Henry Phish

I’ve been following the American Express Members Projects on my blog over the last few weeks, and it’s been quite the race. It’s kind of fun to watch and see what people are voting for, but now it’s down to the last 5 and there are only 6 days left to vote. Unfortunately if you aren’t an American Express member, you can’t vote in the last round. Still, I encourage you to take a look and cheer them on in your hearts and minds.

I was sent an email last night from one of the finalist, and I just thought I’d pass it on.

Because you’ve written about another organization nominated for the American Express Members Projects on your blog, Henry Phish, I would like to ask for your help. My organization, International Medical Corps focuses on feeding hungry children around the world, and we are very excited to have made the final 5 nominated projects out of 1,190 worthwhile projects. “Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children” is now eligible to receive up to $1.5 million to help feed hungry and malnourished children and we would be thrilled if you would help us. I’ve put together this blogger friendly news release explaining everything.

http://internationalmedicalcorps.smnr.us/

A couple of weeks ago I wrote an article titled Corporate Culture and a Greener Tomorrow in which I covered the importance of community in modern culture and the growth of corporate involvement in socially active causes. This week I stumbled across an ad on yahoo for what American Express is calling the Members Project, in which cardholders and guests of the website can submit Arts and Culture, Community Development, Education, Environmental & Wildlife and Health projects for people to vote on the winners.

Its interesting to see the cause and effect relationships develop between a companies values and the people in its community. American Express is essentially a small company in relationship to some of the larger credit card companies such as VISA and Mastercard, and a program such as the Members Project brings a lot of attention to their company brand, while creating a sense of community among it’s cardholders, who have always had a lot of exclusivity wrapped up in their members only mentality. It is yet another example of modern corporations trying to build the community around their brand while championing social affection in the modern workplace. Both customers and employees want exposure to these programs, and activities such as these allow them to interact with the company and drive social change, influencing both the ideals of the company and the community at large.

I would expect to see more of this in the future as everyday people are allowed more and more say in how companies conduct themselves.

For more information on the American Express Members project visit the site:

www.membersproject.com

So I participated in this event over the weekend called A Night On The Street. Basically, about 200 to 300 teens and their adult leaders spend the night sleeping in boxes to raise homelessness awareness. It’s a pretty cool event, if you ever get the chance to attend.

They have speakers talk to you about what it is like on the street; some of whom have personal experiences that you wouldn’t even believe. It’s the kind of stories that you see in the movies, but you never quite identify with them. Seeing a person that has actually gone through one of those situations and has come out the other side, it really sells the point home.

Homelessness is a real problem in America, and real people suffer from it; people whom you may even know. It was interesting to hear that a lot of homeless teens actually go to school. They try to blend in, they wear cloths like everybody else, they try to learn, because they see education as a way out of their problem. But then there’s the flip side of life on the street; for chronic homeless cases, in order to survive you have to learn to shut yourself off from people. Fighting and yelling are protection mechanisms, as are smelling bad and looking filthy. Unfortunately, these protection mechanisms make it difficult for people to move back into society once they have been trapped on the outside.

In the last 35 years problem has increased dramatically as low income housing is replaced with expensive condos, homes, and apartments. In the 1960’s, homelessness was hardly even even apparent, but with the rise of the middle-upper class in America, these people have been left high and dry.

Anyway, the Plymouth Church Foundation supports several low income communities around the twin cities. Check out their web page if you get the chance. They except donations here.

Also, visit A Night on the Street for more information on upcoming events.