Giving Back Podcast

Barbara Edie is a bestselling author who helps entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations tap into their power and leverage their personal story to promote their work. Barbara is currently preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in the name of charity. Although it may seem daunting to some, Barbara emphasizes that you don’t need to create something huge in order to give back; all you have to do is just give to a cause you believe is meaningful to you. Barbara discusses her charity work with the Kipchamgaa Children’s Home in Kenya and the Just Like My Child foundation in Uganda.

Key Takeaways:

[3:55] Barbara will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

[5:00] How did Barbara get involved with Kipchamgaa Children's Home?

[9:05] The goal is to raise £30,000 for 40 children.

[10:25] How did Kipchamgaa Children's Home get started?

[13:45[ Kipchamgaa has the capacity to house 80 children, but they only have the resources to feed and care for 40 of those children.

[18:35] What happens to the children once they finish school?

[20:00] How does Barbara’s charity work with Kipchamgaa tie into her Mount Kilimanjaro climb?

[29:55] When you climb Kilimanjaro, you’re taking both a physical and spiritual journey.

[31:55] What was Barbara's life like, charity wise, before finding out about Kipchamgaa?

[36:15] Not sure what area you should give back to? Follow what’s true and meaningful to you.

[41:35] Barbara talks about the Just Like My Child foundation.

[49:30] It’s not about trying to fix or rescue these children; it’s about giving them the empowerment they need to navigate this life.

[51:20] Barbara talks about the work she’s doing with the Haitian School Without Borders.

[59:25] You don’t have to create something global to be noble.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

BarbaraEdie.com

Kipchamgaachildrenshome.com

Justlikemychild.org

Haitianschoolwithoutborders.org

Brett Loftis is the CEO of The Crossnore School and has been an advocate for children’s rights for over 10 years. Brett joined The Crossnore School in 2013, but the school itself was founded in 1913 and has a long standing tradition of helping children’s emotional well-being. This is part three of a three-part interview underlining the main problems traditional foster care systems are unable to solve and what we can do about it.

Key Takeaways:

[5:15] Who is Brett?

[7:45] During Brett’s 10+ year career in this field, one thing  has always remained the same - all foster children have experienced trauma.

[8:30] Child abuse and neglect is the single largest public health epidemic facing children right now in the US.

[12:45] The foster care system has so many flaws. The data clearly shows the government is not a good parent.

[14:30] Most children enter into the foster care system not due to poverty, but due to several years of sexual abuse, torture, and neglect.

[17:55] The way the law currently works, parents have more rights to their children (even if they’re hurting them) than the child’s individual right to be safe.

[18:40] Only when someone like a teacher makes a phone call, is the child’s rights respected.

[20:05] Children with huge traumas have a very difficult time succeeding in life. Only 3% of foster children enroll in college and, of those, only 1% end up graduating.

[21:05] It’s our responsibility to make a difference to these children. These children are our children, and our community’s children.

[22:05] How does The Crossnore School help foster children?

[31:15] Foster children are not bad children. They have problems and they need help recovering from them.

[37:40] The good news is, there are more and more schools that are informed about how to handle trauma.

[42:15] Foster care separates families, a fundamental part of human development. More specifically, foster care separates a child from his siblings and this makes it harder for all parties involved to cope.  [45:55] It’s awful. Some of these foster children can’t even have sleep overs!

[48:45] The average child in foster care has moved 7 times. That’s 7 families, 7 different expectations, and 7 schools. These children have to restart their lives over and over.

[52:55] Addicted parents trade their children for drugs and these children unwillingly end up in the sex trade.

[55:10] Most, if not all, women who have been exploited into prostitution have been in the foster care system or experienced sexual abuse from a care taker.

[58:10] The Crossnore School has been around for over a hundred years.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

Crossnoreschool.org

Cfcrights.org/

Dr. John DeGarmo is a dynamic speaker and informative trainer on the foster care system. He travels extensively to help educate foster parents, child welfare workers, churches, schools, and more. Dr. John and his wife have opened their home to over 50 children in the foster care system and are always finding new ways to help. Now,  Dr. John is seeking funding for his Never Too Late Foster Care Group Home for boys 9 years old and up. This episode is part two of a three-part interview underlining the main problems traditional foster care systems are unable to solve and what we can do about it.

Key Takeaways:

[4:05] A couple of days ago Dr. John was on Good Morning America.

[5:20] Why did Dr. John want to become a foster parent?

[7:05] On any given day, Dr. John has between 7-10 kids at their home.

[8:30] The trauma doesn’t go away just because a child has been put into the foster care system

[10:20] Dr. John and his wife aren’t wealthy people. They live month-to-month to care for these children.

[10:55] Being a foster parent requires teamwork and support from your spouse.

[11:40] There are so few foster parents out there compared to the 450,000 kids in the foster care system.

[12:20] When a foster child enters a new home, they need unconditional love.

[14:10] Despite having read everything Dr. John could about caring for a foster child, it was very different when his first child showed up at his door. In fact, he wasn’t prepared for it. 

[17:45] Dr. John has had children come into his home who are on 12-14 prescription drugs.

[18:10] Why are some of these children on so many prescription drugs?

[20:45] What do Dr. John and his wife do to break the cycle and help these children through their traumas?

[27:10] Dr. John has seen so many children recover in his household that it makes what he and his wife do worth it.

[27:40] What do Dr. John’s friends and family think of all of this?

[32:35] What are  the top two problems foster children face?

[35:20] Most children in foster care have never had a birthday party.

[39:15] How is Dr. John’s GoFundMe campaign going?

[45:10] How can the Giving Back community help?

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

Dr. John DeGarmo Foster Care

Never Too Late Residential Home on GoFundMe

Never Too Late Residential Home on GiveSendGo

Shenandoah Chefalo is the author of Garbage Bag Suitcase, a memoir of Shenandoah’s very difficult childhood growing up in foster care. Shenandoah wrote the book to bring attention to a, frankly, very poorly supported cause. Did you know out of 1.6 million incarcerated people , roughly 80% of them grew up in foster care? This is part one of a three-part interview underlining the main problems traditional foster care systems are unable to solve and what we can do about it.

Key Takeaways:

[3:55] Rob had to put Shenandoah’s memoir down because it was eye-opening and painful.

[4:50] Shenandoah didn’t want to write about her hardships; she wanted to write about something that started a conversation as to why you should care about foster children.

[7:15] Child welfare in the United States is a unique problem because each state has its own rules.

[12:20] Good foster homes provide food, clothing, and shelter, but they often lack love and support.

[17:30] Less than 3% of foster children will go to college and even fewer than that will receive a college degree.

[19:10] Lack of education rolls over into other statistics, like incarceration rates.

[19:20] 1.6 million people are incarcerated in the United States, but did you know 1.2 million of them are former foster children?

[19:40] No matter how caring you are, no one wants to pay for prisoners. So, we should tackle the core problem head on.

[21:00] Shenandoah has been homeless a number of times throughout her life.

[29:00] No one comes into foster care because of a pleasant situation.

[29:10] What can we do to help?

[30:20] Most of us care about causes like addiction, homelessness, and teen pregnancy. However, the foster care system is producing most of the people you see in these other causes.

[38:25] Most foster parents do not undergo important training that helps a foster child cope with the traumatic events that have happened to them.

[45:00] On top of it all, there are big myths about foster kids, like they’re unhealthy, have some disability, or they are ‘bad children’ and that’s the reason why they were given up/unwanted in the first place.

[49:20] Want to help? Educate yourself about the foster care system first.

[56:35] There are enough people out there who want to knock you down and tell you you’re not good enough. However, that doesn’t mean you need to be that way too.

[1:00:20] Despite all odds, Shenandoah stuck with her dreams and achieved them.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

Garbage Bag Suitcase

Casaforchildren.org

Crossnoreschool.org

Boystown.org

Fc2success.org

Katie Bisbee has been a part of DonorsChoose.org for the last 10 years. In her role as Chief Marketing Officer, she and her team engage over 2 million donors and teachers to rally up support for public school classrooms. The teachers care so much and they often go out of pocket to make sure their students have the right tools they need to excel and grow. With the help of DonorsChoose.org, teachers can focus on giving their students the best materials without worrying about their personal finances. Find out more about this education charity on this week’s episode. 

Key Takeaways:

[2:40] DonorsChoose.org is Stephen Colbert's favorite charity.

[5:10] How did Katie get involved with DonorsChoose.org?

[9:15] Before going to business school, Katie worked for a direct service non-profit and often felt guilty leaving for the night, even after working an 18 hour day. 

[11:10] Katie joined DonorsChoose.org 10 years ago. Last year, the organization was able to deliver $104 million to classrooms all over the United States.

[16:50] How did DonorsChoose.org get started?

[18:00] DonorsChoose.org is very transparent, which is why so many celebrities have gotten behind the charity and donated.

[21:15] Let’s shift gears and talk about the values that drive businesses, people and corporations, supporting DonorsChoose.org.

[23:45] A majority of us have had one or more teachers that have touched our lives in a profound way.

[30:00] Charles Best, the founder of DonorsChoose.org, has always valued feedback. He is committed to making his cause the best it can be.

[37:05] About 3/4 of classroom projects that get posted on the website end up getting fully funded.

[41:40] What kind of celebrity testimonials has Katie and the organization received?

[45:55] What’s next for the organization?

[49:35] It’s such a shame that the United States has 40 million people, 16 million of those are children, who are food insecure on a daily basis.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

Donorschoose.org

This interview is a continuation of a two-part series. Please be sure to listen to the previous episode to get more of a back story of who Krista is, and why she started Fabulous Women. On this episode, Krista talks on how meeting Oprah came full-circle, how her charity work has inspired her son to do good, and why you should never compromise on compassion.

Key Takeaways:

[2:40] Why did Krista write her book? 

[9:20] As Oprah planted the seed for Krista to do good work, Krista hopes her book will plant the same seed for you.

[11:40] People have to believe in themselves first before they can fully give back to their community.

[16:25] What does sacrifice really mean to you?

[20:45] Krista talks about the charity work her son is doing.

[31:25] Be sure to check out The Fabulous Women on Facebook!

[32:10] Krista speaks on an event they did using tandem bikes.

[37:20] When Krista found out Oprah was leaving her show, Krista entered a contest explaining why she was Oprah’s most loyal fan...and she won tickets to go see her live!

[51:15] There are some things you don’t compromise on, and compassion is one of those things.

[54:10] Rob highly recommends that you read Krista’s book!

[56:00] The Fabulous Women charity is inspiring people all over to create their own charity.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

The Fabulous Women

The Fabulous Women on Facebook

Soulpurposecouragetofly.com

Krista Gawronski attended a women’s conference in San Francisco where Oprah Winfrey was the keynote speaker. Oprah spoke with such impact and purpose that it planted a seed in Krista’s mind on how she could use her gifts to give back to the community. One day, Krista’s friend lost her husband suddenly, so Krista banded the community together to help support this fellow mom. Little did she know, but that community gathering  was the spark she needed to launch The Petaluma Fabulous Women charity and use her gifts to impact the world for the better. Be sure to listen to the next episode as Rob and Krista continue their conversation in a two-part interview.

Key Takeaways:

[4:35] How did The Petaluma Fabulous Women get started? 

[8:10] Krista shares a story of how Oprah transformed her life.

[13:30] After a tragic incident that happened to Krista’s friend, Krista banded the community together and raised nearly $1,000, accidently, for her. 

[14:00] After seeing the impact that they created, Krista and her sister kept it going and began supporting other causes.

[16:00] Charity is a universal feeling. People want to give back.

[20:00] Taking time out of your busy day and showing up to a charity event is a gift in itself.

[27:25] Krista shares a story about a little girl  who loves to ride horses.

[38:15] Krista developed a writing habit through journaling details about the specific charity events she hosted. Although she had no plans to publish a book, it sort of ended up happening that way!

[45:00] Krista has been able to do all these amazing things with her charity because of the people who work side-by-side her. 

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

The Petaluma Fabulous Women

Soulpurposecouragetofly.com

Corinne Hindes and Katrine Kirsebom were 11-years old when they founded Warm Winters. Both ski racers, Corinne and Katrine noticed an overwhelming amount of unclaimed lost and found winter clothing items, at the ski resort they were training at. They asked if they could take these unclaimed items, and donated them to their local homeless shelter, and that’s how warm Winters was born! Since 2011, they’ve donated over 5,000 items of warm clothing to over 2,500 homeless people.

Key Takeaways:

[3:05] Corinne and Katrine started helping the homeless people in their community when they were 11-years old.

[4:10] Why did Corinne and Katrine start Warm Winters?

[7:00] Both Corinne and Katrine grew up as ski racers.

[8:10] What was the reaction from the staff at the Trinity Center shelter when the ladies first brought in winter clothes for the homeless?

[10:50] Going up to a homeless person, and treating them like a real person, can make their entire week a little bit brighter. It’s unfortunate that people are trained to ignore them.

[11:05] How do Corinne and Katrine’s parents react to them going into inner city homeless shelters?

[16:00] People were not taking the ladies seriously at first, which is why Corinne and Katrine called them every single day until they said yes.

[20:40] How do ski resorts normally handle their lost and found items, when they’re not associated with the Warm Winters organization?

[25:10] How did Corinne and Katrine grow their organization so quickly?

[27:45] What kind of feedback have Corinne and Katrine received from their volunteers?

[29:55] What was it like, receiving the Jefferson Award for Public Service? [37:45] What do Corinne and Katrine’s parents think about all the charity work that the ladies have been doing?

[39:40] Corinne and Katrine are currently seniors in high school. What are their plans after they graduate?

[43:05] How can listeners help Warm Winters?

[48:20] Remember, homeless people need compassion and understanding, just like everyone else.

[51:20] What are the top three words the ladies associate with their cause?

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

Warm-winters.org

Trinitycenterwc.org

Jeffersonawards.org

Felicia Benzo was minding her own business when one day she got a knock on her door. It was two women looking for Felicia, and they needed her help. Felicia wanted nothing more than to close the door, but she saw how desperate these women were. It turns out, they needed her help to develop a mentorship program for their youth living below the poverty line in Volusia County. This is how Felicia founded Catalyst Global Youth Initiative. She believes it’s a shame that children — the most optimistic kind of human beings — grow up without any hope, but she hopes her program can change that.

Key Takeaways:

[3:15] How did Felicia get involved with Catalyst?

[6:40] Why Felicia never intended to be the one to run the charity organization.

[8:30] Of the 72 schools in Volusia County,  85% are designated title 1. What does it mean to be a designated title 1 school?

[11:25] When you think about it, poverty takes hope away from a person.

[13:35] To ensure a child’s greatness, Felicia and her team do vision boards with the children every single year.

[15:10] Catalyst was founded almost 7 years ago.

[17:00] About 60% of Catalyst mentors have been with their children for over two years. The program plans to give mentorship to each child until they’ve reached high school.

[23:15] How did Felicia leverage her grassroots efforts to get Catalyst off the ground?

[26:00] Who’s perpetrating the violence? Who’s perpetrating child slavery? It isn’t the children.

[27:25] Felicia discusses the 4 principles that drive Catalyst.

[32:40] How does Felicia measure Catalyst and their program’s successes?

[37:30] What kind of feedback has Felicia received from the Catalyst mentors?

[39:20] It is Catalyst’s focus to mentor 10% of the children in the country, which is around 6,400 children.

[41:25] It is unacceptable for children to be sitting around doing nothing at home. Children need to learn basic principles and responsibility.

[44:45] All children deserve to have a chance.

[47:20] How can the Giving Back community help with Catalyst’s mission?

[54:45] Our young children today need consistent presence.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

Catalyst Global Youth Initiatives

Mentor National

Call Felicia: (386) 216-4289

Patrick J. McGinnis is a venture capitalist, private equity investor, Founder of Dirigo Advisors, author of The 10% Entrepreneur, and Chairman of the finance committee at the New York Youth Symphony. On this week’s episode, Patrick talks about his love and passion for music, how the committee keeps the organization sustainable, and so much more!

Key Takeaways:

[3:30] Who is Patrick?

[7:15] The New York Youth Symphony brings youth together who have an incredible gift.

[10:00] Everybody, no matter what their cultural background, shares a common language when they get into music.

[11:00] The organization sends students out to perform for special needs audiences, hospitals, nursing homes, and more!

[13:15] The New York Youth Symphony hosted their first international tour in Argentina.

[14:25] What speaks to people about the New York Youth Symphony? Why does it draw such huge crowds?

[18:00] Patrick knows how to play a little bit of everything. He started learning how to play piano classically.

[22:00] Patrick has noticed that people who are good at music are also very good at academics.

[28:15] When Rob went to public school, he remembers there were music programs available. It seems that these days music programs are becoming less and less available in schools. Is this true?

[32:35] Non-profit organizations are different compared to private sectors, but coming at it with a private-sector mindset is very beneficial to achieving your goals.

[33:20] How does the New York Youth Symphony offer tuition-free and sustainable educational programs?

[42:45] Fun fact, Patrick lives about 20 minutes away from John Lee Dumas.

[43:15] Patrick wanted to add an additional chapter to his book on how to build your 10% in the nonprofit and charitable sectors, but unfortunately that idea got thrown to the side.

[44:00] When Patrick was deciding on what committee he wanted to be involved in within the New York Youth Symphony, he asked himself what were his strengths and where would he make the most impact.

[46:35] The most precious thing that we have is our time.

[47:45] Once you get started as an entrepreneur, you just can't stop!

[49:00] How can you help out? Come check out the New York Youth Symphony and, if you like it, support them!

Mentioned in This Episode:

Giving Back Podcast

Dirigoadvisors.com

Patrickmcginnis.com

10% Entrepreneur by Patrick J. McGinnis

Nyys.org