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Fade to black – Is government leveraging homeless agencies out of business? Thursday, March, 4, 2010
Is politics the problem or the solution to homelessness? Monday, March, 1, 2010
Why do you hate in the name of God? Monday, February, 22, 2010
Cardboard is for shipping, not for housing Thursday, February, 18, 2010
Throw the bums out—RPG game re homeless should be sent back Monday, February, 15, 2010
Down-sizing affordable housing could increase the reduction of homelessness Thursday, February, 11, 2010
Down and exploited in Beverly Hills - Is TMZ.com exploiters? Monday, February, 8, 2010
Is marriage the solution to poverty or is it the cause of poverty? Saturday, February, 6, 2010
Book on homeless man and Los Angeles journalist is highlighted by Long Beach Book Week Thursday, February, 4, 2010
Why homelessness is decreasing while hunger and poverty is increasing
Wednesday, November, 12, 2003
Ending Homelessness Profits Business
National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week is November 16-22, when businesses everywhere should intensify the focus on the crisis of homelessness.
Commerce plays an important role in contributing to our quality of life, so this is an especially good time — in this recent era of Enron, WorldCom and even Martha Stewart — for community and business leaders to accelerate their participation in ending the cycle of homelessness.
We need corporate America’s partnership, its ability to develop strategies, its creative thinking, entrepreneurial spirit, capacity to hire employees and its willingness to invest in the community. With the unrestrained support of business, we are infinitely more likely to permanently move people without homes off the streets and into stable and secure lives. The statistics prove it.
Homeless people sleeping on our streets and loitering at our shops and stores are bad for business, and just as bad for the desperate people forced into these humiliating circumstances.
So here are four ways business can marshal their efforts during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week:
Give - Increase your support for charity. In the past few years, corporate America has donated only .01 percent of its pre-tax profits to charity. If all of America’s businesses increased their giving from .01 percent to .02 percent , a total of $10 billion, we could end homelessness as we know it in our country. I challenge Big Business to become Bigger Givers in the world of philanthropy. The bottom line will benefit them short term and long.
Volunteer - Businesses should empower their employees to volunteer in the community and give them the time and encouragement to make it a reality. Secretary of State Colin Powell led the charge years ago in his effort to mobilize Americans to volunteer. It is now up to this generation of corporate America to pick up General Powell’s baton and stay the course.
Join A Non-Profit Board - Boards are the backbone for non-profit agencies. We can’t operate without them. Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan made this a priority and started a leadership development program to encourage community membership on non-profit boards. The business community could actually become the foundation of a philanthropic imperative to end homelessness in this generation.
Donate In-kind Services and Products - Help an agency print a brochure, gather hygiene kits for people living on the streets, teach people a job skill, collect children’s books for homeless kids — these are but a sample of the ways businesses can positively impact our community.
Just one week of mobilizing our efforts around these suggestions could make a profound difference. What if during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, our Southern California business community collectively gave $1 million to homeless agencies, $1 million of in-kind donations, deployed 1,000 new volunteers and recruited 100 new non-profit board members. Think of the impact. It’s staggering.
When it comes to charity, Apple Computer must Think Different, Ford must act with No Boundaries, Nike must Just Do It, and corporate America must truly make a difference. Because when homelessness ends, the community benefits and business profits.
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A Third Wave Of Addressing Homelesness Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Civil Overestimation Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Body Found In A River Near Long Beach Friday, February 26, 2010
Nationwide Vacant Property Takeovers Throughout May 2010 Friday, April 10, 2009
Vacation Time--But Not For The Blog
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