Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the annual UrbanPromise banquet, celebrating their 25th year with Diane Sawyer. I’ve been closely connected with UrbanPromise, working at their local Camden office to start UrbanPromise International (reaching Malawi, Honduras & Uganda).
In 2007, Diane Sawyer told the story of childhood in Camden in her 20/20 special, “Waiting on the World to Change”. It was a candid report on the struggle of growing up in the city that, in recent years, has been named the most dangerous city in the U.S. UrbanPromise quickly connected with children in her special that needed support and committed to caring for them since.
Last night, Sawyer expressed that her way of helping communities like Camden is to tell their story so that others can hear and respond. Through her commitment to story-telling, the children in the special received support and many people learned about UrbanPromise, allowing for exciting growth and development that reaches hundreds of kids in Camden daily!
We can’t all be Diane Sawyer and that’s a good thing. Because she told a story, others were inspired, but if we were all out there telling stories, nothing would ever get done. Making change requires people with different talents and skills and then, our own decision to commit to using them to make change. Her story-telling raises awareness, the people at UrbanPromise respond on the ground, new donors come on board that make growth possible.
I’m reminded to contribute in my own way to my community (particularly the young people), but I also think of CharityGiftMarket and our mission. As I sat in the audience, listing to a young woman sing “His Eye is on the Sparrow” in the most beautiful voice, I was dreaming of the future impact of CharityGiftMarket on charities like UrbanPromise.
What if we can sell $30,000/year for UrbanPromise through product sales? They could hire a camp director, and reach 30 more kids every day! Maybe they’d put that into their new food and nutrition center, combating childhood obesity in the city.
The larger the marketplace and the more shoppers that we find who want their dollars to do good things, the greater an impact on communities like Camden.
Exciting!
-Lindsey Markelz, C.E.O.