Posted by Leap Admin Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:22:27 +0000
For our daily morning inspiration here at Leap Anywhere, I was inspired by how to think innovatively and I think a big secret is to keep things simple. Think of Dyson and, more recently, think of Spotify – a service that is simple and people use.
A great exemplar of this is - author and speaker for positive change – Satish Kumar who writes in a recent article;
''Simplicity is a positive quality because when things are simple they are less of a burden. I think it was Schumacher who said that any fool can make things complicated but it requires a genius to make things simple.''
He says that simplicity is the secret to unlocking creativity and imagination and can have a positive effect on all industries and areas of life. And we shouldn’t worry about time. After all, ‘Time is not running out, time is coming!’
Here at Leap we want to do something simple, innovative that makes a difference;
We aim to make it simple and easy to have fun whilst also benefitting good causes.
Tagged in Leap, Anywhere,, simple, and, fun, ways, to, benefit, good, causes,, too, busy, volunteer
Posted by Leap Admin Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:26:34 +0000
Everybody wants to do a bit of good, but it’s hard to find the time, right? Wrong - great Leaps don’t demand too much time and energy. Even the smallest things can mean a whole lot of difference. From volunteering at home, to helping break world records, there’s plenty of ways to good, even if you don’t have the time.
1)
Help feed the world. I’m sure this isn’t quite what Geldof and co. had in mind when they sang ‘Feed the world’, but with
Free Rice at least you can do just that and learn a thing or two along the way. Answer questions and for every right answer, 10 grains of rice are donated to countries that need it the most.
2)
Give blood. The process only takes about 10 minutes, and you can benefit by knowing you’ve helped save someone’s life. Stocks are always running low, so you will be helping a great deal, and you can pick a time and place to suit you. (Also there’s free tea and biscuits which is always a plus).
3)
Save a tree - send an e-card. Rather than wasting paper this Christmas, why not send an e-card? Friends of the Earth have a great
range of cards which are free to use.
4)
Got 15 minutes? Charity Guide lets you decide what issues you care about and then ways you can do towards helping these issues and how to implement them into your life. The site gives you the option to donate 15 minutes to up to a few hours of your time.
5)
Join a ‘green gym’. Enjoy the great outdoors while getting fit at the same time. You’ll make new friends and help protect the environment. Check out
bctv.org to find your nearest gym.
6)
Get planting. Tree O’Clock is a great quick leap as the aim is to plant as many trees in one hour on the 5th December to set a Guinness world record. So you’re not only helping the environment, and offsetting your carbon footprint, you could even help to set a world record.
7) Give to charity shops. Charity shops seeing a decline in sales during the recession, so it would benefit yourself and others by giving to charity. Especially with Christmas coming up, consider whether it worth throwing unwanted gifts away, giving them to charity will mean others can benefit from your unwanted presents.
8)
Virtual Volunteering. Yes, it may not be the real thing, but it’s the next best thing, for those pressed for time but still want to do good.
Do-it, has a range of virtual volunteering you can do from the comfort of your own home, in your own time.
9)
Recycle your old phone. We’ve all got old phones lying around in a drawer somewhere. Why not give them away?
Envirophone for example, will try to reuse your old phone rather than throwing it away, you’ll also not just be donating your phone but donating precious materials that would otherwise be mined by natural habitats.
10) Be crafty. Make your own cards and presents this year, and you will not only save money but will give something original and meaningful in the process, as well as having fun.
Tagged in volunteer, Volunteering, charity, Features
Posted by Malcolm Scovil Mon, 05 Apr 2010 13:53:07 +0000
Historically, it's been a pain in the ass to do good. That's the 'good' problem.
To someone that's new to the world of doing good here's an experience they might have:
Call a charity and tell them you are inspired by their organisation and would love to help.
Charity says "thanks so much, well for starters you'll have to fill out forms so we can do a criminal record bureau check, then mail them through the post to us, then wait for our approval, then come along to an orientation meeting on a set date and then (if you're accepted), then make a 6 month time commitment before you can volunteer.
That's a pretty big pain in the ass.
And it's going to send 8 or 9 out of every 10 people back to the daily grind, meaning they're not doing good. Problem.
To solve the good problem we need to relentlessly do three things.
Make doing good:
1. more easy (zero forms, zero commitment, zero hassle)
2. more fun (wahey!)
3. more transparent (who's benefitting and how, ie number of bednets being purchased, etc)
Here's a list of easy, fun, transparent ways to do good
Tagged in good, fun, charity, volunteer, Features
