadent – travel for the sake of travel – and use my time for something worthwhile.

[Top Memory] Definitely seeing one of the detainees with a young baby be reunited with the baby for a brief moment – he was allowed to hold his child for a few moments, and the undeniable joy on his face was palpable and wonderful to see.

Morgan

“I have only been involved with ISOS for a short time, but it has been such a fun experience so far.”

[Involvement] I have only been involved with ISOS for a short time, but it has been such a fun experience so far. Meeting the kids in the program and practicing English and playing games with them has been a blast. The program is such a great way to reach the youth of Bangkok and support learning and of course FUN! I look forward to becoming an active member and participating in ISOS every week!

[Sanuk is...] the Thai word for FUN. ISOS means getting kids involved in learning by having FUN! Promoting learning through games and other fun activities is a great way to keep the kids interested and passionate about English!

[Top Memory] Although I have only recently joined ISOS, my favorite memory has been meeting all the kids and volunteers and playing fun games! Its a real bonding experience and they call it Sanuk for a reason!!

Tri

“It’s fun!”

[Involvement] Twitter.

[Sanuk is...] a type of billiard game (or pool in the US) … It’s fun!

[Top Memory] The attempt at interviewing the mute homeless guy would be it, especially when we both don’t write Thai that well and he couldn’t read Thai which makes writing Thai well pretty pointless.

Stewart

“I do remember sharing a Pepsi with Dwight in the middle of Klong Toey Slum.”

[Involvement] I am a friend of Dwight’s and a pastor in Bangkok. One of the things I’ve run into in Bangkok is that there are a significant number of people who would like to volunteer their time and expertise, but it can be hard to do. There are language and reliability barriers. Dwight is working to overcome the barriers and make it easier to do good. We have a common vision in that sense and so I’ve tried to provide my own contacts, support and referrals to ISOS.

[Sanuk is...] good clean fun. As a pastor I think another way to define it is abundant life, which is why Jesus said he came. Could you say Jesus came that we might have more sanuk? Maybe.

[Top Memory] I do remember sharing a Pepsi with Dwight in the middle of Klong Toey Slum when I introduced him to Urban Neighbors Of Hope and the Klong Toey Community Center.

Gavin

“I think it best translates as freedom.“

[Involvement] I’ve volunteered to take photos of ISOS events with the aim of providing some images to help raise awareness of the project. I feel that it’s a really worthwhile endeavour but, as is always the case with such projects, making people aware of the work that’s being done is crucial and I hope that I can offer a little assistance with that.

[Sanuk is...] In the context of In Search of Sanuk, I think it best translates as “Freedom”. ISOS offers the opportunity for people to explore things beyond their usual frames of reference. It’s about facilitating and enabling people to offer assistance where it is most needed and it provides a friendly and nurturing environment for those who benefit from ISOS work.

[Top memory] My first outing with ISOS where volunteers arrived at a school to be greeted with great enthusiasm by the children who had been awaiting their arrival. It was quite moving and testament to the positive impact that volunteers can have on a community.

Mark

“Sanuk is putting a smile on other people’s faces by having a smile on your own face…”

[Involvement] I am involved in a lot of random and often spontaneous events associated with ISOS. Chasing energized kids, splashing elderly ladies with flower water during the Songkran Festival, helping out with little jobs, and sampling the latest Sri Lankan food, have all been part of my role with ISOS.

[Sanuk is...] Sanuk is putting a smile on other people’s faces by having a smile on your own face, and often the smile on your own face is derived from others.

[Top Memory] There are many, but randomly showing up at the 2009 Christmas celebration at the school in Pinklao takes the cake. Upon arriving, Dwight and I were asked to perform an impromtu song infront of at least 200 happy kids, Little Thai kids dressed like Santa with green afro wigs and huge smiles is a priceless and uplifting sight. Following was a delightful feast of sen yai latnaa (rice noodles smothered in pork gravy). A fantastic way to celebrate Christmas and an awesome memory!

Thanks everyone for participating. I enjoyed reading these so much that I will include some of what people said on the website permanently. If you have something to add, please make a comment.

-Dwight

Contemplating what’s been accomplished is difficult to do without being honest about what’s still to be done. Some of last year’s challenges are still ambitious goals this year. I’ll update you on my vision for the year and invite you to comment and offer suggestions. The changes are a result of the goals I’ve set after becoming more mature about my scale and focus in the last year.

[Pioneering Volunteering in Bangkok]

By far, the major focus this year will be taking the lead in providing access to volunteering opportunities for people living, working or sojourning in Bangkok. This will be both through making more reliable, high quality information available and through our own volunteering project. After six months of the Sanuk My Saturday program, we will expand the project to another slum community at the end of February. I have already made several visits to the new location. There will be many new challenges that come with starting over, but the community there is eager to have their children participate.

[Smalltime Big]

Last year, I set out to promote urban gardening in Bangkok. While this was an idea many people loved, it never took root far beyond the beginning phase. This happened for a few different reasons that are more clear in hindsight. Most importantly, the price of food in Thailand, despite the recession, has remained fairly cheap. Unlike the US, Europe, and many other cities where people are scurrying to create alternative food sources, the public demand that has created change in those places doesn’t exist here. This really played itself out when the ngos I wanted to partner with put this idea on the back-burner or attempted to change it from a gardening project to a beautification project.

So one of the frustrations from last year was spinning my wheels trying to get this project going to no avail. I’ve decided instead of trying to convince the entire city to do something they have no clue about, I’m going to spend this year investing time in my own little corner. The remaining funding will support the volunteering project where we’ll be creating more awareness about caring for the environment, conservation, and do it yourself gardening in the communities we’re already working. We’ll be incorporating these ideas into the curriculum for Sanuk My Saturday and special events we’re designing to unite our the communities around being more green.

[Hands on Homelessness]

At the end of 2009, I received some funding to gather information about the homeless in Bangkok from a group called Hands on Helping. Since then I’ve begun hanging around some places many Bangkok residents try to avoid even in the daytime, interviewing people and genuinely trying to understand their situations. This has already made the beginning of 2010 exciting in various ways I’ll report more on later (with some video footage I’m working on too).

[Overachiever Goals]

More wish list goals that I’ll take a crack at this year:

• [Sponsorship] It costs about $75 per month to run our project in one location. With the expansion to a new location, it will be important for me to spend more time finding sponsors who believe in what we’re doing and agree to help support us financially. My goal is to get as many months this year sponsored as possible. You can help by contributing on our donation page. Thanks to Thrilling Heroics for entirely sponsoring Sanuk My Saturday last month.
• [Work More With the Elderly] With the big focus on kids, this is an area I haven’t delved too far into. However I’ll be looking for more opportunities to do more this year. Most of the inspiration comes directly from my mentor, Marc Gold, who has spent a considerable time aiding neglected elderly people in poor countries. Take a look at the video of him helping Papa Tak, a 70 year old man living in a dump in Sulawesi, Indonesia.
• [Go Native] I’m already fluent in colloquial Thai and can even manage most intermediate reading a writing. However, all of that is not enough for all I hope to accomplish. So in addition to maintaining good relationships with people already committed to our project, I need to spend more time recruiting more local Thai volunteers. My goal is to eventually have so many Thai volunteers that there’s a sense of co-ownership among everyone participating whether local or international.
• [More Dirty Work] There are really some people I’ve been lucky enough to come across who I’d consider on the front lines battling some issues that can’t be too openly discussed. I want to do more to help this year. Mostly I mean the people who are dedicated to helping minority groups and refugees. They are often the most needy and most difficult to help because there is little awareness or understanding about their plight.

Here’s a special thank you from Baan Dada orphanage in Sangklaburi, Thailand.

To fundraise in Bangkok we threw a big party with over three hundred attendees. This was the work of over thirty volunteers. Thanks to Mark and Emily from Digital Democracy who made the following video so you could see what the party was like:

The result of our twitter-festival?

A $600 donation to Baan Dada and $600 to Baan Unrak orphanages.

$380 for carbon offsetting.

That’s a total $1572 for good.

THANK YOU!

There are more cool photos from the party and the orphanages available in the ISOS facebook group.

You don’t have to be using social media to benefit from these tips. They can be applied to almost any social meeting, whether you’re managing events for a nonprofit or want to have a birthday where you do something to give back.

Small Stones, Big Ripples: Start with your friends and organize people around your plan to save the world. Refine your plan and make it realistic. Get the word out about what you’re doing and connect with other groups in your area. Soon you’ll find you have a small community. Choose a cause you’re passionate about and consider the variety of ways to contribute with your event. You may want to read my interview with Tom Potisit as an example of a small project making big ripples.

Transparency Required: Be ready to show people results. Transparency must be cultivated before, during, and after your event. Keep in mind, building integrity is about more than where the money goes. You should spend time connecting people attending your fundraiser with chances to participate in your cause. I love the feeling the day after the event when I have an inbox full of comments and emails to answer about how people can begin volunteering. As people see the benefits of what you’re doing they’ll be both more interested and more likely to give.

Plan Well, Care Less: Plan well and commit to your cause. When I decided something should be done to help urban refugees, I was determined to be a part of the solution whether or not my event was a success. I was able to care less in many situations because my commitment to change actually freed me from some of the anxieties of event organizing. Don’t let negativity or tight pockets shoot down your goals. When potential sponsors don’t answer your emails or return your phone calls, the need for change still exists. Social change DOES NOT require big sponsors or celebrities. Use me as proof. In Search of Sanuk has accomplished a great deal through our community and we haven’t hosted a sponsored event yet. How much more will you be able accomplish with all your connections?

The Law of Harry & Hurry: What I call the “Law of Harry and Hurry” is an extension of the above idea. No one wants a guilt trip about going to see Harry Potter instead of showing up at your charity event. People are busy. You can’t expect them to match your level of commitment, so don’t make them feel bad about their Harry or their hurry. Relax. Tell them not to worry if they can’t make it and make sure they know how they can get involved in other ways. You could always ask in a loud voice, “What do you have against ORPHANS?!” But I’m not sure how effective that would be. Show you’re committed with or without them. When they recognize this, they’ll be even more eager to work with you. In Bangkok we’re determined to make a difference, come take part.

Passion Wanted: Attract passionate people to your event. When we host the Bangkok Tweetup, I’m always amazed at the how diverse the crowd can be. They love travel, they’re business owners, and an array of other interesting pursuits. Remember, when all else fails cold beer and cool people wins you more high quality members than any amount of themes, raffles, or door prizes. Spend less time printing fancy name tags and more time engaging people about your cause and encouraging them to meet the other great people who came.

I hope these suggestions have been helpful. We’re volunteering almost every weekend and we’re hosting Twestival Bangkok in September. We will keep providing outlets for change to happen here. Let me know what you’re doing where you are!

“Dream big, work smart, start local.”

~Dwight

“A social entrepreneur? Is that what you call business people with good hearts?”

Philanthropy is changing so quickly that it has outpaced the terms used to describe it. I spend a lot of time advising people on how to be a part of social change. This includes explaining to them that a complete grasp of all the terms thrown around by professors and NGOs aren’t required to be a part of this movement. Assuring groups I speak to that, “You can trust me because I’m an expert.” I’m still learning to be a dramatic speaker. So I insert an extended pause after that statement for added stress (note: If you try this with your friends you’ll need to pause here for the laughter anyway). Then, I’ll adjust and readjust my glasses until I feel smart, and finally in my most enlightened voice add, “As a matter of fact, I got my degree in social change from Wikipedia.” I’ll look around to collect all the raised eyebrows and begin to explain why ALL of us –despite whether you think you’re qualified or not– are capable of transforming our communities.

The definitions according to Wikipedia:

• Philanthropy – Any altruistic activity intended to promote good or improve human quality of life (more).
• Social Entrepreneur – Someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change (more).

The importance lies not in the terms, but in how easily attainable they have become. Thus, for the School of Wikipedia or the School of Hard Knocks, I highlight the following:

You have a role. If you don’t know what that role is then you’re like the majority of us. What makes you thrilling is not having it all figured out. Change makers are the ones actively pursuing their roles and encouraging others to do the same.

These concepts are not new. However, new technology is now able to connect people around the world who are working for social change. So what do we call it? We’re not sure yet because the words we use to describe them are still being created. Many “experts” make frequent visits to wikipedia to look them up too!

Same-Same, But Different. There are those studying social entrepreneurship at top business schools. Others are barefoot in places you can’t pronounce making these principles happen. I’m somewhere in the middle with my degree from Wikipedia and heart to serve. Regardless of where you are, we need a combined effort where none of these is better than the other.

“We’re going to need a new generation of citizen leaders willing to commit ourselves to growing, and changing, and learning as rapidly as possible.” – Katherine Fulton

As we continue the discussion on creating change around us, look at the lecture below from Katherine Fulton who goes into greater detail about the evolution of philanthropy. For those who already define yourselves as philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and change makers, take heed: Be broad. When possible, speak plainly and work together. Nurture the community by helping people define their roles and contribute.

~Dwight