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Our own Climate Mama, Harriet Shugarman attended the Social Good 
Summit in NYC, which was sponsored by the 92nd Street Y, The United Nations Foundation, Mashable and Ericsson. Harriet got to meet, talk to and hear from AMAZING individuals from around the world that are putting ideas into action to help make our world a better place!
I came away every day from the Summit inspired and hopeful, that our world is on a healing path; that people are looking out for each other, and that social entrepreneurship is a rising opportunity that offers hope for our future. Some of the many organizations and individuals that impressed me with their programs and actions, and inspired me with their words are listed below. Without going into detail at this point, we suggest you grab the kids in your life, particularly the older ones in high school and college that might be looking for companies and organizations to work with some day. Tell them to look closely at the following organizations, and ask them how they currently define success and if that view changes when they look at these successful companies, organizations and individuals that are “doing good” for our world at that same time they are “doing good” for themselves: Ericsson and in particular check out their Technology for Good program, Idealist.org, One Laptop Per Child Foundation, Charity Water, Do Something, Eli Wiesel, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media, Muhammad Yunus, Skype in the Classroom, and Global Health Corps, just to name a few!
So how can you “do good” today? Here are 4 things you can do right now with a “click” of your “mouse”:
1. Join the Million Mom Challenge, a partnership between ABC News and the UN Foundation. The Challenge is a call to action that will raise awareness and funds to help women and children everywhere survive and thrive! For the first 100,000 sign ups, Johnson and Johnson will donate $100,000 to several NGO’s helping Moms and Babies around the world. Tell your friends, share your story and take the challenge!
2. Our friends at The Balancing Act alerted us to a wonderful organization A Spring of Hope that is working to help moms and kids too, by building wells in rural African schools to improve community health conditions and to promote education at a grassroots level. Wells provide clean drinking water, the essential tool needed for a school’s self-sustainability and the students’ promising futures. This organization was started by a South Florida High School student, showing us again, the power of one! The organization is working with Chase Community Giving on a ONE WEEK fundraising campaign, running September 28-October 5th. If you are on facebook, please Like A Spring of Hope and find out more information about this giving opportunity!
3. Consider bidding on some of the amazing auction items in support of the Plastic Pollution Coalition. The Auction is open NOW, so check out some of the cool items up for bid!
A tour of Ed Begley, Jr.’s solar powered home and lunch with the man himself; Hang out with Jackson Browne at his show; Custom made retro western shirt by Linda Ronstadt: Signed guitar by Grammy-winner Ben Harper; Executive lunch with Archie Comics CEO
The Auction runs through October 5th, and will help raise funds and promote the good work of the Plastic Pollution Coalition including: ending our global dependence on disposable plastic and reducing the overall global plastic footprint for individuals, businesses and organizations.
4. Take the Gatorade pledge to support young athletes in their quest to BECOME the best athletes they can be. Gatorade will donate one dollar up to $10,000 to the Women’s Sports Foundation for every pledge received. While Gatorade is a company many of us and our children are certainly familiar with, you and your kids may not know as much about what Gatorade is doing to bring “social good” home!
