Epic Change – Ideablob Finalist

by Global Patriot on May 27, 2009

I first became aware of Epic Change after meeting with Stacey Monk in March during the South by Southwest Conference in Austin, Texas. It’s an organization that has developed a unique approach to changing the world:

“We help people in need share their “epic” true stories in innovative, creative & profitable ways to help them acquire the financial resources they need to create positive “change” in their communities.”

The Epic Change 4-step model:

  1. Raise seed money: We accept donations from people like you!
  2. Invest in a change: We make loans to support grassroots community improvement projects across the globe.
  3. Share the story: To facilitate loan payback, we work with our partners to develop products for sale based on their stories.
  4. Pay it forward: We recycle repaid loans to fund new projects.

Epic Change is a finalist in the Ideablob contest and Global Patriot is proud to support their efforts to expand a locally-led primary school in Tanzania. Please read the following Epic Change blog post and help their cause by voting for Epic Change!

Tanzania Votes – The Hard Way

Just imagine how difficult it is to vote online in Arusha – to secure transport to an internet cafe, pay for web access, hope the spotty power grid is working, and use connections that are effectively at dial-up speeds to access heavy websites created primarily for Western audiences.

Many of these kids had never used the internet before; most didn’t have email accounts; English is a second language. In this case, classrooms of children have to wait patiently in line outside for their opportunity to use the computer. But hope is something they do have, and hard work is par for the course.

internet-cafe-arusha

I share this as a reminder that this isn’t an effort in which “we” are giving to “them”. Hardly. We are collaborating together to build a better world for all of us…one in which children are given the best possible opportunity to grow up & make invaluable contributions to our shared future. To be fair, the lion’s share of the work is being led in Tanzania, where Mama Lucy, the students and the teachers are, creating an educational environment that’s second to none in their area, based on national exam scores.

helen-voting-tanzania

I also share this in hopes that you’ll realize just how simple it is for us to take just a minute, click a few buttons, and make a real difference in a community that is working so hard to create a better future for itself. Despite geography, we’re all really part of the same community.

You can make a difference by voting for this idea!

To vote now, just go to http://bit.ly/ideablob. Remember, since the winnings will be used to build a tech lab at Shepherds Junior (solar power has already been installed and nearly 20 nearly-new laptops have been donated!), you’ll help create an entirely new level of access for this community and offering the world an opportunity to engage in conversation and learn from them too.

What will they do if they win $10,000 for this idea?

Our next step is the completion of our first project, the expansion of a locally-led primary school in Tanzania and, subsequently, the development of storytelling products that will be used to generate income to pay back the loans we’re providing for construction. Such products include postcards with photos by the children, greeting cards with photos of the children, a CD, a line of t-shirts that features their art, etc. All products will share stories about the school & its students.

This blog post is part of Zemanta’s “Blogging For a Cause” campaign to raise awareness and funds for worthy causes that bloggers care about.

Epic Change is demonstrating what it means to be a Global Patriot, please support their work!

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  • Mark - it is so good to see that you are still so passionate about the gears of change which are currently in place to make this a better world, for everybody. Regarding Epic Change - I think it is a grand idea, the concept seems fundamentally sound in that it identifies the exact root of the issue and suitably prescribes a solution to tackle it, in this case, identifying a need for financial resources, identifying exactly how much is needed and how the resources shall be used - thus maximising efficiency. I read something similar on crooked timber and it does seem like charities are reshuffling their efforts and reorganising their ideas, a little, as if to be more strategic in the way their funds are appropriated.

    Personally, I think that working with an efficient plan such as this, can only be a good thing, less is wasted and even if the plan doesnt go, well to plan, at least there was a plan, which we can dissect post mortem, to identify what exactly went wrong - and then seek to improve.

    <abbr>kang’s last blog post..Bentley’s : Slow Oysters. [Not a review]</abbr>
  • Excellent comments Kang, as Epic Change is an amazing organization that is making a difference in the world by implementing solutions that are sustainable.
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