This is What a Corporation Can Be
I want to take a second to highlight the fact that I am working here in Zambia. I’m not on sabbatical or vacation, this isn’t an extended leave or loaned employee program, this is a part of my job. I’m lucky enough to work at a place that has only one mission—to improve the human condition—and is consistently searching for new ways to live it every day. The most recent example: Redwoods sending two of its employees to work with Habitat for Humanity in Zambia.
There’s so much potential and need for this kind of action by for-profit corporations. Non profits and NGOs are strapped, especially in this financial crisis, and governments aren’t always effective and can’t do it all. On the other hand, there’s so much untapped potential in the corporate world: money, people, brainpower, expertise, resources, etc. Today there are many companies touting their socially responsible business practices, yet there is still so much room for many of them to invest more fully, not simply financially but also in their attitude, decision making processes and goals, in making the world a better place. I hope this trip can serve as an example of what a company can do to impact the lives of others.
Redwoods allows me to do what I think we all hope for: live one whole life without compartmentalization, meaning that I don’t need a work version of me and a non-work version of me, but that I can be me all the time. Because Redwoods isn’t focused only on making a profit, my activities at work aren’t either and are therefore so much more personally fulfilling. My company encourages engaged citizenship in this world and interaction with the key issues facing us all today, many of which have come up in this blog. At Redwoods we have dialogues about race between employees, bring in organic farmers and HIV/AIDS prevention activists to educate our employee base, support our favorite organizations through foundation grants and matching gifts and give employees 40 hours to take off for community service each year, among so much more. This kind of civic engagement is something I would miss dearly if it wasn’t a part of every single work day. The fact that it is, and that I get a chance to do incredible things like take this trip—all as a part of my job—helps me grow, stay fresh and motivated, encourage others to think outside the bottom line box and feel confident in a long term future at Redwoods.
I’d like to challenge you all to think about the companies you work for or have relationships with. How are they supporting your community? Is there more they can do? If sharing Redwoods’ story, or the details of this trip, can help them reimagine what’s possible for a corporation, I hope you’ll do just that. I would love to see the day when every company is sending their employees to work with and support a group of college students this great on a project this powerful, both for Zambians and for all of us.
Bobby Kennedy said that "Few will have the greatness to bend history; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation ... Each time a [person] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he [or she] sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." It’s time for the corporate world to start causing more ripples. I’m not saying send people to Zambia tomorrow, but think about community service, matching gifts for employee donations, lunchtime presentations on key issues, and just opening up the conversation on how to engage your company and your coworkers in this effort to make the world a better place. Every little bit that our companies do for the greater good counts, as even the mighty Victoria Falls, which we were fortunate enough to be able to visit at the end of this trip, are made up of a collection of the tiniest drops.
Just a final note: as we wrap up our last few days here in Zambia (we need to get back to work and unfortunately can’t take part on the safari with the Elon students), there may be a bit of a lapse in blogging due to all the travel. With that said, I hope you’ll check back for pictures, stories and additional thoughts once we get back to the States, and we’ll do our best to update you as often as possible.