Question of the Day: Can we achieve social justice without economic empowerment?
Although there has been a huge push for teaching financial literacy, many social service programs teach clients to manage poverty and not eliminate it. How do we help people change their socio-economic status? Of course, the answers are numerous, but I think it’s time to add the following “R” words to the economic empowerment and workforce development conversations.
1. Reduce
2. Reuse
3. Recycle
4. Repurpose
5. Redesign
6. Reclaim
7. Restore
8. Resources
You know the old saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, but is anything ever really trash? What I know for sure about people with limited financial and social resources is that they often have an abundance of ingenuity and tenacity. Whether stretching a meal to feed a family or preserving last year’s wardrobe, I have seen an innate ability to “make something out of nothing” in many people who struggle economically. We don’t have to be consumed by consumerism. With a little time and elbow grease, families (not just low-income families) can transform a house into a unique home, protect the earth, and earn money all at the same time. I don’t know that there has ever been a better time to help people capitalize on their talents, skills and abilities – or a better time to return to the “community” that worked for us in the past.
Check out the resources below to get your idea juices flowing.
- After 90 hours and 39 rolls of tape, Duck Tape Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest grand prize winners, Mia and Chandler, won $10,000 each.
- The Freecycle Network is a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns.
- OfferUp is revolutionizing how you buy and sell locally. With a single snap, you can take a photo of an item and instantly circulate it to people nearby.
- Upcycle That is a site dedicated to all things upcycled. Upcycle That is a resource for people interested in reusing items in innovative ways.
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Nicki Sanders, The Packaged For Success Coach, is an experienced trainer, group facilitator, and program manager. She has packaged her Masters of Social Work degree and over 15 years of work experience into Packaged For Success, a training and professional development company. Packaged For Success provides career coaching to college students, entry-level job hunters, and experienced employees seeking a promotion. Packaged For Success also offers communication and productivity improvement training for employees and supervisors and provides consultation on building sustainable, impactful, socially responsible community programs.
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