Power Shift 2009 – When Things Just Come Tog...

Sometimes in life, everything just comes together. Power Shift 2009 is one of those instances for me. Let me play out for you the last week.

Last Friday: I was on twitter and saw the following tweet from @jake_brewer:

Last weekend before #PowerShift09. 131 hours till we open the doors of the DC Convention Center and start building a massive stage. 2:43 PM Feb 21st from TwitterFox

Having not heard of the conference before I looked it up online. I saw it was in Washington, DC and ran from 2/27-3/2. I knew that I would be in Pittsburgh on 2/27 and could quite frankly drive to DC for the conference. I’m also looking for new opportunities professionally and you never what can come from putting yourself in a new environment.

Backstory: I met Jake last May at the Cause Marketing Forum when he was at Idealist. I was in a session and taking notes on my computer and twittering and he came up to me after the session and said that I was the only other person in the room except for him taking notes digitally. Everyone else was using pens and notepads (this is true of many conferences I attend with a lot of nonprofit people there). Since I was at a socially-conscious tech startup and he was at Idealist, we exchanged information and kept in touch all year mostly through social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I saw that in the fall he left Idealist for the Energy Action Coalition and sent him a note of congratulations on the new position.

Fast forward to late November and I was asked to moderate a panel at the California Endowment called “Social Media, Social Justice” and one of the panelists was Jessy Tolkan, Executive Director of the Energy Action Coalition. After the panel, Jessy and I got to talking and we ended up going for a drink with two of my favorite and fellow LAisters to Trax at Union Station and talked about election night, the EAC and what they had planned for 2009.

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Introduction To Yours Truly: Meet Sloane Berrent...

TheCausemopolitan.com is written by me, Sloane Berrent. Whether you’re passionate about giving back or just trying to figure out how, you’ve found your place for information about cause marketing campaigns, what you can buy that will actually make a difference, events in your area and how you can find your place in the “cause” world.

I’ll also be writing about issues as they pertain to my life. What matters to me. Where I’m headed, where I’ve been.

And who am I? Once I was just a little girl with big glasses who started a recycling program in my middle school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Then I was a slightly less geeky high school kid who started an all-school volunteer program. Then I was a college student, still putting together volunteer groups. I started volunteering when I was 12 and haven’t stopped since. Among some of my experiences include; being a swim instructor helping kids rehabilitate from serious accidents; I was the youth chair for the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and helped organize the first-ever Pittsburgh AIDS Walk. I’ve walked abandoned dogs in shelters; I’ve given talks on water quality and led beach cleanups; I’ve exercised with under-privileged teenage girls and planted gardens in inner-city schools.

I’ve always felt I could help make a difference in the world by motivating others to give back.

But here’s the catch. Or non-catch. It’s not about what I’ve done, it’s always been about YOU. I just have always wanted to show how easy it is to wake up and say “Today is the day I’m going to put my mark on the world.” And really, give a little, give a lot – just start somewhere, start anywhere and there you go. You’ve taken the first step.

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Service Nation Call To Action...

Answer With Action Volunteers at the LA Food Bank

I believe America should have a mandatory service requirement. The requirement should include the option to either serve in the military or as a volunteer for a service project for 1 year. Why? Why not? A majority of countries have some sort of mandatory service and what better way to increase respect and nationalism for all that America has to offer than by requiring every citizen to participate.  Looks like I’m not the only one who feels this way. Let me introduce you to Service Nation, a part of Be The Change Inc., which is working with Congress to expand national service opportunities for Americans of all ages, provide support to help nonprofits recruit and manage volunteers, and increase the stipends and scholarship awards provided to volunteers.

More about Service Nation:

An America where citizens unite and take responsibility for the nation’s future. An America that restores the great tradition of citizen service, and honors the profound sacrifices made by so many Americans who have passed before, from the small band of Founders to the millions who have fought for equality and justice at home, and defended our freedom abroad. ServiceNation is about an America that is ruggedly idealistic, compassionate, and above all committed to the idea of shared sacrifice in pursuit of America’s boldest promise: liberty and justice for all.

I have just received an email from Independent Sector that the The House Education and Labor Committee is holding a hearing on national service next Wednesday, February 25, on “Renewing America through National Service and Volunteerism.”  The Hearing starts at 10 a.m. at 2175 Rayburn House Office Building.  If anyone is in D.C. next week, you are urged to attend. Otherwise, I’ll be updating the progres of this legisliation that is looking to be included in the Senate’s Serve America Act. All nonprofits and their supporters who believe that the current service programs should be expanded and improved in America should be paying attention to this. The following Senators are co-sponsors of the bill (as of February 2, 2009) according to America Forward:

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It’s About Time...

Sometimes what is there but to start anew? I live what I call a “cause-filled life.” This means that I am actively looking for ways to make the world better, connect people, show people ways that they can get involved in causes, and how to feel good about their level of engagement versus guilty for what they can’t do.

Let’s face it, we all wish we could do more. The person who donates $10 wishes they could give $100, the $100 donor wishes they could give $1000 and even the million dollar donor wishes they could give ten million. It’s the way it goes. But does it have to be that way? I think that us in America need to shift our focus to what we can do instead of obsessing on what we can’t. I believe we have to use the skills we have to help others and above all, take action. The time to sit around and wish for a better and improved planet has passed, it’s time for us to take a stand to what we believe in – and make change a reality.

There are so many ways to get involved and I plan on highlighting many of them. Our purchasing power is one of the biggest ways we can flex our collective “giving muscles” right now. But how do we know what to buy and what products are actually going to make a difference? We want to go to fundraisers and events but how do we know the money is going to the right place? And personally, I’ve traveled and gone to so many countries, states, met so many fascinating people that I need a place to share those experiences. I hope to do all of that here. I welcome your feedback. Thank you for coming on this journey with me.