Striving towards an Education for All

By: Luke

Luke is participating in Allowance for Good's Spring 2016 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

"I am a Catalyst for Good
because...all people have
the right to food and
education." - Luke

My name is Luke and I’m in Allowance for Good program, I have learned what are the human rights and that they were developed by the United Nations. What struck me was that the United Nations had to develop the human rights because some countries didn’t provide basic needs for their people. There are kids in Africa that don’t have water and food. Another example is certain countries don’t educate their girls and there are extremist who bomb schools to prevent girls from going to school. The extremists don’t want girls to learn because they will learn how to make a stand against the radical ideas.

I’m passionate about my sports and fortunate to compete in baseball and lacrosse. I don’t have to worry about basic needs and my school being bombed. I want all kids to grow up not worrying about their next meal, having water and be able to walk to school without being afraid of being hurt.

Allowance for Good has inspired Matt and I to start a project for Nicaragua. The project will raise money for kids in the country that don’t have a proper education. Many of the children fail to reach the 6th grade and one third never have the chance to enroll in elementary school. If you are interesting in donating to this cause, you can email my mom at randarbarber@gmail.com.

The True Cost behind Fashion

In December, AfG's Associate Board hosted a successful event called Good Views: The True Cost. We showed the groundbreaking documentary film, The True Cost, that provides a look into the untold stories of the fashion industry and asks people to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? 


We recently invited a few members of the Allowance for Good community to reflect back on the event and the lessons they took away from the documentary. We'd like to extend our thanks to Associate Board members, Erica and Megan, and AfG youth, Ross, for sharing their experiences and thoughts.

What were your initial reactions after seeing The True Cost?

Megan Bowen, AfG Associate Board member After seeing The True Cost, I think my initial reactions were similar to many of the other individuals in the room. The movie was devastating. It is difficult to understand how our habits in the US, something as small as going shopping for clothing, can have such a global impact. The movie definitely opened our eyes to the consequences of discount clothing shopping.

Ross, AfG youth It was incredibly thought provoking, making me put my own shopping habits into perspective and consider the rest of the world. However, I knew that I was still imprisoned in the grasp of consumerism. Another 20% off coupon or promotion for a $3 t-shirt and I’d be perpetuating the toxic cycle that is the garment industry. What would solve this? More accessible world-conscious clothing, less expensive world-conscious clothing, and a more constant stream of awareness regarding the wrong-doings of big fashion. In the internet world we live in, important things can easily be swept away in the deluge of cat videos and list articles. 

Erica, AfG Associate Board Co-Founder and memberThe True Cost was one of the most eye-opening documentaries I’ve seen in a long time because it forced me to confront the part I play in the fast fashion industry. Before the event, I was blissfully unaware of how my shopping habits were contributing to the devastation and exploitation of communities across the globe. The True Cost changed everything. First, I was shocked to learn of the damaging effects of donated clothing. I always feel proud when I take my clothes to Salvation Army or Goodwill, thinking that I am helping the environment by recycling, as well whoever shops at the discounted stores. I was appalled to learn that those clothes either end up in landfills or overseas where they cripple local economies. Second, I learned that companies claiming to be sustainable – companies that I regularly shop with – are fooling their consumers. It doesn’t matter how sincere they are with their efforts to go green; fast fashion companies’ mass production will never align with sustainable, eco-friendly practices.  These are lessons that good intentions are not enough. As global citizens, we are obligated to learn about and respect the interconnectedness of our world. Buying socially conscious clothing is a change we all can make that will exponentially improve the world we share.

How did the movie build your awareness moving forward?

Ross While it really did make me think, I was right in my presumption that a lasting effect wouldn’t come from one showing. But I’m going to do more research. Look for the more world-conscious retailers. Find out how I CAN help. Because it’s a cause that matters. I am in the direct path of a tidal wave of data every day, and it takes a lot to hold on to the bits that matter. This is why the world needs more organizations like AfG. To pull out the crucial stories and causes, showing them to people and making a difference. One person can never catch all the honest pleas for action that fly by in a day, and Allowance for Good makes more of those pleas heard.

Did your experiences affect your thoughts around shopping or your purchasing habits?

Megan I think I am trying my best to be more aware of the products I purchase and where they were manufactured. If every person that watched The True Cost avoids just one store that was mentioned in the movie, I think I would call our event a success. For me, I decided that I would not shop at Forever 21 anymore, and so far, that has been a success.  

Erica Since watching The True Cost, I have made changes to where I buy clothes, how often I shop, and how I donate and recycle old clothes. It was surprisingly difficult to find a program that handles donated clothes responsibly, though it seems that donating to local thrift shops or directly to women’s homes and churches are the best choices. My biggest take away from The True Cost is that I can afford to shop better, but the world cannot afford fast fashion. 

Did you share or talk about what you learned with anyone else (perhaps someone who hadn't attended the event)?

Megan I did talk about it with friends and urged them to watch The True Cost. Though I found it difficult to put the movie’s events and stories into words that did it justice. 

Erica I recently shared what I learned with my mother, and she was incredibly concerned about her own shopping and donating habits. She hadn’t even seen the documentary, but just listening to me compelled her to change her ways. The conversation was proof that basic awareness is an easy first step to curbing our overconsumption. 

Microfinance and Micro-entrepreneurs

By: Julia
Julia is a participant in Allowance for Good's Fall 2015 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location.

"I am a Catalyst for Good because...
I can be the change I want to see in the world."

Micro finance is a form of philanthropy, that is also a bit like charity. Micro finance has to do with giving money to someone in need. That person is called a micro-entrepreneur. They may want to start a business or keep theirs running. Giving them this money will help boost them up. But, the interesting part about micro finance is that the entrepreneur pays you back. This creates a connection between you and this other person all the way across the world. You communicate to keep checking up on them, and once they pay you back, you can use that same amount of money to loan to someone else. It's a very self sustaining system. I really like micro finance for that reason.

I think this is a very good idea. It's self sustaining, and easy to give too. You don't need to give a large amount of money to make a huge impact. It also creates a connection between two people from different parts of the world. This helps create awareness and a sense of oneness. It impacts not only the person receiving the money, but the giver as well.

Since the money is paid back after the entrepreneur is able too, you can keep on giving that same donation. It also helps make it seem like the entrepreneur is a business partner, rather than a helpless victim. I believe this will help people not be so scared or feel so disconnected from people in need of financial aid. 

Understanding How We Spend Money

By: Charles

Charles is a participant in Allowance for Good's 2015 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Elmhurst location. 

"I am a Catalyst for Good because....I want to make a change"
Charles at AfG's ELP class in Elmhurst this week. 

I learned how every little thing I buy really adds up. Almost all the things I am spending my money on is something that is not necessary and I can live without. I was really surprised tracking my spending because I spent a lot more than I even realized. I will definitely spend my money differently now that I realize that I don't need to spend as much money and use it to donate because I know how much farther the money goes in third world countries than it does here. Financial literacy is very important to philanthropy because if everyone realized how unnecessary a lot of the things they are buying then we could use it to change the world.

Philanthropy: Shaping the Future

By: Mia

Mia is a participant in Allowance for Good's Fall 2015 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy class in the Chicago location. She also participated in AfG's 2015 Global Philanthropy Summit this past July that focused on empowering social innovation.

Philanthropy has two roots, philos and anthropos.  In the most literal sense, philanthropy means "love for humanity" but it is so much more.  When you give your effort to someone or something greater than yourself it is incredibly humbling and inspires not only you but those around you.  The act of giving is something that everyone can do, philanthropy is a universal concept.

Mia presenting at AfG's Global Philanthropy Summit.

In the past, I did medical missions and backpack missions in my mother's hometown of Bebe Matua in the Philippines.  This was very transformative in my life because it showed me that giving your time and effort into the world you live in allows you to make a human connection with others and yourself just by helping a cause you believe in. 

Growing up in Chicago and going to school and choir in Humboldt Park gave me a different perspective on the CPS school system than my peers at Walter Payton College Prep.  I remember many of my very intelligent and driven peers from elementary getting denied from high schools due to lack of preparatory resources.  This year, I started a tutoring program at Jenner Academy for the Arts to help the students perform to the best of their ability.  Putting together the program not only enriched my organization skills but also helped me develop opinions on teaching methods that I had not thought of before. Seeing the students at Jenner reminded me of my own childhood, and I wanted to help give those students the opportunities that many of my old friends did not have. 

Mia at AfG's GPS week.

Looking into the future and the present, I can easily see my life being one that has philanthropy at the center.  Philanthropy is looking for the better of the community, rather than the better of the individual. It is giving your resources of aid to others. Being a philanthropist and a catalyst for good means to dedicate yourself to improving the human condition. Helping others also helps ourselves through enriching ourselves in current problems and developing our views on the world, either through the aiding of the community, or the experience of contributing to the greater good. I want to be a catalyst for good because promoting universal welfare is our duty as global ambassadors and citizens.  To participate in the greater good is to improve the quality of life for both our generation and the next.

Philanthropy can't fix the past, but it can shape the future.

Months of Change: An Update from Adonai

Co-Authored by: Pastor Aloysious Luswata and Bruce Karmazin.
Pastor Aloysious Luswata is the Director of Adonai Family Uganda and Bruce Karmazin is the President of US Friends of Adonai.

These are exciting times at the Adonai Child Development Center! And our US friends are the reason. We'd like to share just some of the important happenings over the past few months.

A New Strategic Plan Gives Us Direction for the Future 

They say that when you fail to plan, you plan to fail! That's why after nine years in operation, we are delighted to be coming to the end of our first strategic planning process. A strategic plan looks at an organization's goals and develops specific strategies and actions, and a budget, to accomplish those goals over several years.

It's been tough work over the last few months. With the help of a management consultant, paid for with a donation from a US donor, we talked with many people in the community – our friends and supporters, our faculty and staff, the parents of children in our care, and even the children! We looked at our strengths as an organization and our challenges and how to make the most of our situation. But we now have a roadmap for the future.

Kids Health and Community Health a Top Priority

Of course, one of the most important parts of our plan is making sure our kids – over 300 on campus – are healthy. It's amazing to people in the US that some of our children come to Adonai never having seen a toothbrush, or having had an eye test! We've done our best with modest donations over the years but we need to do more. And this year we're taking a very big step.

We’re equipping a small infirmary. And we’re hiring a village health worker whose job will be to make sure our children get what they need.

But more than that, our new village health worker will be doing outreach in the surrounding village. We'll distribute mosquito nets to protect people from malaria, and provide HIV/AIDS education.

Another priority will be making sure that girls who can't afford them have access to sanitary pads. Without sanitary pads, girls stop coming to school when they get their periods. They fall behind and eventually more than a third of girls in Uganda drop out of school. They give up their future and Uganda wastes an important resource in the country's development. That's not acceptable.

An important part of our plan to ensure the health of our children is to make sure each has safe drinking water. This year we will complete the water system with the purchase of two water tanks. We will lay the pipes that will allow us to pump water from our borehole to our tanks for storage and purification. We're very excited about that.

Our Friends in Illinois Are Key to Our Success! 

Like any nonprofit organization in the US, Adonai depends on the good will and support of our friends. None of our progress would be possible without your financial support. 

We have a growing number of people and organizations around the world but our friends in Illinois are leading the way – and are responsible for much of our progress.

The Northwestern University chapter of GlobeMed sent their first student mission last year. They did a health survey and identified the need for community health support. In August, a new group will return and participate in outreach on reproductive health in the village.

A faith-based organization called Fit2Serve, from Concordia University in River Forest, Illinois just got back from a school training program, spending two weeks working with the children and teachers of Adonai.

Finally, we are grateful to the kids of Allowance for Good, for your solidarity, and for making the commitment to our water system and helping us bolster our solar power capability.

Thank you!

Learn more about AfG's relationship with Adonai on our website.

Beyond Borders: My Role as a Global Citizen

By: Caroline

Caroline is participating in Allowance for Good's autumn 2013 Emerging Leaders in Philanthropy program. 

Last week's session on global citizenship was really inspiring. Before the class, I really didn't see myself as a "global citizen"---I saw myself as an seventeen-year-old American girl. I knew that as an American (as with any ethnicity or culture), I tended to focus on the problems that were evident in the US or, at the very most, world problems that affected the US. It's a very narrow-minded approach especially in this day and age, where one event can spark a change around the world. But in another sense, it seemed the typical response from any person as most people are more concerned with how things will affect them and not the world in general. 

However, during class, we discussed our obligations as global citizens. That whether we want to accept it or not, we affect others all over the world by our actions, and it's our job to be socially aware of that. For example, when we toss out our extra food after a meal, it affects people in an area where hunger might be an issue. Instead of wasting that food, it could have been donated to families that could really benefit from having that food in their home. Which brings me to my next point: as global citizens, we also have an obligation to give back to others because there are others who give something to us whether that's their time, money, etc. We are a part of a larger context, not just one country, state, city---we are a part of huge community, and it's our job to help one another in that community. 

One example of how I am a global citizen that I didn't recognize before the class is that I volunteer at a fair trade store in Evanston called Ten Thousand Villages. The idea is that artisans in developing countries who can't make a decent living in their own country are able to sell their crafts through Ten Thousand Villages. TTV is then able to take the money made from these crafts and send it back to those families. It's amazing because it really provides families with financial security, which they otherwise would not be able to find if they continued to try to sell their crafts only within their community. The other neat thing about TTV is that even if all crafts are not sold, those families are still paid in full. I volunteer at TTV to help promote awareness of fair trade and to help assist customers. So as I global citizen, I am able to give back to many families so that they don't have to worry that they won't be able to take care of themselves financially. I know that in another country, I am putting a smile on someone's face and money in their pocket. Volunteering has been a moving experience also because I realize that I have the resources to help make the world a better place. I know that not everyone is in the same position I am to help others, but because I am, I want to take advantage of that as much as possible. 

Every Action Counts: GPS 2013

On Monday, June 24th, 2013, Allowance for Good launched its second annual Global Philanthropy Summit, which brings together a catalytic group of youth for intensive gatherings to advance personal understanding in and encourage collective action toward global education equity.

Denzel reflects on Day 4 of GPS, during which we conducted our Global Service Project, Giving Circle, and Closing Ceremony.

Saying "goodbye" can be super hard and many of us had to say our best wishes and farewells to the strong, fun relationships we've built as the Global Philanthropy Summit comes to an end. Fortunately, we can all rest assured that whenever we meet again, we'll be even much more beautiful people and great philanthropists.

Today, we raised awareness about Allowance for Good's Global Affiliates. Promoting these organizations was a very humbling experience since people would often choose to just pass us by on the streets. However, a lot of people gave time to listen and donate. We genuinely felt great about ourselves in standing up to make a change in someone's life. Every action counts. In total, we'd raised enough funds to help support our Global Affiliates, Adonai and SparkVentures. At our Giving Circle, we decided that the $160 we raised should go towards SparkVentures to help with the prevention of cavities, along with dental supplies we had collected. Additionally, we decided to distribute $1,000 towards helping fund a Water Tower project with Adonai, since water is very essential to life.

Later, our closing ceremony was quite inspirational and motivational. We all had a voice to speak about how we felt and how it feels to be global citizens. 

To conclude, I thank Elizabeth and all the staff, who helped in the creation of the Summit. I would highly recommend kids to participate in programs that help raise awareness for change and being a philanthropist. I'd never forget that we, as global citizens, can always give of our Time, Talent, and Treasure.

Ripple Effects: GPS 2013

On Monday, June 24th, 2013, Allowance for Good launched its second annual Global Philanthropy Summit, which brings together a catalytic group of youth for intensive gatherings to advance personal understanding in and encourage collective action toward global education equity.

Nina reflects on Day 3 of GPS, during which we heard from Chicago Community Trust, Spark Ventures, and izzy+.

How can we spread our ripple effect? This is a question that was introduced to our Global Philanthropy Summit group today. As a part of our third day for Allowance for Good’s Global Philanthropy Summit, we went to downtown Chicago’s Merchandise Mart, where we met with representatives from izzy+, SparkVentures (one of Allowance for Good’s Global Affiliates with partners in  Zambia), and the Chicago Community Trust. During this time, we were given the opportunity to discuss our individual and group service projects as well.

There are several things that I took away from today. One thing that especially stood out to me was a question that was posed by Mr. Jim Lewis of the Chicago Community Trust: How do you choose which organizations to give out grants to? He eventually led our group into a very insightful discussion about morality, using several thought-provoking situations that helped us understand their reasoning for choosing certain organizations over others. Another speaker, Jill Horning of izzy+, talked to us about her experiences as a part of  a trip to Nicaragua, and how she and other designers made supplies boxes for the teachers of one school and helped design an entryway for another. This was a great example of how, even if we are not associated with a specific nonprofit organization, we can still make a difference. Ms. Horning elaborated on the fact that izzy+ focused on its people instead of making the company purely about furniture, and I found this fact to be very inspiring. It is very interesting to see how all of these different companies can find ways to give back to their communities and make an impact.

After our speakers, we had the chance to start brainstorming ideas as to how we were going to spread our own ripple effects through a project that would raise awareness and money for Allowance for Good. We also had time to talk about our group service project, which will be executed on our last day of GPS. All in all, I found today’s experiences to be very rewarding, and I am glad that we have the opportunity to learn how to make a difference and be a global citizen as a part of Allowance for Good.

The Roots of a Changemaker

Whether I was aware of it from the beginning or not, a philanthropic sense has been a pillar of my family over generations. Significant international and service-oriented experiences throughout my life led me to launch Allowance for Good. A medical mission trip with my father to Mexico and a high-school choir tour to Puerto Rico provided my first glimpse into a world

beyond national borders. But it was the children in the remote Guatemalan coffee villages who captured my spirit, allowing me to consider how I would go about affecting change both here in the US and abroad. I'm able to give of my time, talent, and treasure today as Allowance for Good takes root. I want youth to know that they have the power, capacity, and ability to invest in the lives of others, giving them a hand to lift themselves out of poverty.

You see, philanthropy is using what you have been allowed in life for positive social impact - be it locally, nationally, or globally. I envision a world where youth are open to balancing personal realities with those outside their own culture and are educated to be active global citizens in the worldwide marketplace. And I believe that becoming a “changemaker” starts at a young age. Through Allowance for Good, I seek to empower youth to start down their path of affecting social change today. In so doing, their commitment will be deepened in their own lives and their impact felt among others around the world.

I want for youth everywhere to know that they don't have to be wealthy or older or wiser to be a philanthropist. A philanthropist can be anyone, and it can be you. All you have to do is be willing to give of your philanthropic portfolio - your time, your talent, or your treasure - to help make our increasingly interconnected world a more sustainable, just, and peaceful place. We have created an opportunity for youth to connect with the reality that they can be a part of the solution.
Rather than dwelling on images of fear, we focus on hope. Rather than emphasizing the insurmountable tasks of providing proper education, clean water, and medicine for all youth everywhere, we offer the chance to be a part of the solution where we are not bound by barriers and borders but open to balancing the realities of others with our own. It is our collective task to reimagine our world - won’t you join me?