Note: This isn’t an exhaustive list by far, as I have only included organizations I have personally worked with.

Sanuk My Saturday – Saturdays – Pinklao/Yommarat

This is the ISOS project teaching English in the slum that you’ve been hearing so much about the last few weeks. I’m trying to round up support for the project which we have expanded to a second location last weekend. For those unfamiliar, you can donate, sign up to volunteer, or read more about what we’re doing in last week’s update.

Little Light Project – Monthly – Victory Monument

Little Light is a special program for students at the Bangkok School for the Blind that encourages them to reach for their hopes and dreams with activities challenging the students to interact and discuss with volunteers. Join the LLP group to get updates and invitations to the sessions. Meet a few of the children in this brief video:

Friends for All Children – M-F – Samsen

FFAC is a home for orphaned infants and toddlers who hope to be adopted. Volunteers are encouraged to come spend time with kids during the week. If you survive feeding and changing time the overwhelming cuteness of these kids will keep you coming back. Visit the FFAC site for more.

SSS Foundation – M-F – Sukumvit 71

Hop off the BTS and a short taxi ride later you’re in a group of buildings used for the recreation and education of many of Bangkok’s children with special needs. Long term volunteers are preferred and will have the opportunity to aide the center with a variety of tasks from teaching English to physical therapy. More in [English] or [Thai]

IDC Visits - Mornings, M-F, Soi Suan Plu

Last year many ISOS volunteers who had been helping at Bangkok’s Refugee Center began getting more involved with visiting the Immigration Detention Center after raids on refugees resulted in many of our students being detained indefinitely. For every volunteer who joins, we are allowed to call one detainee and we use this to allow separated families to spend a few moments together. Volunteers are usually gathered twice a week and bring food, water, and other supplies to the families. See the volunteer page to get involved.

“Dream Big, Work Smart, Start Local.”

-Dwight

1. Build strong relationships - This is the most important part of what we’re doing. Why? Because it allows us to assess the specific needs of the families. For example, we found out one of our students not only has trouble paying some of her school fees, but sometimes doesn’t have money for food. So we’re talking about providing scholarships for students in this situation and brainstorming what we can do about larger issues such as alcoholism, gambling and drug abuse that have lead to these circumstances.

2. Fuse learning with fun - This is not a replacement for school, which is free in Thailand. Our role is to reinforce what’s happening at school and to step in where problems like not having money for uniforms or supplies could derail their education. We do that by having a good time while exposing the kids to English, often one on one with an English speaking volunteer. A few hours on a Saturday may not seem like much, unless you consider that most of these children’s parents have never had a meaningful encounter with a foreigner, let alone interact for over an hour. Furthermore, in government schools, they are not likely to have a chance to study English until high school.  If nothing else, I hope all the photo updates I’ve posted of the last few weeks have convinced you we’re enjoying ourselves, but there have been other signs of success also. We’ve seen shy kids initiate activities and watched as over the past seven months the entire group has completely dropped any inhibitions they may have had about foreigners.

3. Engage change makers – This is where the volunteering comes in. We’re making it easy for Bangkok residents and sojourners alike become familiar with these communities and encouraging them to get involved. We plan the teaching, so volunteers mainly need to show up and engage the kids. This is not a hard sell, as other volunteering opportunities in Bangkok are scarce and the kids can be very convincing. Since the start of the program we have hosted about fifty or more volunteers and I’m hoping to get more locals active in the program this year. I want the volunteers to really see that they can make a difference and begin to take more ownership of the program.

Tomorrow will be a challenging day, as we begin to earn the trust of this new community. Not to mention adjusting to teaching new students when a freight train comes through your classroom regularly. However, we are optimistic about growing and constantly improving this program. I appreciate your constructive criticism and continued support. We will definitely be adding to this list of goals as the year goes on.

-Dwight

In case you missed the first part of this post, Couch Surfing With Hope, Introducing Tita Silver, GK is an organization in the Philippines that is building houses with hope. They help the poorest of the poor in the Philippines by giving people not only a living structure, but a new, hopeful perspective on life. I have been to only a fraction of Gawad Kalinga (GK) villages, but the Iriga Character Village in the Bicol region of the Philippines was an astonishing example of how hope is being infused into even the hardest to reach communities.

I caught a 1.5 hour bus from Naga City to the sleepy and ultra humid bus terminal in Iriga City. A local volunteer with GK accidentally, but essentially bumped into me at the terminal and was heading in the same direction towards the village and let me tag along.

The GK Character village is located roughly 20 minutes (7 km) from the Iriga City proper (rather difficult to find if you are a newbie). It is accessible by riding the Filipino version of a tuk-tuk, known as the tricycle. This monstrosity is a motorcycle with a makeshift pedicab welded together with something like a bike tire making up the third wheel. In Bicol they fit 10-12 riders, a miracle in mechanics which I have yet to understand.

I was greeted by smiling people and happy children, willing to show me around their village even if they did not feel comfortable speaking English or talking at all. One of the boys from the village took the liberty to find an umbrella and personally carried it above my head, shielding me from the rainy season as we walked up the hill. At the top, we inhaled the view of the village, the flowers, and the dominating Mt. Iriga in the background.

As with couch surfing in Manila’s Payatas, GK Jack and Jill, and GK Libmanan (all GK village sites), the folks at GK Character village were hospitable, giving, and genuinely cared for my concerns.

A homeowner, Tita Norma (who was always cheerful, far right), graciously provided me with meals and cooked a glorious array of fresh Bicolano garden produced vegetables in fresh coconut milk and rice. For breakfast I was treated to a dazzling mix of various wonderful tasting Filipino breakfast dishes such as fried noodles with vinegar, fried rice, egg, and Filipino pancake.

Just like in Bangkok where little things make a difference, and in Bali with Dwight at the house of life, I was inspired again by the graciousness of people who have very little, but are happy and willing to share.

In the words of one of my favorite philosophers Alain de Botton,

“If is is true that love is a pursuit in others of qualities we lack in ourselves, then in our love of someone from another country, one ambition may be to weld ourselves more closely to values missing from our own culture.”

Being immersed with locals in the Philippines or anywhere gives us valuable exposure to different ways of life. I was inspired by moments spent visiting, joking around (Filipinos love to joke and laugh), listening to stories, and showing appreciation for what others do to uplift others.

Lets be thankful for what we have, grateful for what we can do, and content to weld ourselves to people with giving spirits. As with the makeshift pedicap, this model will carry us further on the road to happiness than we might expect. There is no better place to learn this than in a GK village.

~Migration Mark

“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

From Twestival giving hard to reach places fresh water, to the use of the site Alex Brown Racing to push the cause of the welfare of horses (I’ve posted an interview with Alex below) there are countless examples of the ways great causes have now found a renewed voice online. And you don’t have to take my word for it because Mashable has already crunched the numbers.

Do you have a cause yet? What project are you working on? Are you using social media to get people interested? Are you following change makers on twitter? I’d be glad to recommend a few:

1 @TannersDad A dad fighting for the truth about autism
2 @Causecast Site where you can get connected quickly
3 @Perthtones A guy with a soft spot for refugees
4 @Wine_to_water Wine to water project
5 Link: Twit-face, The house that twitter and facebook built.

This list could go on for days, but I will instead limit it to five causes and depend you to look back at the previous follow friday posts for more great people. Don’t forget the Alex Brown video below.

Take some great tips from Alex Brown and use them as examples of how to grow your cause. ~Dwight

So I wanted to take time out to introduce myself to readers and ask all of you to consider the way you unconsciously divide yourself trying to reach your goals. This is detrimental to your brand, especially if you’re trying to help people. In the next few posts, I plan to show you why and tell you how to avoid making the big mistakes I made.

FIRST let me introduce myself.

You may want to do this on your site too. We’re complex and it’s impossible to summarize someone (especially yourself) in a few sentences, but it’s crucial to select a few things everyone should know about you. Here’s the bare minimum of what you should know about me and this sanuk lifestyle I lead:

• My name is Dwight – I’m from Atlanta and I now live on the other side of the earth. I love living abroad and my eyes have been opened to how many people I can touch without having donations from corporate sponsors or Daddy Warbucks. (You have to stick around to hear how I went from teaching on the palace grounds to using social media to do philanthropy work.)
• I live my life in search of sanuk – Sanuk is not a person! I can feel your shock. Sanuk is a thai word that means fun. It means taking a lighthearted approach to what life throws at you and enjoying yourself. Sanuk for me is showing you how easy and enjoyable it is to help people.
• I’m building a community and you should join – My goal is to empower people to change their environments. This happens on and off the web —around the world and in Bangkok. I’m writing, connecting people to great causes, and learning from all of you. Let’s connect and collaborate to become the change we hope for.
  

I’m glad you’re here. Remember to ask yourself: Am I reflected in the brand I’m creating?