People Who Say “Branding Is Important” Don’t Know What They’re Talking About
As a designer, I’m always explaining to clients that branding is important. One of my professors said in office hours the other day, “Those people who are always talking about how important branding is don’t know what they’re talking about. They take the ‘branding is important’ mantra as a given, but they never bother to … Read more
Bad Aid, Privilege and Doing Good to Feel Good
I used to like Teach for America. It sounded so promising, so good. And if you think about it, so do a lot of other programs that send privileged kids off to be great “helpers”. In fact, many of these forms of bad aid are rooted in paternalism, often because the people who lead them … Read more
When Grads Go Good: Millennials And Socially Responsible Careers
Are Millennials still interested in non-profit work following the latest recession? For new grads entering their first job and for current students thinking about what they want their first job to be, I wondered how students in the post-recession job search climate would favor different career paths: following a traditional career arc in corporate America, … Read more
Robot Ants and Bollywood Dance
So I’m done with my first semester of college, and I figured it was about time to dish. Here goes! ON CLASSES: This semester I was taking my first year seminar Evolution and the Intellectual Revolution, Intro Economics, Intro Computer Science, and Chinese. I like the balance of my coursework; it’s a fair balance of … Read more
How to Meaningfully Engage Kids in Volunteer Work, and Beyond
School’s out, and while the first few lazy days of summer are glorious, by now, you’ve probably heard plenty of “I’m bored” whines. Whether you’re a parent or a non-profit that works with youth volunteers, here are several ways to engage your kids, from toddlers to teenagers, in summer activities with a purpose. 1. Make … Read more
Students for Microfinance: Loaning and Consulting To Empower Entrepreneurs Near and Far
Last week I attended the Microfinance USA 2010 Conference in San Francisco and documented the experience at SocialEarth.org. Go check out my blog post! If the link is not being cooperative, here: http://www.socialearth.org/students-for-microfinance-loaning-and-consulting-to-empower-entrepreneurs-near-and-far
Globalisation of Culture
Notice how I spelled globalization? Heh-heh, globalisation is how they spell it in the UK. Check out my guest post for Debatewise here: http://www.debatewise.info/index.php/blog/debatable/crystal-yans-view-of-globalisation
Do Good Without Spending A Dime
This is another post in my “Bootstrapped Philanthropist” series of blog posts with calls to action on how you can do good even if you don’t have big bucks to donate. If you’d like to send me a news tip of a non-profit’s campaign to be featured in a future post, drop me a line … Read more
Social Change Rockstar Interview!
Allison Jones (who, by the way, is a total rockstar herself), features an interview with me for her Social Change Rockstar series on her blog: http://entrylevelliving.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/social-change-rockstar-crystal/ There I offer some insight into why I got behind projects like What’s Next (go back us on Kickstarter!), I dish on dirty little secrets for managing school alongside … Read more
Empowering Beneficiaries Into Advocates
This guest post was originally written for Ashoka’s Mommy Movement blog, which features bloggers reflecting on solutions to improve women’s lives. Go check them out! It’s also a sneak peek at my “big idea” for What’s Next. You should contribute! Enjoy! Most people consider themselves advocates for people being served by causes. The man who … Read more
