Charity and Business: An Unlikely Pair Or Perfect Match?

{GUEST BLOGGER} Taslim Jaffer of Let Me Out Creative

Charity and business go together like the Wish and Mika Long necklaces. It’s a beautiful relationship built on sharing spaces and complementing the other’s style. Understanding this relationship is important because your involvement in it can impact a lot of people. Whether you are a consumer, an entrepreneur, a volunteer or paid employee for a non-profit, you can add your own sparkle to the overall look.

In a nutshell, the relationship is this: Every business should be charitable and every charity should run like a business.

You know how we were led to believe that there was an ‘us’ and there was a ‘them’ and ‘we’ were more fortunate than ‘them’ and therefore should feel guilty, sorry, sad, helpless…? I mean, really, being an ‘us’ or being a ‘them’ was unfortunate. Everyone was always losing. People who didn’t have what others had were supposed to feel inadequate, and people who did have what others needed were made to feel guilty. Nobody won.

Let’s change that.

Everyone has something that someone else needs or wants. It could be a talent, a skill, a passion, a space, time, energy, health, money, and the list goes on. When you look at it like that, there is no longer a dividing line between two groups of people. There is a circle of human beings that have a lot of things to throw into the pot. Nobody has everything. But everyone has something. The trick is to find the perfect balance so that people are giving and receiving equally, and the circle is a wheel moving forward, not a flat tire.

If every business were to creatively look at how they could efficiently and effectively impact the community, that would be a huge step. If every individual out there were to look at their assets and decide what they can contribute to this circle, that would be another huge step.

But what about basic needs? Don’t people need food, access to healthcare and housing before they can find a job? Yes, but let’s not forget that the other basic need we all have as human beings is dignity. Believing in this circle and working from that mindset is the way to move forward. Throw in some creativity and there is a lot we can do if we are willing to put in the hard work.

As a consumer, it can be as simple as supporting companies who have a social giving ethic – like Brooklyn Designs! Brooklyn Designs has always supported my charitable endeavours. Brooke’s gift is designing and producing these beautiful jewels that everybody wants! They want them so much, they are willing to pay for them! Enter ‘the circle’: Brooke donates a piece to a silent auction benefiting a charity, the charity receives the money, the money is used for helping others, those who are helped are in an even better position to keep the wheel moving forward. Everyone is doing their part.

Brooke has graciously donated some jewelry to a silent auction taking place on Sat. Nov. 15 from 7-10 pm. The auction is part of a fun night with a Midnight in Paris theme benefiting the Eating Disorders clinic of B.C. Children’s Hospital. There’ll be live music, dancing, wine, canapes, entertainment and swag. Proceeds from the tickets and silent auction will fund poetry workshops by professional poets for the children and adolescents receiving treatment at this clinic. To learn more about tickets or how to donate online, please visit www.pandorascollective.com/donate. 

If you are coming, let me know to look out for you! Or if you want more ideas on how you as a business, consumer or charity can be part of this circle, drop me a line – I’d love to hear from you.

 

Our guest blogger Taslim Jaffer is a freelance writer, public speaker and mom of 3. Do you want to be creatively inspired? Find more from Taslim on her blog Let ME Out!!

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