Happy Birthday Robert Egger!!!

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Change University wishes to celebrate the birth-week of one of our Champions of ChangeU, Robert Egger,
by honoring – in our own way – a request made by Robert this week.

 

Around social media, Robert asked that everyone celebrate his birthday by hosting a “Shared Plates” dinner.  You can check out more details about these dinners at the following link for Shared Plates.  The short story is that they are food related and benefit those that have the least.  You can live anywhere and host one of these dinners and make a difference in human lives.

 

Please check out the details and host a Shared Plates Dinner – and help us celebrate Robert’s birthday!

 

https://www.sharedplates.org/

 

Happy Birthday, Robert!   You are a true Champion of ChangeU!!

 

While you are here, how about checking out our original post about Robert from February 2016. 
It is one you do not want to miss!

 

Click here…..Robert Egger: A Vision of Impact

 

 
And if by chance you do not know who Robert Egger is, here is a very short bio:

 

Robert Egger is the founder of D.C. Central Kitchen, L.A. Kitchen, Fresh Start Catering, Campus Kitchens Project and other “impact” enterprises.  He is a frequent speaker at TEDx conferences and has received numerous awards and designations including being named an “Oprah Angel”.  L.A. Weekly named Robert one of their 2016 People of the Year, and in 2015, he was given the Conscious Leader of the Year award by Conscious Capitalism. Additionally, Robert’s impact enterprises have received numerous awards including the Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence recently bestowed upon L.A. Kitchen for Innovation in Intergenerational Solutions.  

 

Please read more about Champion of Change Robert Egger at http://www.robertegger.org/about/.  

 

You may find some of his talks under the Videos tab on the main ChangeU menu.

 

Dr. Jim King is the President of Change University.  You may read more about him at the bottom of the page at this link:

 

https://www.changeuniversity.org/about/

 

 

 

 

Frustration leads to Action >> Action leads to Change

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Jim Estill.

Jim Estill = Action.

Action = the lives of over 200 Syrian refugees changed!

 

Jim Estill = Champion of ChangeU!

 

That sums it up.  We could all go check out some other Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter stuff now.  Or you business types might hit LinkedIn.

BUT PLEASE DON’T!!!

I will not write a lot this week.  Others that get paid to write a lot have already written a lot about Jim Estill.  I cannot do better than them.  But I can introduce Jim Estill to a bunch of people and organizations that have never heard of Jim Estill – and try, try, try to interest you in learning more.  So here goes…

Jim Estill grew frustrated watching the lack of results, and many times the lack of actions, of governments and organizations around the world to positively impact the Syrian refugee crisis.  So Jim took it into his own hands – and his own personal wallet – to make a tangible difference.  Jim put together a volunteer based (800 volunteers!), collaborative effort in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, to bring to his hometown over 50 Syrian refugee families – over 200 Syrian refugees!

Jim and his team did not just bring them over.  The collaborative effort also helped with the transition, English skills, employment preparation – and jobs!

NOW YOU HAVE TO READ ON!

I am including the link to one major news program’s TV broadcast of Jim’s story plus the links to four great online stories.  Watch the video and read the stories to really see Jim’s passion, his ability to construct a difference-making team, and the impact that his “frustration-turned-to-action” has produced.

You will NOT be disappointed!

Yes, you will see and read about Jim – and his team.  However, you will also read the “after” stories of some of these over 200 refugees.  Please don’t miss out.  Your heart will be blessed – and challenged!

 

CBS Sunday Morning video clip     (8 minutes of awesomeness!)

http://www.cbs.com/shows/cbs-sunday-morning/video/FYflqo3OP8u1XMUQSKE4pG3geEnG4xHq/syrian-refugees-find-a-home-in-canada/

 

BBC News

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38473532

 

The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/06/jim-estill-syrian-refugees-canada-guelph-ontario

 

Toronto Life

http://torontolife.com/city/life/jim-estill-the-man-who-saved-200-syrian-refugees/

 

Financial Times     (warning: you might have limited access to this one)

https://www.ft.com/content/2bfe443a-dd05-11e6-9d7c-be108f1c1dce

 

What will you do about the challenge that Jim’s story put in your heart?

Will you take your frustrations over human issues at home and around the world and turn those frustrations into actions??

Will you become the next Champion of ChangeU???

 

Jim Estill short bio

Jim Estill, CEO of Danby Appliances, is a Canadian technology entrepreneur, executive, and philanthropist. Jim started a computer distribution business from the trunk of his car while in university. He turned that modest business into a company doing $350,000,000 in sales before selling to SYNNEX in 2004. He then became CEO of SYNNEX Canada and grew sales from $800,000,000 to $2 Billion over five years. He has been an active investor and advisor to many technology companies, including a founding board member of Research in Motion/Blackberry, before the company went public.

In 2010, he published his first book, Time Leadership – Lessons from a CEO, and followed that publication three years later with Zero to $2 Billion: The Marketing and Branding Story Behind the Growth which became the subject of his TEDx talk.

You can follow Jim on his blog, CEO Blog—Time Leadership, which documents his philosophies on leadership and time management.  Jim currently lives in Guelph, Ontario.

 

Dr. Jim King is the President of Change University.  You may read more about him at the bottom of the page at this link:

https://www.changeuniversity.org/about/

 

 

It’s Troy Anderson’s fault…sort of…

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If you have not read last week’s post, it might prove beneficial to read it before reading this post:

https://www.changeuniversity.org/uncategorized/the-reboot-at-changeu/

 

In my previous two posts, I shared that I recently returned from Thailand with a team of university students. We were very fortunate on one of our first nights in Bangkok to hear from Troy Anderson.  You can read more about Troy in one of our previous blog posts:

https://www.changeuniversity.org/uncategorized/i-am-jealous-of-troy-anderson/

 

For those of you that do not know Troy and did not click on the link, Troy is the Founder and International Director of Speak Up, an international NGO serving girls in poverty.  Troy studied law at the UCLA School of Law and served as a Los Angeles County District Attorney.  Troy now spends most of his time in Bangladesh.  We were fortunate that he was in Bangkok at the same time and was able to meet with our team.

Troy shared about why he created Speak Up and how things were going. He discussed struggles and successes. He also discussed expansion plans.  However, the thing that resonated the most with me was Speak Up’s emphasis on providing university education to the most at-risk females around the world. Little did I understand at the time why this resonated so much with me.

 

Thank you, Troy Anderson!

Dang you, Troy Anderson!!

 

Over the following two weeks, I was to experience four life situations which brought Troy’s words to life for me – and that challenged my mind and heart!

Experience one: I spent ten hours riding in taxis with my female, 30-something guide/interpreter. You learn a lot about each other and your respective families over about ten hours in taxis. Suffice it to say, life had dealt this warm, charming, smiling, genuine, young lady more than her fair share of sorrow and bad situations – not the least of which was no chance at a university education. I choose not to share her entire story.  But, after only the first day, my heart ached for her and her daughters – and for every young lady in her spot – and every young girl destined for the same fate, maybe her daughters.  I have seen a lot and experienced a lot in many BAD places. However, those experiences never caused my mind and heart to need the hours of counsel I received early the next day from a friend that lives in Bangkok.

Experience two:  I met a 30-something single mother working in a coffee shop, desperately seeking to put her 20-something son through a university because she was never able to attend one herself.  She did not want her son to labor away for unmerciful hours every day just to survive.  She wanted a better life for her son and she knew that the answer was higher education.

Experience three: While at a restaurant, I met a 20-something female server that had one of the most positive personalities I have ever seen.  However, after multiple conversations, it became apparent that this personality was “masking” something.  Turns out that this young lady is a product of divorce and from being on her own since she was 15, working all types of legit jobs just to be able to put a roof over her own head and survive the world in a place where females are very exploited.  No chance to go to a university.  No chance to step out of manual labor.  No chance to beat the odds.  But always that mask.

Experience four:  This one resulted in a more positive story.  But, it was no less important to me emerging out of Thailand with a different view of the world than were the other three stories.  We met an outgoing 20-something female that had “leader” written all over her.  She was a “get it done” person with a beautiful personality.  Yet, she, too, could have ended up just like the single mother of five or the mother struggling to put her son through university or the “masked” server at the restaurant.  Worse still, she could have ended up like any one of the at least hundreds of thousands of other females in the world that have been denied the chance of attending an institution of higher education. She could have…if not for the chance to attend a university made possible by a positive life intervention.  She has made the most of the opportunity that so many other young females just do not have.  If we could just have more of those positive life interventions around the world.  Why can’t we have more???

 

Troy Anderson is not really so bad.   After all, positive life interventions is what Speak Up provides for young ladies around the world.  And they are about to do more.

So I could ask, “What about you?”  But that’s not my plan.  Here’s my plan…

 

How about joining us at Change University to make a difference?  How about we start by making higher education available to those most at-risk for whom it has not previously been possible?  Don’t send us money.  Send Troy Anderson money (www.speakupforthepoor.org).  Find other impact enterprises that are making a difference in lives of girls.  Check out Second Chance Bangkok (www.scbkk.org).  They are making a difference in the lives of girls in the largest slum in Bangkok.

How about this: don’t let me tell you what to do.  Let Change University help you figure out how you want to change the world…and then become that change!  It does not have to be higher education for marginalized females.  You decide on the change that you want to be.   This “be the change” idea brings back the ChangeU Challenge that Jon Burns, founder of Lionsraw (www.Lionsraw.org), gave us when Change University started:

https://www.ChangeUniversity.org/the-ChangeU-Challenge/

 

As for Change University, here is what we plan to do with respect to impact opportunities like higher education opportunities for females in marginalized situations:

  1. Please allow me to introduce our first Student Vice President, Ms. Pimwalan Gisele (Gigi) Mungsing. Gigi is a third year student in the Sripatum International College at Sripatum University in Bangkok.  Gigi has a heart for making a difference in the lives of those in marginalized situations. She has been involved in multiple such projects.  Gigi will give us a voice within leadership that we have been missing.

 

  1. “ChangeU Global Young Champions Network” – Discussions are being conducted with 20-somethings from approximately ten countries, including developing countries, who are either university students with hearts geared towards community development/impact or already working in the field. These discussions are related to these young people leading efforts to impact not only higher education opportunities for females in their countries, but also global, regional and local impact needs relative to their respective countries and regions.  Discussions already include young people on four continents.  These young people will help frame solutions that existing ChangeU leadership cannot frame – and support each other’s change efforts at the same time.

 

  1. We need you! The “ChangeU Team” needs to include you!  We want more than passive team members.  But at least start out by visiting each of the following links so that you can stay up on everything at ChangeU – and make contributions with comments, recommendations, etc.  Be sure to “Like” or “Follow”.

https://www.facebook.com/changeuniv        (best option to stay involved)

https://www.instagram.com/changeuniv/

https://twitter.com/changeuniv

https://www.linkedin.com/company/changeuniv/         (note: a new work in progress)

 

  1. We need you! Please say “yes” when we come asking for help.  Now is not the time for currency.  We need minds, hands, feet, voices, eyes, and hands from experts and semi-experts.  We work with 20-somethings.  Remember what you were like at that age?  We need all kinds of help.  Please say “yes”.  Most volunteers spend less than one hour per week mentoring, etc.

 

  1. We need you! Do you head up an impact enterprise?  Let us share your story.  Let us join you in the field.  Join us in the field.  What are you waiting for?  Feel free to grab us before we grab you!

 

  1. We need you! Please, please, please share the Change University story.  “Like”, “Share” or do whatever else you have to do on social media to make ChangeU known.  Everyone can click a mouse or touch a screen for ChangeU.   But will you?    Please do!

 

I’m out of breath and all I have done is type!  We are tremendously excited about the future of Change University.  But, we are even more excited about the changes possible in the world through the lives and experiences of you, our friends and supporters.  Bless you all!  Thanks for hanging in there until the end of this post.  Now…

Who’s in?

 

Dr. Jim King is the President of Change University.  You may read more about him at the bottom of the page at this link:

https://www.changeuniversity.org/about/

The Reboot at ChangeU!

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If you have not yet had a chance to read my previous post, you will want to read it before you read this one.  It explains the genesis of this post.  Here is a link:

https://www.changeuniversity.org/uncategorized/when-it-gets-personal-a-reboot-at-changeu/

 

Our Invitation to Each of You

In the beginning was Game Changers::Difference Makers, a group of less than 100 really smart, really talented athletes that graduated from high schools around the USA in 2015 – and me.  It all started out as “mentoring” – until it got past two mentees.  Thus the group, GC::DM, was formed.  There is a GC::DM Facebook group, a GC::DM Facebook page, and a GC::DM LinkedIn group.  The members of Game Changers::Difference Makers can still associate with each other via any of those options.

Change University was created as a place for GC::DM members to fuel their corporate desires to truly make a difference in the world.  The idea was to create a space where stories and videos of existing difference makers around the world could be shared in one spot.  The plan was to challenge and inspire not only GC::DM members, but everyone that wished to be a difference maker. It would be up to these smart, talented GC::DM members to stock the website with stories, information, advice, etc.

In theory, it was a wonderful idea.  In practicality, it was not.  All of the group’s members were in one of about a dozen universities around the country.  Some of them were playing intercollegiate sports.  All of them were getting involved in way too many activities and were studying way too much – the things that got them into GC::DM in the first place.  Change University was at best a virtual table at which they each had a seat.  Out of sight, out of mind has a way of settling in on activities that are virtual, especially when competing with “real” activities.

Long story short, a very few members were saddled with all of the responsibilities – and we all know what happens after that.  Each of them, one at a time, wears out.  This unfortunately happens before what we think will be the ultimate benefits of GC::DM and ChangeU have been realized.

So…a reboot is in order.

We need minds, hands, hearts and all other aspects of our Change University friends.  We have a stellar web manager. Yet, he is in one of the toughest engineering programs in the country.  We have social media managers.  Yet, they are all now doing internships and traveling the world making a difference as juniors and seniors.  We have a few writers that are great at sharing stories of Champions of ChangeU and about speakers that come to campuses and at writing about cool stuff happening around the world.  But they are now writing their own blogs or working for websites or writing books.  That’s what they should be doing.  The problem is that this story is never ending – and it will always be never ending.

Therefore, ChangeU needs you!

First, we have already started contacting some folks that we know have some needed skills to help ChangeU move forward.  But. if you have not been contacted, don’t think it is because you are unwanted.  We just might not know that you have a skill that we need.  Let us know.  Web gurus? Social media gurus? Writers? Other?  Can you share 1-3 hours per week?

Second, one of the absolute biggest ways that everyone can help is to “Like” and “Share” items that we post.  That does not take long.  But it spreads our name and, more importantly, our message.  That helps everyone associated with ChangeU.  And you don’t have to sign up to help us in that manner.  Just click those buttons.  Please click those buttons!

Third, we are “crossing borders”.  My time in Southeast Asia in May and my conversations with folks that are truly making a difference in that region of the world (as well as similar visits in other regions over the past twenty years) reawakened me to “global”.  I know “global”.  But, sometimes it is hard to see over the tall grass and you miss the bigger picture.  Time for unintentional blinders to come off.  Sure, anyone in the world could always read the posts at ChangeU and the social media outlets related to the website.  However, I am talking about involvement.

You are going to read in my next post that we have created the role of Student Vice-President.  The person in this role is going to put a student’s voice into the administration of the group and ChangeU.  And “she” is not from the USA.  We will also be grabbing some of the brightest minds for change from all around the world to join in as region and country directors/managers.  Some have already been asked.  Some have been targeted and not yet asked.  Nevertheless, it is never too early for you to recommend such a young person.  For now, they need to be university students.  Ultimately, some will transition into similar roles as graduates.  Can you help us?

Finally, it is time to get active in more ways than just writing.  We hope to partner with organizations that have experience in leading service-learning and social impact excursions.  Some are travel orgs.  One is a cruise line.  How cool would it be for a company like Whole Foods (just as an example – no pressure – seriously) to sponsor four GC::DM members on one of these experiences and to send one of their own staff along, too?  I think cool. I think smart business!

Some of our Champions of ChangeU have internship opportunities.  Some of you have internship opportunities.  Who better to place in those positions than GC::DM members and our student liaisons from around the world?  THEY ARE THE BEST OF THE BEST!  And they already want to be difference makers.  We are going to recruit you to recruit them.

We also want to have a physical, visible presence on campuses.  We actually want to “make a difference”, not just talk about it.

So who is ready to step up to the plate to help us get active?  Ideas? Sponsors? Partners?  You have to let us know!  Please?!

It is time to stop this writing stuff.  No, not on the website.  We will still be “educational” in that way.  Rather, it is time to finish this post.  It is time for “change” at Change University.  It is time for a reboot.  The main question that remains is:

Who wants to jump into the boat with us?  Now is the time…

 

Click here for Part 3 of 3: https://www.changeuniversity.org/uncategorized/its-troy-andersons-faultsort-of/.

 

Dr. Jim King is the President of Change University.  You may read more about him at the bottom of the page at this link:

https://www.changeuniversity.org/about/.