Sunday March 13th I had the pleasure of co-hosting the first Discover Local Impact event, with 121Giving, Plus Social Good, YOUvolution and Urban Co-Lab. The event was full of memorable moments, especially conversations between social entrepreneurs working to break down barriers and close gaps in diverse categories from healthcare to technology to food access and affordable housing.
A huge thanks to our 4 panelists:
- Chelsea Elliott, Founder, Half-Helen Foundation
- Michael Henderson, Founder, Doing Development
- Damon Polk, COO, Builders Of Hope CDC
- Paige Hill Oliverio, Founder, Urban Patchwork
Here are some of the highlights:
"If we can’t sustain ourselves, how can we sustain others?" - Michael Henderson, Doing Development
Panelists: Michael Henderson, Chelsea Elliot, Paige Oliverio, Damon Polk
Paige Oliverio, Founder of Urban Patchwork, talked about how hard it was to start her business, and then recover when she lost it all and had to develop a new approach. How do you start your own social good project?
“You have to find people as passionate as you are, about your cause. And you have to be willing to give up your baby. ”
“Discover Local Impact was more than just another event during SXGood, it was an opportunity for communities and leaders from different impact circles to meet and connect with each other. The beauty of events that we put on are that it create new opportunities that we would have never predicted. Our SXSW event brought the best of creativity, innovation, servant leadership and interested and committed citizens who are looking to get invovled. This event was the catalyst to drive action within our community. In a month we will be gathering and recapping what we started so that the conversation and action continues. Its more important to try and experiment than just listen and be informed. We are doing that together as a team and that is how innovation begins. ”