Be the good.

Three words: Be the Good.?This is something that most of us live by as we move around the world each day.?Sometimes it’s done by recognizing a colleague’s hard work, picking up trash at a neighborhood park, or simply showing a stranger kindness as we move around the world.?It doesn’t take much – small or big actions – all of them count.?

At the heart of “doing good” is an unspoken acknowledgement that kindness and thoughtfulness are something that we can all get behind.?In addition, anyone can model this – through acts big or small – for positive change in the world.

This week Mackenzie Scott articulated her vision for charitable giving, and provided a list of the non-profits that she and her team are working to support.?Her blog title – “Helping any of us can help us all” – reflects a powerful, inclusive thinking that she modeled in her thoughtful giving to a vast array of worthy organizations. What struck me most is how she articulated her approach to ‘being the good’ through charitable giving. “It’s easy to think of different groups struggling within the same systems as not only separate, but also opposing. Yet when we help one group, we often help them all. Communities with a habit of removing obstacles for different subsets of people tend to get better for everyone,” she writes.

Ms. Scott is one prominent, affluent person trying to motivate social change through the reinforcement of empowerment, inclusion, and equity. But there are many other unsung heroes out there – it is likely you are one of them - supporting amazing non-profits through an investment of time, volunteer hours, and financial giving, despite limited resources.?These small or big gifts of goodness pay dividends and ripple through communities – helping to bridge the gap created in a world of polarization.

I do my part by supporting few non-profit organizations that model inclusion and break community barriers - two causes that appeal to me personally the most. Whether it is in providing services for access to clean water, using art as means to promote social equity or building consensus on hard topics, each of the organizations that I support get past polarization of communities to find common ground solutions and promote equitable social transformation. Here are few of them:

1.?????Code of Support Foundation

2.?????Keystone Policy Center

3.?????Arts + Literature Laboratory

4.?????Geoscientists without Borders ?

With #EarthDay2022 right around the corner, I encourage all of you to invest your time, money, and/or effort in supporting causes that appeal most of you.

I want to hear from you: where do you contribute your time, effort, or money in being the good??And what is it about the groups you contribute to that motivates you to invest your efforts in them??

#sustainability