Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) marked National Corporate Philanthropy Day 2007 by sponsoring a contest that awarded five member firm people US$500 each to help continue good works being carried out in their local communities.
The contest asked employees to consider how community involvement initiatives can help shape the world. Here is how the winners responded:
In Canada
Explain what you are doing to shape the world:
"I have been providing monthly financial support to 40 kids around the world for the last 10 years (via World Vision). I am also involved in mentoring new immigrant professionals to Canada (via The Mentoring Partnership) and teaching high-school students about finances (via Junior Achievement). I am now taking additional steps to move poor families from containment mode to empowerment by working with other Canadians of African descent to establish an Africa-focused credit union in Canada to provide micro finance for under-banked African communities so that they can engage in wealth-building activities and subsequently better support themselves and their extended families abroad. We're currently talking with the regulators regarding the licensing and approval of the "First African Canadian (FAC) Credit Union." I believe that, where the poor are concerned, the world needs to move from an "aid mentality" to a "paid mentality" in which poor families engage in self-reliant activities where they get paid for services rendered within their communities and generate employment rather than sit and wait for yet another aid package."
Explain what you would do with US$500 to continue your efforts in shaping the world:
"I will use the US$500 to buy sewing machines or livestock for a community in the developing world where that amount can create a self-sustaining business either to make clothes or produce eggs. The product(s) and service(s) can then be sold within the community and the fabrics or eggs "exported" to the next village as the business expands. This can then subsequently create employment for more villagers as demand grows so that this particular community will no longer require outside "aid" in the near future—building self-reliant communities one village at a time."
Explain what you are doing to shape the world:
"As a GTA Tax Analyst I assist clients with Workplace and Safety Insurance Board claims. But outside the office I am a multiaward-winning singer, on a crusade to improve lives of orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS and Malaria in Africa. On behalf of the Ghana Ministry of Health, I recently facilitated a Can$1.5 million donation of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs to help HIV/AIDS-positive Ghanaians. The shipment of ARVs is expected to have a huge impact in addressing the National Response on HIV/AIDS in Ghana. Prior to the donation, of the 71,000 people living with AIDS, only 5,000 were getting access to ARVs, which are not available in pharmacies. In 2003, I founded the Kay Morris Foundation (KMF) a non-profit non-governmental organization that partners with other groups to broker donations to improve the lives of Ghanaians. Each year I go on a mission to Ghana bringing medicine, medical supplies, educational materials and basic supplies. I feel like I am making a difference, I feel like I am a world changer bringing hope to helpless humanity. In September 2006, I received the Ghanaian Canadian Achievement Award for my humanitarian work in Ghana. During my mission in Ghana September 2006, I was honored by the king and people who enstooled me as benevolent Nana Sika in Berekuso, Ghana."
Explain what you would do with US$500 to continue your efforts in shaping the world:
"If I happen to be the successful winner of this contest, I would use the funds to purchase medicines and insecticide treated nets (ITNs) in support of my 2007 HIV/AIDS and malaria mission to Ghana and Nigeria."
In Germany
Explain what you are doing to shape the world:
"Six years ago my sister died of a rare disease called Progressive supranukleäre Palsy (PSP or Steele-Richardson-Olszewski-Syndrom). It is incurable, and there is no medication currently on the market that will slow down the disease. When my sister was diagnosed, I was desperate to do something. I knew I would lose her, and time was running out. Together with our physician I translated a guideline from English into German that was based on a brochure written in 1990 by a prominent scientist for the American PSP organization. This guideline was distributed to PSP patients, relatives, family members and others. I received calls at any hour of the day from patients and relatives, and I helped as best as I could. I was fighting pretty much alone but I was determined to get things rolling. I started to hold meetings and spoke at medical events. I was contacted in early 2004 by a woman whose family had been affected by PSP. I organized another meeting, and from that day on I did not have to fight alone. In May 2004, I registered the Deutsche PSP-Gesellschaft e.V., and we now have six board members and at least 200 volunteers, and the membership grows rapidly. One of the board members just gave a speech at a medical congress in Ulm to represent our organization. I represented our organization last year at a medical event in the Klinikum Großhadern in Munich. We have many projects, including publishing medical articles in our own PSP magazine. I am responsible for the south region. I visit the patients at home, in the hospital, or go to funerals when possible and write the yearly financial report. My workload is sometimes pretty heavy, but maybe one day we will break through. We all work on a volunteer basis. My telephone is now ringing more than ever. Sometimes I am very sad when I hang up, but I know my help is needed."
Explain what you would do with US$500 to continue your efforts in shaping the world:
"In the spring our organization is planning a marathon in Munich. Money is needed badly, and every penny counts. Other projects are coming up. Hopefully I can convince Deloitte & Touche to be at least one of the sponsors for the marathon."
In Mexico
Explain what you are doing to shape the world:
"In my personal experience as Chief of Safety & Security at Deloitte Mexico, I have found that very few people who have my same skills and knowledge apply them to benefit the community. When I got involved with IMPACT Day in 2005, I came in contact with IPPLIAP, a private school that supports deaf children. I found out that they lacked adequate safety procedures, and children and teachers did not know the proper procedures in case of an emergency (earthquake, fire, accidents, etc.). Therefore, I prepared and facilitated a five-day training course to cover all of the different aspects of safety and security. Later, I found that I could replicate this at the Meyalli School for girls in Chalco (a very poor community near Mexico City) where, due to their circumstances, I added a crime prevention and personal defense special session. Besides bringing both schools up to standard, the children, teachers and families acquired or strengthened abilities such as teamwork, strategic thinking, leadership, administration of resource management, tolerance for diversity, among others. This initiative had such good results that we decided to document it and participate in the Centro Mexicano de Filantropía's contest. This institution, which has already recognized Deloitte Mexico as a Socially Responsible Enterprise for six years in a row, awarded it a Best Practice for Community Investment in 2006."
Explain what you would do with US$500 to continue your efforts in shaping the world:
"I would invest it in the replication of this practice in La Casita del Sur (DIIAC), an orphanage that takes care of abused and abandoned children."
In the United States
Explain what you are doing to shape the world:
"I Shape the World by addressing issues of student mentoring and fighting hunger, and I do volunteer work that develops and trains culturally diverse students within the public high schools of New York City. Over the past seven years, I have directed and run a volunteer program at Deloitte (Virtual Enterprise) that has prepared students for admittance to college and, ultimately, a career with Deloitte. Fourteen students have become either full-time employees or interns with Deloitte. Through my leadership of this program, 70 of my Deloitte colleagues have become volunteer mentors to the students. I also work to fight hunger within my Staten Island community. For 16 years, I have planned and directed an annual food drive. My efforts have resulted in the collection and distribution of 750,000 items of food for Staten Island families "in-need." This food is collected at schools and private institutions. In this era of shrinking public funding for programs that feed the hungry and "working poor," I appeal to schools and groups in the private sector for donations of foods that are distributed to 23 not-for-profit agencies. I shape the world—one student and "one family in-need," at a time."
Explain what you would do with US$500 to continue your efforts in shaping the world:
"If I were fortunate to receive US$500, I would use half of this money to support a teacher in the Virtual Enterprise, by enabling the teacher to purchase an enhancement to the students' computer department to be used in their PowerPoint business plan presentations. The other half of the US$500, I would donate to the food drive toward the purchase of necessary supplies (boxes, truck rentals) that assist with the collection and distribution of food to people in need."
About National Corporate Philanthropy Day
National Corporate Philanthropy Day (NCPD) was started by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP). It is celebrated on February 26 in the United States and is a day dedicated to building awareness of philanthropic achievements, sharing the benefits of corporate giving and inspiring businesses to engage further in philanthropy. Read the press release to learn more about Deloitte activities related to NCPD.
