The Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts will host a very special benefit screening of Jonathan Demme’s documentary The Agronomist on Monday, March 1 at 2:00 pm.

The screening will be introduced by director Jonathan Demme, who will be in Brookline to accept the 2010 Coolidge Award and participate in related festivities. Proceeds from the screening will go to support Haiti earthquake relief efforts through the on-the-ground non-profit organizations Partners in Health and Yele Haiti. Tickets to the screening are $25 and are on sale now.

As an incentive to encourage early ticket sales, a group of Coolidge supporters will donate a matching $3,500 to the Haiti relief efforts towards the first 140 tickets sold by February 7. Those donations, combined with the advance ticket sales to date, will be sent immediately to Partners in Health and Yele Haiti in early February. Advance tickets are now on sale at the theater box office and through the website at http://www.coolidge.org.

The Agronomist is Jonathan Demme’s 2003 documentary about the life and work of Jean Dominique, human rights activist and host of the independent radio station Radio Haiti-Inter. His broadcasts throughout the early 1970s were a bold break from Haiti’s predominant government-run media, offering enlightening stories, in the native language of Creole, about global issues to the people of the island. Dominique was forced to temporarily leave Haiti twice, in the early ‘80s and again the early ‘90s, but remained an outspoken advocate for freedom of the press and the Haitian community. In 2000, after returning to his country, he was assassinated outside the radio station in Port-au-Prince. The film features a stunning soundtrack by Grammy-Award winning musician Wyclef Jean, who is also a social entrepreneur and founder of Yele Haiti.

Kenneth Turan, in reviewing the documentary for the LA Times wrote “It almost seems an act of magic that an unapologetically political film that closely examines the last decades of Haiti’s history could move us so much, both to sadness and to joy. Even the participation of Oscar-winning filmmaker Jonathan Demme as director, co-producer and cameraman doesn’t fully explain how and why this 90-minute documentary turned out to be so compelling… To understand that you have to see the film and experience firsthand the personal dynamism of its subject, the remarkable Jean Dominique, an irrepressible force, a true hero for our complex times and a martyr gunned down by unknown thugs in 2000.“

At the time of the film’s release The New York Times wrote “In part, the film is a chronicle of that bad luck, as Haiti alternates between chaos and authoritarianism, with glimmers of hope quickly giving way to compromise, corruption and violence… By the end, you come not simply to admire Dominique; you want to count yourself, as Mr. Demme clearly does, among his friends. Unfortunately, you will also have a clear sense of his enemies, the gangsters and strongmen who have run Haiti, usually with American support, for most of its modern history.“

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW

Yele Haiti uses music, sports and the media to reinforce projects that are making a difference in education, health, environment and community development. In practical terms this translates to over 3,000 new jobs, close to 7,000 children being put in school, more than 8,000 people a month receiving food and approximately 2,000 young people a month learning about HIV/AIDS prevention. Visit: yele.org

Partners in Health works to bring modern medical care to poor communities in nine countries around the world. Their work has three goals: to care for patients, to alleviate the root causes of disease in their communities, and to share lessons learned around the world. Based in Boston, the organization employs over 11,000 people worldwide, including doctors, nurses, and community health workers. Partners in Health has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years.  Visit: standwithhaiti.org/haiti

Click here to listen to an NPR interview with Jonathan Demme about the film.

The annual Coolidge Award, recognizing a film artist whose work “advances the spirit of original and challenging cinema,“ was launched in 2004. Previous honorees are animators the Quay Brothers in 2009 (Street of Crocodiles, Institute Benjamenta), film producer Jeremy Thomas in 2008 (Sexy Beast, The Last Emperor, The Great Rock and Roll Swindle), film editor Thelma Schoonmaker in 2007 (Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed), actress Meryl Streep in 2006 (Sophie’s Choice, Silkwood, The Devil Wears Prada), Italian cinematographer Vittorio Storaro in 2005 (Apocalypse Now, The Conformist, Reds) and Chinese director Zhang Yimou in 2004 (Hero, The House of Flying Daggers, Raise the Red Lantern).

Festivities celebrating the 2010 honoree, Jonathan Demme, will take place March 1-2.

Coolidge Corner Theatre
290 Harvard Street
Brookline, MA

This was the genesis of BostonGives, an idea that began over breakfast between three members of the investment industry in Boston, who were seeking a way for their firms to give back to the community. Too many people were suffering from charity fatigue: one rubber chicken dinner too many, one long impassioned speech too many.  Advocates for worthy causes were not reaching willing donors and supporters because charity functions had become obligations. Giving had ceased to be fun.

Giving can and should be fun. 

This was the idea discussed over breakfast between three members of the investment industry in Boston who were seeking a better way for their firms to give back to the community. They knew many people were suffering from charity fatigue: one rubber chicken dinner or long, impersonal speech too many. Advocates for worthy causes were not reaching willing donors because charity functions had become obligations. For these three innovative, proactive guys, giving had ceased to be fun and they wanted to do something about it. This idea was the genesis of BostonGives.

In 2007 BostonGives (BG) was established with the core support of the financial and investment community in Boston, with a goal of raising money and highlighting excellent and innovative charities while incurring virtually no expenses. Since its inception, BG has grown and evolved, benefiting from contributions by members of Boston’s sports, marketing and entertainment industries. BG is inclusive; it belongs to anyone and everyone who wants to get involved and facilitate our mission of striving to promote and support worthy charities in Boston. 

Each year, BostonGives raises money with its annual Big Give Event. In its third year, the BostonGives Big event seems to have hit its stride and has brought the charity’s mission statement to life by making giving fun, easy and most importantly enjoyable again.  This year’s event was held at the Boston Harbor hotel on Thursday, September 24th. The Wharf Room there was made to look like a Miami Beach style lounge. The room was decked out with white cabanas, metallic pools with floating candles, soft sky blue lighting, and equally stylish guests.  The party’s mood was fun and light. There were no auctions, long speeches, sit down dinners, or formal attire required. Instead, guests were able to indulge in mini burgers and mac & cheese, listen to old school Michael Jackson, mingle with a crowd that included hedge fund managers, Revolution soccer players, sports marketing CEOs, and most importantly, people who wanted to give and have fun while doing it.

And this crowd definitely gave! BostonGives raised over 200k to benefit the four Boston based charities that were being highlighted that evening: Match Charter Public High School, Nativity Preparatory School, Boys & Girls Club of Boston, and Roxbury Preparatory Charter School.

This year proved to be another successful evening and a testament to the fact that even in tough economic times, people can still have a good time and Give Big!

To learn more about Boston Gives, and to get involved visit http://www.bostongivesbig.org.

2008 marks the 8th year of Ballet Rox’s Urban Nutcracker. Inspired by E.T.A. Hoffman’s 19th century fable, but designed to reflect an inner city experience, the Urban Nutcracker takes place in Boston and fuses the old and new in score, style and story. It’s as invigorating and inspiring a holiday performance you’ll see and will forever expand your appreciation of dance.

What started out as a small production with three shows held in the Strand Theater has grown into a large scale production with guest performers (this year it’s Joyce Kulhawik), a hundred person cast and crew and 19 shows in John Hancock Hall in the Back Bay Events Center.
The Urban Nutcracker mixes ballet with swing, hip hop, and urban tap while Tchaikovsky’s classical score shares the spotlight with the jazzy beats of Duke Ellington. Every year is a little bit different and this year promises a new Russian dance (the “Caviar Caper”) “where popping n’ locking meets Bob Fosse-style jazz;“ a new battle scene choreographed by Tony-award winning dancer and choreographer Yo-el Cassell and Jane Allard; and an updated libretto with “Father,“ who returns from a tour of military duty, symbolic of the Nutcracker Soldier Doll. You’ll even see Irish step dancers from the Dunleavy Shaffer School of Irish Dance and a Double Dutch team called SWIRLS: (Sisters Working in Real-Life Situations).

At the center of this hub of creative energy is Anthony (Tony) Williams. The first African American dancer to be invited into the Boston Ballet, he was a principal dancer for nine years. He is part of the very fabric of Boston dance. Looking back, Williams says he has very fond memories of The Nutcracker. It was his first big production and his first opportunity to dance a solo. “There was always a full house back then,” he remembers, “and it left a real impression on me.”

A number of years after leaving the Boston Ballet, Williams decided to open a dance school. He wanted to build a school “that represented him, half white, half black.“ And he wanted to do a Nutcracker that recalled the original, but was representative of his own cultural experience. Clearly he created an interpretation and an approach that have widespread appeal. Every year more and more dancers try out to be in the production, and every year tickets sales soar.

“It’s a cool production to be in,” he says. “The word is out.” Dancers are coming from farther away so that while it has always been a racially diverse dance company, it is now geographically diverse as well. More kids are coming from schools where they dance five days a week he notes, so the level of dance keeps improving. Consequently it is harder and harder for dancers to get in.

For Williams, the Urban Nutcracker is symbolic of the community that has grown around his dance school and his inclusive philosophy. He couldn’t imagine not doing a Nutcracker. “It’s a love fest! It’s like a big party!“ he laughs, “And it’s a good showcase of the diversity of the cast and the dance styles and the score.”

For more information and to buy tickets, visit BalletRox.org.

This is for people who completely missed the news this past Saturday; because anyone who even so much as glanced at the headlines on their homepage heard about 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action. And while Misstropolis rarely covers stories widely reported in other sources, the global action enacted on October 24, 2009 was too astounding to skip. Astounding doesn’t quite cover it - I am hoping these pictures and numbers will.

Children for 350 in Abyan Yemen.

According to 350.org (which has the pictures to prove it) people in 181 countries at over 5200 events participated in October 24’s day of environmental action. Thousands upon thousands of photographs documenting the events have been sent to 350.org which last week presented a book of them to the chief of the climate change section of the United Nations, Janosz Pastor.

Artists painted 350 on cars stuck in the sand in the USA.

So, what does 350 mean? According to scientists, 350 is the safe upper limit for the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere (in parts per million). Currently we are way above that. By most estimates the earth is dealing with 385 parts per million (and rising).

Tantoh Nforbah and his community group, Save Your Future Association, in northwestern Cameroon planted flowers with the message “CO2 350 PPM” to promote carbon reductions, community development and sustainable agriculture in the region.

Basically what’s happened is that we have burned so much fossil fuel on our planet that the atmospheric concentration of co2 has risen to these dangerous levels. This is why ice is melting in polar regions, why drought is spreading in places like Africa, why forests are dying all over the world. Thew good news is that if we can start substituting alternative energy for fossil fuel, forests and oceans will be able suck some of the carbon dioxide out of the air and return us to safer levels.

“Just found this from the kingdom of Abu Dhabi, and our friends at Masdar. Yes, it’s an oil country, and yes, that’s the world’s largest solar array, and yes, it’s part of what the future looks like!“ Bill McKibben

The lead scientist quoted by 350.org is Dr. James Hansen, of NASA. Hansen was the first to testify before Congress, in June of 1988, that global warming was real. He and his colleagues have used both real-world observation, computer simulation, and mountains of data about ancient climates to calculate what constitutes dangerous quantities of carbon in the atmosphere. Hansen’s paper about 350 is available online, you can read it here. 

Here’s a wake-up call from his paper: “If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm… If the present overshoot of this target CO2 is not brief, there is a possibility of seeding irreversible catastrophic effects.“

Youth form a 350 in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, India.

350.org is now setting its sights on the international conference taking place in Copenhagen Denmark in December of 2009. Bill McKibben and his team are demanding an international agreement to reduce carbon emissions quickly, by putting a high enough price on carbon that developed nations stop using so much. He is also working hard to make sure that poor countries don’t suffer, being ensured a fair chance to develop.

In April of 2007 I spoke with Bill McKibben who at the time was inspiring people across the country to get involved in Step It Up 2007. Step It Up was, like 350, a grassroots mobilization effort. Over 1400 colorful passionate demonstrations took place across the country. The success so surpassed McKibben’s wildest dreams (and that’s saying a lot, this guy is an environmental visionary who makes Al Gore look like a weatherman) that he took the momentum and turned it into 350.org.

Berlin, Germany.

McKibben’s genius is identifying a unifying goal - 350 is his clarion call for the movement. It works because people all over the globe can understand it, because it is an attainable goal and because it looks good on signs - on digital billboards in Times Square, under water in the Indian Ocean, on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. He wants the movement to belong to everyone not just him or 350.org.

McKibben appeared on the Colbert Report on Comedy Central.

The members of 350.org understand that legislating drastic behavioral change is very very difficult. “It means switching off fossil fuel much more quickly than governments and corporations have been planning.“ But they believe that these grassroots efforts from so many citizens of so many nations will convince politicians and energy executives to concede that those difficult changes are necessary. That saving the planet is more important than saving their next campaign or their next bonus check.

Students in the Dominican Republic.

To learn more and to get involved visit 350.org.

“Why do you even bother coming?” He asked loud enough for the whole class to hear. “Why don’t you just practice at home?”

I stayed on my mat. Leaving would mean that I had taken on the humiliation that he was unconsciously trying to project onto me. Leaving would mean that I would lose the solace I had learned to find on my mat during a difficult time in my life - the separation from my husband after 18 years.

Years ago, one of my first teachers stood next to my mat and disciplined me for doing something different than the rest of the class. I was nursing an injured back; I wonder now what he was battling. 

“Why do you even bother coming?” He asked loud enough for the whole class to hear. “Why don’t you just practice at home?”

I stayed on my mat. Leaving would mean that I had taken on the humiliation that he was unconsciously trying to project onto me. Leaving would mean that I would lose the solace I had learned to find on my mat during a difficult time in my life - the separation from my husband after 18 years.

So I stayed on my mat and tried to ignore him. At the time I didn’t have the words for it, but I knew he wasn’t lashing out at me.

Now many years later, I watch my students flow, one breath at a time. Some follow what I teach exactly, some modify a little, some modify a lot. Some create their own practice because of injury, age or whatever. They are practicing ahimsa - nonviolence - on the mat in their body and their mind and their spirit.

Today a student in my class, who also happens to teach at our studio, modified quite a bit during her practice. She was up in front, yet she did not distract me or the other students. She was taking care of her body, that was clear. She was not modifying to disrespect or irritate me or the other students. I found myself smiling because I knew that she was listening to her body; practicing yoga.

When I see students who are blindly following my lead, and I can sense that their body resists their practice, I know that they are green—new to their mat. When I see students who respectfully and gracefully modify, I know that they are experienced practitioners.

I practice in the back row in my studios, sometimes asking other students to scoot over so I can squeeze in… to discourage students from watching me. After all, if students watch me practice, they are not practicing yoga. If they watch me and wonder why I am doing a pose differently, they are not practicing yoga. As yoga teachers, we repeatedly say in class that it doesn’t matter what anyone else is doing on their mat.  We repeatedly say “they have a story you know nothing about.”

The same goes for me. I am living my yoga, not teaching it. Any judgment from others, like that teacher so many years ago, has nothing to do with me. The spirit of yoga is inside us, it is stronger than anyone or anything else. We take what we want, what works for our bodies, and modify the rest. 

Otherwise, is it yoga - or just another flavor of ego - of power and control?

Taylor Wells owns Prana Power Yoga in Newton, Cambridge, Winchester, MA and New York City with her husband Philippe. They recently opened the Prana Raw Cafe in Newton.

Don’t be upset if you hear someone shout “What a dog !“ about one of the fashion models. At Fashion for Compassion, MSPCA Nantucket’s family-friendly fashion show starring haute couture-d canines, that’s a compliment. No one blinks an eye when the models drool, bark and even (gasp) eat. This mega-popular event celebrates animal compassion with a fashionable twist, and happily for the less experienced models, compassionate fashion too.

Taking place next Wednesday, August 5th, at the MSPCA Nantucket headquarters on Crooked Lane, the show features 25 dogs chosen on the strength of their bio, their “fashion idea” and their availability, (applications are available as early as spring and all chosen dogs must be available for dress rehearsal.)

The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA) rescues, saves, cares for and adopts out thousands of homeless and unwanted animals each year in their various locations around the state. They shelter dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and many other small animals. They also care for horses and other farm animals like goats, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese and ducks at Nevins Farm & Equine Center.

On the picturesque island of Nantucket, one might assume that all dogs get driven to the beach with the window down everyday and cats sleep on sunny porches without a care in the world. But unfortunately the cruelty and abandonment that keeps the MSPCA busy on the mainland also occurs on the island. Fashion for Compassion is one of the chapter’s biggest fundraisers, and one of its employees favorites.

In anticipation of the event, which marries two of Misstropolis’ favorite things: animal protection and high fashion, we asked some of the members of the MSPCA team to tell us about the event. Jessica Sosebee is the Adoption Center Manager on Nantucket, Stephanie Henke is the Adoption Center Project Coordinator and Laura Hoag is an MSPCA Development Officer. Board Member Jessica Gifford also contributed to the story.

M: Who originally came up with this fantastic idea?

JS: I remember going to the Even Keel in the spring of 2006 with Stephanie and brainstorming this idea… we pulled off the first one in only four months!

M: Does it only take place in Nantucket or do other chapters have fashion shows as well?

JS: I think I’ve heard of similar events in DC and out on the west coast, but in our minds, this was a completely original idea.

LH: All of our Adoption Centers host their own unique events to fundraise. The “fashion show” concept is unique to Nantucket.

M: What does it take to get for a pet to get into the show? Is there pretty stiff competition?

SH: One need only apply. As the show gets more popular, the competition gets a little stiffer. This year, as in past, we do try to get a good variety of breeds, mutts, sizes, etc. I know Jessica tries, too, to get people with a creative flair to enter their dogs so that we get some knock out costumes (rather than a store-bought superman costume for example). We usually have some on the wait list and some that ask to be in it last minute, but because we pair the auction items with the dogs, there can only be so many. Our tireless volunteer, Lori Smith, also designs and sews costumes for all of the shelter dogs, as they take a turn on the runway as well.

JS: We usually have the applications available in the spring until about June 15th… from there… they need to get head-shots and bios to me for the program, construct their couture, and be available for a dress rehearsal the night before.

M: Do people enter from all over?

JS: We have contestants this year from New Jersey, New York, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

LH: One year someone even won from California!

M: Are children invited to come with their parents and their pets?

SH: Children are welcome to come. Unfortunately, we do not allow pets at the event, as it would just be too crazy. This year, we are filming the entire event and hope to show it at the Atheneum (public library) as a fundraiser, and maybe lots of kids could go to that.

M: This is the 4th annual - have there been some unexpected performances on the runway in previous years?

SH: Each year, the “performance” and shameless bribery grows!! It’s almost de rigueur that dogs do tricks once they get to the judges on the runway. Many “handlers” have gifts for the judges as well!

JS: Last year “Jackson” Rae, a ten year old Border Collie, jumped off the stage into the audience in his Wild West ensemble!

M: Do the animals get special treats like the adults do? (The alluring appetizers sound great.)

JS: This year’s “Best in Show” will receive a hand-embroidered, custom collar by Sarah Wright and a photo session with Pixel Perfect… plus the much-sought-after trophy and of course… bragging rights. The winner must also be available for TV and newspaper interviews after the show… it’s a big responsibility.

M: Does Todd the Rocket have a special playlist for animal supermodels?

SH: He was awesome last year! He knows what he’s doing.
 
M: Any good tales of “catfights” backstage?

SH: We’ll never tell. . .

Fashion for Compassion starts at 6:30 pm.
Click here to buy your tickets.
MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center
21 Crooked Lane
Nantucket, MA 02554
Tel: (508) 825-2287
Fax: (508) 325-5547

This spring, nearly 150 young professionals, dressed in skinny jeans and casual work attire, some tipsy, all of them giddy, gathered at BLVD, a bar in SoHo in New York City. On stage, R&B and jazz sensation Danielia Cotton belted out contagious tunes while the crowd clamored for cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine (an NYC obsession), cheeses from Murray’s Cheese (another local obsession), and “Cancer Sucks” socks.

The occasion was the annual fundraiser for Music Against Myeloma (MAM), a non-profit raising awareness and funds for multiple myeloma. This was no black tie affair, and that was entirely on purpose; the night was all about letting loose and fighting cancer.

It’s a very personal fight for MAM’s co-founder, Slava Rubin, whose father passed away from the disease in 1993, when Rubin was only 13 years old. Not to be confused with melanoma, cancer of the skin, multiple myeloma is cancer of the plasma cells in the bone marrow. It affects approximately 20,000 Americans each year. Though the disease is treatable, it is not curable, and Rubin wants to change that fact.

In 2005, he conceived of MAM with Matt Ostrower, a musician he met a few years earlier while biking in Israel. At the time, Ostrower knew almost nothing about multiple myeloma, but his sister was battling thyroid cancer, so he jumped at the opportunity. The idea was simple: combine great live music with great food, add a chic downtown locale, and the friends—and funds—will follow. They were right.

“Cancer is so closely connected to everybody,” says Rubin, whose day job involves running IndieGoGo, a website he founded that creates fundraising, promotion, and discovery tools for the film and media industry. “People just want to find a way to give back and fight it.”

He and Ostrower partnered with the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) and now host an event in NYC each year. Next up, they want to take MAM to cities across the country.

At this year’s party, Ostrower, who works as Program Manager at the music website Pandora.com, performed solo, along with Cotton, Dave Murphy, and the Turn. Previous performers include Boston’s homegrown Rachel Platten, whose music is a confection of indie lightness and soul, Tony Orlando, who showed up for a surprise set last year, plus Ostrower’s band Lost in October.

“The best thing musicians know how to do is perform and bring people in,” he says, “so to donate their talent and their art is perfect.”

Since 2006, MAM has raised over $60,000, established the $25,000 Mark Rubin Research Grant, and become one of the largest grass roots organizations working with the IMF.

Michael Katz, Vice President of the IMF and a member of its Board of Directors, knows first hand just how important MAM’s work is.

“When I was diagnosed in 1990, it was a very, very lonely time to have myeloma,” Katz says.

Few people had even heard of the disease, and finding other patients—especially those who were doing well—was difficult. Treatment options included a variety of conventional chemotherapy, as well as bone marrow transplant, but the basic problem, Katz explains, was that both relied on the same mechanism: poisoning the cancer cell. When this mechanism stopped working, there were no alternatives.

“There was a predictable cycle of failure of treatment and death that was all too common and all too quick for myeloma patients.”

Everything changed roughly ten years ago.  Doctors discovered that thalidomide, the very drug that had been used to treat morning sickness in pregnant women—and later caused severe birth defects—actually extended the lives of multiple myeloma patients. Since then, doctors have developed new and effective versions of the drug. Before thalidomide, says Katz, 20% of patients died in the first year of diagnosis; now the survival rate in the first year is nearly 100%.

Katz, for one, has been living with the disease for 19 years. He may be an anomaly, but with the help and persistence of organizations like MAM, he may soon become the rule.

To join the fight, visit http://www.musicagainstmyeloma.org.

My mother spent her life teaching me about making a difference. We went without when I was young—there were times spent in food banks, times we used food stamps. Still, my mother would say, “There is always someone who is worse off. Our job is to help.”

As I got older, I began to read about people who made large gifts to hospitals, museums, and libraries. They seemed to live grand lives in huge, sprawling estates (with wineries!), and I envied them because they could give to help build a better world. Growing up working class in a small mill town, I was sure that in order to make change, you had to have money—and lots of it.

Lying on my twin-sized mattress, wrapped in my Kmart quilt, I could see the headlines that my future funding would bring: “Animals Freed from Zoos” and “Women Elected As Political and Business Leaders at Record Numbers!” I decided that I would make heaps of money so I could give it away. Here’s what foiled me: I didn’t want any of the jobs that would actually make me a philanthropist-sized income.

Even when I began writing checks to support causes, I still didn’t identify as a donor. To me, writing $25, $50, and even $100 checks wasn’t enough to say “I am a philanthropist.” Philanthropy meant big money.

It wasn’t until I turned 31—after 17 years of activism from Maine to Yugoslavia—that I stepped in front of a crowd of 400 at a philanthropy conference and, with my body shaking, named myself a philanthropist. The minute I said it two women jumped from their chairs and cheered. And after my speech, six different women approached me and “came out” as blue-collar kids who were now in the field of philanthropy, trying to find their way. One woman said, “That speech was the permission I needed to make philanthropy my own.”

Philanthropy is not about walking the road someone else has paved. If starting today the 1,000 wealthiest people in the world gave away all their money, they still couldn’t create a world that is just. They may provide the capital to get things started, but it is our collective talents, money, and passion that will hold and sustain this possibility long after their money has been spent. To state that philanthropy is for the affluent implies that only the most financially accomplished can create community. If you give to your capacity or yearn to figure out how to give to your capacity, you are a philanthropist.

Agendas can be set in motion by a handful of influential people or by thousands of influential people. Every great movement has had visible leaders and funders, but it was the millions who sup-ported the cause that made it effective. Labor rights, civil rights, anti-apartheid: None of those took place in a vacuum. People just like you and me sustained these efforts by organizing, letter-writing, boycotting, and caring for those affected by adverse policies. That is philanthropy in action.

The most powerful form of philanthropy shows up as giving at your capacity and then, if you can, stretching a bit. In Mexico City I met a woman who made five pesos a day sweeping streets. She donated one of every five pesos to an orphanage. “They have less than me,” she said. Would anyone say this woman is less a philanthropist because her gift to the orphanage wasn’t one million pesos? She is the very best of philanthropy: inclusive, grassroots, and led by service to the greater good.

Following the Dalai Lama’s visit to Boston this weekend, the media’s coverage of the event, a two-part lecture held at Gillette Stadium, was largely relegated to posts regarding the photo pictured in the title, wherein His Holiness donned a New England Patriots hat during the afternoon session. I can’t say that I blame them; it was pretty fantastic. The hat, of course, was a gift from Patriots team owner Robert Kraft, who happened to be sitting with his wife Myra, just a few feet away from me, so I snapped a shot of him.

Nevertheless, there’s much more to be said about the Dalai Lama’s visit to Boston beyond the fact that he rocked a Pats hat. Yet before enumerating the day’s highlights, it probably makes sense to quickly recap who this man is. (Perhaps to provide some additional background information, making the first association in people’s minds, upon hearing his name, something other than, say, an infamous Caddyshack clip, which several pals emailed me last week). Sigh.

The Dalai Lama describes himself as a “simple Buddhist monk,“ but he is also Tibet’s head of state and spiritual leader in exile. He has been in exile since 1959 (the Chinese invaded Tibet in 1949). On Saturday, he spoke of visiting a soup kitchen recently, describing it as an experience that he enjoyed. He relayed feelings of comfort and familiarity with the people in the shelter because, to hear him tell it, he too has been homeless, in a way, for the past 50 years. While he now lives in India, the Dalai Lama’s home unquestionably remains Tibet, a country still under Chinese rule. Throughout his lifetime (he is now 73 years old), the Dalai Lama has steadfastly dedicated himself to cultivating peace around the world.

In fact, the Dalai Lama joined the monastic tradition at the age of 6. A Buddhist Doogie Howser of sorts, you ask?

Not exactly. His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was more than a precocious 6-year-old; he is recognized as being the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, who was the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama before him and so on down the line. Each Dalai Lama is viewed as a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion and the patron saint of Tibet. Let me break this down further: He’s as close to a living manifestation of Buddha as you can get.

A college professor of mine met His Holiness once and shared the experience with our Buddhism in India, Nepal, & Tibet class. I can still vividly recall how her face changed and brightened as she recalled the encounter. Perhaps it was then that I became enthralled with the idea that I might share space with the Dalai Lama too one day.

Of course, it would have to be relatively soon, I thought. This man, the 14th, already looked pretty old, particularly relative to myself, a 20-year-old college student. If I missed my opportunity in his lifetime, I’d have to wait until the next Dalai Lama was discovered- a toddler no doubt, like his predecessors- and it would be decades before he acquired the knowledge and life experience of this Dalai Lama.

On Saturday, May 2, 2009, I took my seat on the turf of Gillette Stadium, for the first of two lectures by the Dalai Lama. I would be in the presence of this pivotal figure in history and an inspiring person in my life for several hours. The morning session covered the Four Noble Truths, followed by a break, during which the 15,000 attendees browsed the new shopping and entertainment complex of Patriot Place and enjoyed a Tibetan market; featuring clothing, jewelry, and other artifacts; as well as educational exhibits such as a replica of a traditional Tibetan home, the opportunity to have your name written in Tibetan, and the ability to dress in traditional Tibetan garb for a unique photo opportunity.

As you can imagine, it’s one thing to study the Four Noble Truths (the essential tenets of Buddhism) on your own or even in a college-level course; it’s quite another to have them illuminated by the Dalai Lama, in person. Just in case you’re wondering or your knowledge of Buddhist texts is rusty, here they are:

1.) Dukkha: Suffering exists.

2). Samudaya: The root cause of suffering is “thirst” or as His Holiness often referenced “grasping.“

3.) Nirodha: Suffering can cease; liberation from suffering exists.

4.) Magga: The Path, often referred to as the Middle Path, is the way to cease suffering.

Put simply by the Dalai Lama, “90% of all negativeness is mental.“ In other words: Know that suffering and impermanence exist. Understand that your attachment or thirst for things to remain constant is misaligned with the essential state (i.e. truth) of the universe. Observe that you can liberate yourself from this cycle of dissatisfaction by choosing a different, truer, more moderate path . . .

Then, it got very windy in the stadium, and the world’s most famous monk became cold.

So, he implored us, in his charming, direct, albeit broken English, “If you have hat, I think you put on now,“ which reminded me a lot of my Portuguese grandmother, as she would be inclined to say the same thing, in similarly broken English, with equal and genuine concern. He wasn’t referencing the aforementioned, amply-covered Patriots hat, and this remark surely wouldn’t make the papers the following day, but it made everyone in the audience smile or chuckle that morning. We felt, in some small way, that the Dalai Lama, viewed as the living incarnation of the bodhisattva of compassion, was looking out for us.

That is the magic of seeing this man in person. The compassion is palpable. No gesture is too small or tossed away. No laugh is conjured up for show. He does not seek to impress. He exudes peace and love but makes no demonstration of either. His language is simple and direct. He is simultaneously of this Earth- vulnerable to cold and wind, sun and heat (we had all four that day, as if to further illustrate the impermanent nature of all things)- and other-worldly. There is no perceivable filter between who he is and what he does. If he is cold, he pauses to drape his robes more snugly around his body. If the sun glared in his eyes, he readjusted the Patriots hat or rifled through his few material possessions to find tinted eyeglasses; he did this slowly, as if he we were not there watching. He states matters simply without oversimplifying or being sanctimonious. When asked, “What’s the one, single thing that we can all do to promote peace, he exclaimed, “I don’t know! Things are too complex; there’s no single thing.“

What a relief! What liberation! There is no easy fix, no magic bullet, no virtuous antidote. We’re all in this together, and everything that we do affects everything else. When asked how he might advise young people today, he did advocate for greater self-inquiry and reflection, instead of constantly distracting ourselves through sensory stimulators, such as TV, cell phones, music, etc. Take a peek; he even pantomimes iPod ear buds.

He was also quite frank about what makes him different, particularly in the afternoon session, with its focus on The Path to Peace and Happiness. “My calm mind makes me different,“ he remarked plainly. He copped to not having any healing powers, else he would have avoided the gal bladder surgery that he underwent last year. At this, he laughs. He’s thoroughly entertained by this fact. In this regard, he is no different from us, a human being just like all the other 6 billion human beings with which he shares the planet, equally as incapable of cheating sickness or suffering as the rest.

In fact, this is just how he summed up the afternoon’s memorable public talk, “Everyone has [the] desire to have [a] happy life. [We are the] same . . . 100%. Same.“

All photos by author Rebecca Pacheco.
Originally published in omgal.com.

Nash Yacoub, Founder Succarra

“The biggest lesson I learned is not to lose sleep over situations - in the end, they always get resolved. I don’t know if that comes with age or experience but it’s a big lesson I’ve learned.“

What inspired you to start Succarra?

Succarra started as a celebrity placement service and then grew from there into PR and Account Representation. I really enjoy working with other entrepreneurs and having a hand in growing their businesses. It’s rewarding and inspiring.

How is Succarra different than your previous business in terms of the impact on your life and the way you balance it with other responsibilities?

Succarra is different simply because I now have a 2 ½ year old son. I approach this business with the mindset that I’ve been hired to get results and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. I try and balance my life to the best of my ability while also accommodating my clients, having said that dinner suffers a lot!

What qualities do you think a person has to have to be a successful entrepreneur?

You have to be able to do anything and everything that you ask of anyone else, no matter the task, no ego at all. I also believe, specifically in the industry I work in, that you can’t take anything personally. Beyond that, you have to be able to work hard and go above and beyond what is required in order to grow your business.

What has being a mother taught you that has helped your business?

Patience. This has been helpful because I’m in a hurry up and wait business.

Do you feel you are teaching your child an important lesson by being an independent business owner?

The most important thing for me to teach my child is that he can be anything he wants to be as long as he’s willing to work hard for it.

Do you have any role models or did you ever have a mentor who helped you?

I don’t have a specific role model, I relate to other entrepreneurs and what they’ve gone through to build successful business’. I do however respect Cathy Black, CEO of Hearst Magazines, for her incredibly accomplished career.

What have you learned about yourself by doing this?

I can’t do it all.

Are you able to make time for yourself?

I wish I could say yes, but the short answer is no with a toddler running around!! I wish I had half of his energy.

Have you made any mistake from which you’ve learned an important lesson?

I tend to say what’s on my mind, no real filter. But, I can only be me.

Lorna Lowe Streeter, Founder, Filmmaker, Lowe Road Productions

“There must have been enough gypsylike energy oozing from my resume, I literally had interviewers asking me if I really thought I wanted to work there, meaning in a corporate environment.“

What inspired you to become a documentary filmmaker?

I was in my second year at USC law school when I started writing a screenplay loosely based on my life and family. It was a few years after I found my biological parents and I was burning to get this story out… As I got closer to finishing the script, I started thinking about who would play my mother, who would play me, etc. and I started to feel somewhat disconnected from it. I thought about the people as they are in person and thought there was no way I could do better than them “playing” themselves. Of course, at this point, I was only the voice over in the film - I had no desire to be a character in my own film, but that’s another story.

Since law school I guess you can say I’ve had a dual career as a filmmaker-lawyer. Having worked in the TV and movie businesses since college, I knew that the more people involved in a film often equaled the less control the original artist tended to have in the end. This story [Shelter] was so important to me I knew I had to tell it alone. Of course this meant I didn’t have a studio backing me and lots of dough but it did mean that the story was all mine.

What has being a mother taught you that has helped your business and or your craft?

How much one can really get done - in one day or five minutes. Motherhood is perfect training for producing. As a mom that is really what one becomes expert at - and I’m about to demystify a large part of the filmmaking process here - organizing and lining up others to get things done on one big To Do list. My Toddler To Do list has stuff on it like, “lunch stuff Trader Joes,“ “Bird by Bird for shoe sale” and “library books,“ and my Filmmaker/Producer To Do list has stuff like “rent cameras,“ “new shoes for walking scene,“ and “charge batteries.“ They are virtually interchangeable.

Do you feel you are teaching your daughter an important lesson by being an independent business owner and artist?

I hope I’m showing my daughter what it looks like to do things you love to do and for those things to sustain the lifestyle you want. Not long after I graduated from college, I was listening to an interview with Sidney Poitier. He was asked about the roles he had chosen and why he didn’t accept certain roles during his career as an actor which may not have been the most flattering but would have meant more movies to add to his resume. Poitier said, “I always had the ability to say no. That’s how I called my own shots.“  Hearing him say that gave me serious chills - I knew I wanted that kind of freedom. I want my daughter to have it as well.

What have you learned about yourself by doing this?

Two words come to mind: resourcefulness and love. Somehow I’ve managed to make two films with almost no money; this is not really a mystery however - the people that have rallied to make my dreams come true - Saki Fenderson, Peter Barstis, Andy McCarthy, Lee Holloway, Steve Bores, Gerry Peary, Lisa Simmons, Lyda Kuth, Brymore Williams, Lucia Small, Khari Streeter and I am barely scratching the surface here - are love in human form. I’m undone by them. So I guess you can say I’ve learned to trust that if you have an idea and are willing to get behind it, the universe [via its humans] will do the rest.

What qualities do you think a person has to have to be a successful entrepreneur?

I’ll take the liberty here to define success as happiness. That, to me, would equal knowing yourself well enough to know what you love to do with your time. As an entrepreneur or independent anything, it’s what you will be doing constantly. So just seeing someone else doing something and making money at it probably is not enough - that person is likely making money at it because they have at least some proficiency if not passion for what they are doing. But money is only a slice of happiness, albeit a big one as money also equals options.  As “success” is personal and therefore subjective, I’d say to write down what equalls success for you. Answer questions for yourself about where you want to live? Do you want to work alone or with a partner? Do you want to manage employees? Do you want to travel? What daytime hours would you like to work? Do you want to be able to pick up your kids from school?

Have you thought about going back to a “real job”?

It doesn’t get real-er than this.

Lisa Pierpont, Founder/Editor-in-Chief, Boldfacers.com

“I went to an all-girls prep school, the Dana Hall School. We were instilled with the idea that as a woman you can do anything as well as a man. I didn’t think much about it then—actually, I sort of resented the fact that I was missing out on a traditional high school experience (no football games or proms)— but the single-sex experience taught me how to take on challenges, and not to question how being a female would somehow tether my potential for success. I want my girls to look at the world, passionately and confidently, as their oyster.”

What inspired you to start Boldfacers?

Well, a couple of things…personally, my daughters were reaching an age where I needed to be more available to them, which called for more of a flexible work schedule; professionally, I was observing a seismic shift in the media industry from traditional outlets to the internet, which I saw as an enormous opportunity. Anyone can hang a shingle on the web—it is an entrepreneurial playground.

What were some of the challenges you faced in the beginning?

It took a ton of courage to walk away from my dream job. Producing for Chronicle was a magnificent experience - I learned something from every story… I loved my colleagues, and everyone knew the show so we had instant street cred when setting up a shoot. And then overnight, I was alone. No insurance or 401K plans, no veteran co-workers to bounce off ideas with…not to mention that no one had heard of Boldfacers, so I was regularly performing a dog and pony show to convince our first profiles to appear.

Were people for the most part supportive or skeptical?

People have always been wildly supportive. However, if I am cornered at a cocktail party by a businessperson, I am always interrogated about the business model and how you can make money in this industry, which is the million dollar question by anyone bushwhacking a path in the new media world right now.

What qualities do you think a person has to have to be a successful entrepreneur?

Oh God, you have to be resilient and tough and open and gentle. How’s that for a contradictory set of qualities? Point is, you have to roll with the punches. You may start out with a specific mission—with us, it’s an editorial vision—but be cool with changing in order to survive as a business. 

Has being a mother effected your success and satisfaction with Boldfacers?

Heck, yeah. That entrepreneurial wish list I mentioned—resilient, tough, open and gentle? Every mother has taken a crash course in learning how and when to apply those qualities with a child everyday. It’s a case by case situation every day, with your child, with your business.

What gave you the courage to start this business?

A friend of mind asked me to explore why I would stay at my job: was it security? Was it safety Was it the money? She told me that it took a different kind of courage to leave something comfortable. I did some soul-searching and decided it was time to try something new…and sometimes uncomfortable!

What have you learned about yourself by doing this?

I’ve learned that I am stronger than I thought but also more fragile.

Have you had some happy surprises?

Well, we seem to have been well-received and that is hugely gratifying. More importantly, we have been honored with meeting some of the coolest people to strut the planet—our Boldfacers!

Have you ever thought about going back to a “real job” - or giving up? What made you stick it out?

Sure, I mean, it’s a risk when you start out any business, but when the economy is tanking worldwide it becomes a question of whether it’s prudent to keep the doors open. But surviving a recession depends largely on mindset; entrepreneurs understand that often out of the worst of times emerges the best opportunity.

Are you able to make time for yourself?

I am a big proponent of quality over quantity time. So, my quest for peace-of-mind manifests itself in a yoga or spinning class. If you see me wearing workout clothes, don’t mess with me! I will steamroll you if I am late to the gym.

Have you made any mistakes that have turned into important lessons?

I think I learned my most valuable lessons back in the trenches at Chronicle: treat people with respect, maintain integrity, work hard and always stay humble. After all, you are only as good as your last story.

Sophie Zunz, The Moxie Agency, Boston MA

“I am a better mother to Henry because I also have my career. Every day I see his confidence and independence grow, I think that has a lot to do with the knowledge that “mommy” and “daddy” are happy.”

What inspired you to open Moxie?

I don’t really remember a time in which I didn’t want to have my own business. I was the kid that always sold lemonade or made jewelry to sell to friends. I often had a project or venture I was trying to create. It was once I began a career in marketing and loved it, that I dreamed of my own company doing marketing. After living in Boston for a few years, and having a solid network of friends and business acquaintances, I finally felt like the timing and place was right. 

What were some of the challenges you faced in the beginning?

The Moxie Agency is made up of myself, Jo Swani and Regan Dillon. For the first six months we were all working from home. We spent a lot of time talking on the phone and emailing documents back and forth to each other, which definitely slowed us down and made it difficult to feel really like we were one agency. The positive outcome of this was that we learned how strong our partnership was and importance of constant communication that we had between us.

Were people for the most part supportive or skeptical?

Fortunately everyone in my life was amazingly supportive. I feel very lucky to have a husband who never questioned my decision and who is whole heartily proud of what we have created.

How has being a mother effected your success and satisfaction with Moxie?

Henry was 18 months when we launched, and about six months when we started discussing starting the Agency. Being a mother makes you look at life through the eyes of a child, especially when you have a toddler, where everything is exciting and new. I sometimes found myself laughing in the car by myself at the thought of something that had happened at work. I also found that although I was working harder than I have ever had in my life, I felt a deep satisfaction and pride in what we were creating.

What qualities do you think a person has to have to be a successful entrepreneur?

A passion for what you do and the ability to communicate it.

Do you have any role models or a mentor?

I have been fortunate to have had mentors in every phase of my life and I think this has played the biggest role in wanting to be an entrepreneur. Growing up I watched my parents become American citizens, as a teen I saw my uncle become a successful business man, and in college I had a summer internship which turned into a career and in which my boss was my mentor. When I moved to Boston, I worked with Dick Friedman, who really taught me how to go after what I wanted. The culmination of all this, I believe is really what drove me to want to start my own business.

What have you learned about yourself by doing this?

I think sometimes I amaze myself how much I can juggle. I recently was on a conference call at home, while trying to do laundry (of course), and I fell partially down the stairs and twisted my ankle. I am still amazed that I didn’t scream on the phone and that I managed to stay on the entire call without them knowing anything had happened.

Have you made any mistakes that have turned into important lessons?

Yes…I think I am quoted saying at some point “I’m sick of learning!”.  But it is what is, and you do move on…and ultimately it makes you a better business person.

Are you able to make time for yourself?

I am working on that!  I’d love to go to the gym more often or keep in better touch with old friends, but I do feel like I am lucky have a business I love and to have a happy home. 

Read more about entrepreneurial moms Jen Epstein of the Beehive, Taylor Wells of Prana Power Yoga, Elizabeth Sheehan of Containers to Clinics, and the women of A Step Up.

Ovations for the Cure is one of the few organizations in the country dedicated exclusively to ovarian cancer. Ovations fights to proliferate information about ovarian cancer risk factors and warning signs, and aggressively supports research and treatment initiatives. In its three-year existence as an organization, Ovations has donated over $1.25 million to ovarian cancer research across the country.

More than 22,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with ovarian cancer each year and 15,000 ultimately succumb to the disease. Shockingly, this 15% survival rate has not changed in over 30 years.

Ovations for the Cure is one of the few organizations in the country dedicated exclusively to ovarian cancer and it is based right here in Natick, MA. Ovations actively proliferates information about ovarian cancer risk factors and warning signs and aggressively supports research and treatment initiatives. In its three-year existence as an organization, Ovations has donated over $1.25 million to ovarian cancer research across the country.

Couture for Cancer which takes place this Saturday, May 2 at the always fashionable Liberty Hotel is the second annual Carmen Marc Valvo fashion show and luncheon to support Ovations for a Cure. The event will feature a 20th Anniversary retrospective fashion show celebrating Carmen Marc Valvo’s signature line (he worked with Nina Ricci and Christian Dior early in his career).

Couture for Cancer was spearheaded last year by Carol Arrick-Wells, an Ovations member who led her own courageous, personal battle against ovarian cancer. This year’s event is a tribute to Carol and the creative passion she brought to the organization. Ovations is thrilled to welcome Carmen Marc Valvo who will be making a special guest appearance along with many local celebrities. As a colon cancer survivor, Valvo is especially dedicated to the cause, as well as other cancer organizations. He also works with Katie Couric, since she partnered with 7th on Sixth in 2004.

Not familiar with Carmen Marc Valvo’s creations? The Stars Who Love Carmen gallery on his website says it all. Beyoncé, Kate Winslet, Oprah, Iman, Katherine Zeta Jones, Sheryl Crow and Jessica Lange are just a handful of the girls who could have anything – who choose Carmen Marc Valvo. The retrospective show promises to be a glamorous spectacle of flattering, colorful designs.

Don’t worry, you won’t have to starve like the models! The event will have a raw bar, dessert table, and cocktails. There is also an auction packed with better than the usual faire: a Tory Burch package with a deep blue patent purse, clutch and necklace, a Marc Jacobs black laminated leather handbag, a Carolina Herrera chinchilla wrap, a St. Lucia and St. Georges, Bermuda getaways, and a five-star overnight stay in Boston.

Honarary Committee Members include Joyce Kulhawik, who hosted a “Fashionably Late” St. John fashion show two weeks ago at the Liberty Hotel to benefit Ovations; Diane Patrick, Senator Sonia Change-Diaz, Gretchen “Gretta: Monahan and Alex Hall of Fashion Boston.

Get your tickets now online on the Ovations website. Tickets will sell out, so click now!

Ovations organizes events to raise money and awareness in the fight against ovarian cancer. Ovations for a Cure works with Dana Farber and Children’s Hospital in addition to the City of Hope Cancer Center in Los Angeles. Ovations also supports the twoAM fund, which conducts research to bridge the knowledge gap between breast and ovarian cancer.

They have an extensive public education initiative including the creation and distribution of Why Knowledge is Power a brochure about ovarian cancer which they distribute to physicians offices all over the country. Learn more on their website.

Ovations for the Cure
Ovationsforthecure.org
251 West Central Street, Suite 32, Natick MA 01760
1-866-920-6382

On this day, be mindful of the places you frequently pass by without really ever seeing. Take time to pause and explore, maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what wonders you find. Right now, exactly where you are, anything is possible. With your next step there are no limitations, only remarkable potential; seek it with an open mind.

In this very moment permit yourself to float softly and gently down a beautiful path.

On this day, be mindful of the places you frequently pass by without really ever seeing. Take time to pause and explore, maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what wonders you find. Right now, exactly where you are, anything is possible. With your next step there are no limitations, only remarkable potential; seek it with an open mind.

Choose to smile at the people in your life whom you have noticed often but have hardly met. Allow for the chance, with no judgment, to know them. With your next step open your eyes and discover some intriguing new friends.

Pay attention to things that interest you that you’ve seldom explored. Make time; endeavor to realize your passions, and you will attain a new strength and clear meaning.  With a peaceful spirit, unlock the infinite energy that is emerging anew on this very day. With your next step celebrate your light with an open heart.

A life of true wealth has little to do with bank accounts. Living richly has a whole lot to do with how deeply and sincerely you appreciate and share the precious radiance that shines from within you.

Take a deep breath and let go. Choose to give, and receive, to nourish, and to feed, to grow, and to open in to the universe like a beautiful flower. Your presence in the world makes everything brighter.

Mayor Menino and a handpicked team at City Hall think a lot about these questions, and they believe the answer is Yes. In February, the Mayor announced the launch of Boston World Partnerships, a comprehensive, multi-tier effort to promote Boston’s unique offerings to the rest of the world and create a social networking platform for Boston influencers.

Is it possible to articulate a city’s true value? Can a marketing campaign contain all the diversity, the potential, the pride and the achievements? And will loyalty to one’s home, university or company inspire people to be evangelists for their town at home and abroad?

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and a team of city development veterans (Mark Maloney, real estate entrepreneur and former Director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, serves pro bono as President of the Board of Directors) think a lot about these questions, and they believe the answer is Yes. In February, the Mayor announced the launch of Boston World Partnerships, a comprehensive, multi-tier effort to promote Boston’s unique offerings to the rest of the world while simultaneously creating a social networking platform for people thinking of or already doing business in Boston.

Misstropolis spoke with Dave McLaughlin, Executive Director of Boston World Partnerships to learn more.

According to McLaughlin, the Mayor was looking for a low cost, leading edge megaphone to promote Boston’s unique assets to the rest of the world. Part of a continuous effort to draw growing businesses to Boston, BWP is a marketing initiative for a web 2.0 audience.

“We couldn’t just do another print advertising campaign,” explained McLaughlin. “We needed to create something which itself is as innovative as Boston’s people.” To meet the mayor’s vision, the medium had to fundamentally reflect the message. So BWP has created a next generation solution to not only deliver the message, but to facilitate communication and build community.

In a press release from February 24, 2009 when he unveiled the proposal, the mayor said “We’re changing the way that we as a City promote ourselves to the world, and we’re strengthening our focus on results, all without the added expense of the City paying for advertising and travel… This strategy is tailor-made to promote what I’ve always said is Boston’s greatest economic asset: the human capital that businesses find here. The people who have experience living and working and doing business in Boston, they are the ones who get to tell this city’s story to the world.”

The goals of Boston World Partnerships are to inform the world of what Boston offers and to create opportunities for Boston businesses from within the network. The first step was to create a robust website where people can lean about Boston business, opportunities and resources, and connect with experts in their fields. Through the site, users can connect through BWP pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr. A City Life “wiki” is a “Guide to Boston created by Bostonians,“ powered by the wiki co Povo.

Other features include BWP Concierge Service which allows users to contact the Partnership directly if they have difficulty finding the resources they need for their businesses; and Ask Boston, a weekly email service curated by BWP that allows people and businesses to “query an entire community of extraordinary people, rather than just your own set of contacts” about possible solutions to business needs.

Central to BWP’s mission is the recruitment of what they call Connectors, dynamic people from various sectors, willing to be advocates for the city. McLaughlin stresses that the BWP seeks out a “cross-section of people in different industries.“ Currently there are 125 Connectors grouped in categories: Ideas & Innovation, Finance & Investment, Healthy & Green, Creative Capital, Global Reach and Growing Here.

Board members, including Charles V. Bergh of Procter & Gamble; Maryann Suydam, former top executive in New England of Equity Office Properties of Chicago; Panos Panay of Sonicbids Corp.; and Robert Coughlin, President of the MA Biotech Council, compliment the Connectors in terms of the level of influence they exert promoting the initiative worldwide.

Connectors range in age, sex, race, background and experience. The common denominator says McLaughlin, is that they see the value of building and nurturing relationships. They join because of a mixture of pride, passion and self interest - they recognize the benefit of plugging into a “global network of high-caliber business people.” Also, they are “unabashedly bullish on Boston.“ Currently, the Connectors skew under age 45.

Connectors are people like Rebecca Pacheo (a contributor to Misstropolis) Senior Marketing Manager at Boston Magazine and founder of the yoga and wellness site, The World According to OmGal. Her BWP page reads, “Her objective is to provide top notch yoga and wellness content, filled with soul, style and smarts—a healthful resource that’s inspiring, engaging, well written, creative, and contemporary.”

Meg Rutherford, Marketing Development Manager at Advanced Electron Beams, an early stage clean technology company is another Connector. Her network, the site reports, includes Advanced Electron Beams, New England Clean Energy Council, Renewable Energy Business Network, Lehigh University Alumni, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Anand Chopra-McGowan is Director of Development at The Ad Club, a Connector we will be sure to connect with! Anand is also a co-founder and partner at YouIntern.com, a website he started while in college. The BWP site tags Connectors according to the sector they fall under. “Philosophically we want to cross-pollinate across sectors,” says McLaughlin.

The success of this revolutionary approach will have to be measured over time. But for now, advertising our city’s talents through an innovative, inclusive, inexpensive combination of web and human contact seems like a bright idea to us. “We are putting people at the digital doorway,“ McLaughlin believes. Now we’ll see how Boston can benefit when they walk on through.

David was a happy and engaging baby. After a year or so he began babbling, and eventually saying words. And then at around 18 months he started changing. He wasn’t responding, wasn’t making eye contact. Between the ages of 2 and 3, David slowly lost his language. By 3 years old he had said his last word. He has been non-verbal ever since.

When Margie Woolf Pascetta had her son David 21 years ago, it was estimated that 1 out of every 10,000 kids was autistic. But she didn’t know that at the time; she didn’t need to.

David was a happy and engaging baby. After a year or so he began babbling, and eventually saying words. And then at around 18 months he started changing. He wasn’t responding, wasn’t making eye contact. Between the ages of 2 and 3, David slowly lost his language. By 3 years old he had said his last word. He has been non-verbal ever since.

A the time of David’s decline into autism, Margie was isolated by the constant demands of caring for an autistic child, and neglected by a medical community which had little knowledge about the nature of her son’s condition. David was becoming harder to comfort, he was banging his head against walls and throwing violent temper tantrums. After numerous visits to hospitals in the area, the family was forced to fly across the country for help. It took a 30 day evaluation at UCLA Medical Center just to come up with a diagnosis. And that was only the beginning.

Today statistics show that 1 in every 150 children is born with autism.* It is reaching “epidemic proportions,” Margie warns. While more is now known about the disorder’s wide spectrum, and the probability of a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors being the cause of autism, there is still no cure, no bio-medical treatment, and government funding for research still falls way short of other diseases.

With David as her inspiration, Margie has made it her mission to work to change all that. She has been an integral part of creating an autism support community in New England, and has been a tireless advocate for victims who can not speak for themselves. For the last 7 years Margie has given almost all of her spare time to raising awareness and funding for autism research. As Founder of the New England Chapter of NAAR/Autism Speaks and the New England Walk for Autism Research she has raised more than $9 million dollars since 2001.

On April 1st Margie will be honored at a special concert to benefit Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest single organization devoted to Autism, and the New Philharmonia’s Music Outreach program for afflicted children.

REACH OUT FOR KIDS: A BENEFIT CONCERT will take place on Sunday, April 1, at 6 p.m. at the Sheraton Needham Hotel. Highlighting the positive effect that music can have on autistic children, the event brings together The New Philharmonia, a 75 member non-professional regional orchestra based in Newton (http://www.newphil.org/) The Winikers (http://www.winikermusic.com/) a pop, rock and jazz band, and Tony DeBlois, (http://www.tonydeblois.com/ ) the beloved blind and autistic musical savant, in his piano debut with a symphony orchestra.

April 1 marks the beginning of national Autism Awareness Month. But if you are anything like Margie, awareness is only the beginning. Take your awareness and turn it into a new opportunity to help. Kids like David need you.

Watch the powerful video, “Autism Every Day,” http://www.autismspeaks.org/sponsoredevents/autism_every_day.php

* http://www.autismspeaks.org/founders.php

As an emergency health care provider in some of the poorest places in the world, Sheehan experienced the real world implications of those statistics first hand. Now she is launching an organization to create an affordable, scalable, sustainable solution. She wants to turn shipping containers into health care clinics. Read more about what you can do to help.
Containers 2 Clinics (C2C)
P.O. Box 446
Dover, MA 02030
781.435.1080
info@containers2clinics.org

These are the statistics that keep Elizabeth Sheehan up at night:
9,600,000 children under five years old died in 2006 of preventable diseases.
40% of child deaths under five years of age occur in first month of life.
500,000 women die each year in childbirth.
25% of pregnant women do not consult a single health care professional during their pregnancy, and the numbers are higher in rural areas.

According to Partners in Health, the global non-profit made famous by Paul Farmer, “every minute of every day, another 30 people die of diseases that we know can be prevented and treated. That’s more than 1,700 needless deaths a day, more than 15 million a year.”

As an emergency health care provider in some of the poorest places in the world, Liz Sheehan experienced the real world implications of those statistics. In Cambodia she worked with the HALO Trust treating victims of land mine injuries and teaching people how to avoid and disable them, and for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) as a clinician in a rural hospital. She worked for USAID on a primary health care reconstruction project in post-war Mozambique, and with the British High Commission, she worked in the Central Hospital emergency room and assisted various women’s groups and orphanages in Tanzania.

Over the last decade she witnessed a gap both in the perception of and distribution of foreign aid. Despite increasing generosity of foreign donors, “very little money in foreign aid goes to primary care.” High profile diseases such as AIDS/HIV receive the largest donations. Primary care, treatments of preventable illnesses which are equally fatal receive little assistance. According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 2009 Annual Letter, nearly 50% of child deaths are caused by pneumonia and diarrhea, treatable causes.

Sheehan saw that a lack of access to basic medical treatments was taking lives daily, wreaking havoc on local economies and perpetuating catastrophic cycles of sickness and death. But after years planning and implementing systems of triage care in poor rural communities she knew the cycle could be slowed or even halted altogether. She realized, as she puts it, that “simple intervention could save lives.”

Sheehan had the passion and she saw the need. When the solution came to her in the form of a brilliant article in a foreign affairs industry magazine, Containers 2 Clinics was born. Sheehan says the C2C model is based on the work of Laurie Garrett and the Global Health Program at the Council of Foreign Relations and her article in the January 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs magazine
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The C2C website explains “Garrett proposed a network of customized container clinics which would address the critical global health service delivery gap. Together with architecture students and faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Garret’s proposal became a clinic prototype with specifications for replication. The aim of standardized containers is to “take the guess work” out of rural and regional health services and epidemiology. Data gathered and trends observed in patient populations could offer significant prevention value for communities and national health bodies.”

She saw photographs of a sample clinic built in a used shipping container and saw the potential for relatively inexpensive reproduceable care centers which could provide the desperately needed primary care to residents of remote, poor, rural areas. “We have the technology.“ Sheehan explains. “We just have to get it out to the people who need it.”

The mission of Containers 2 Clinics is to provide primary care to women and children in these vulnerable, under-served populations. Planned clinical services will include pregnancy, labor and delivery and post-partum care, newborn care, vaccinations, treatment of childhood illnesses and communicable diseases, reproductive health education, stabilization and referrals.

Like organizations such as Heifer International, Containers 2 Clinics wants to build expertise within the communities it serves and build sustainable programs which will continue to treat the sick long after C2C is gone. The shipping containers can exist as clinics for years after they are built. Central to the mission is training local staff and using local supply chains, educating local populations on basic and reproductive health, and establishing low cost pharmacies to provide long term availability of medicine.

With help from MIT and other partner organizations, C2C is planning initial missions to Haiti and Guatemala. But they need your help.

Shipping container and drug donations are high on C2C’s list of needs. Visit the website and learn more about what you can do to help.