Every once in a while one gets a chance to attend an event that is both humbling and inspiring. Last night I had the good fortune to attend just such an event. Held at the UN, which in and of itself is humbling, the event was hardly your ordinary scholarship fund-raiser though that’s exactly what it was. The tone of this event was captured in the program notes which featured this Anne Frank quote:
Isn’t it wonderful that nobody need wait a single moment to start improving the world.
A panel discussion, moderated by celebrated author Anna Quinlin, spanned the generations by highlighting the accomplishments of four remarkable gentleman who have dedicated themselves to “improving the world.”
Robert DeVecchi, aged 77, spent over 30 years helping refugees with the International Rescue Committee.
David Carmel, aged 34, co-founded Jumpstart, a national service program that pairs college students with pre-schoolers needing individual attention, while he was still in college. After a tragic swimming accident paralyzed him, David became active in the field of stem-cell research helping to raise $3billion for research in California and now works for StemCyte, a leading stem cell therapy company.
Billy Parish, aged 25, co-founded the Energy Action Coalition while still at Yale and was recently named “Climate Hero” by Rolling Stone magazine. He travels all over the country (in his vegetable oil powered bus) to encourage climate-responsible decisions and actions at colleges and business.
John R. Lewis, an eleven-term congressman from Georgia, was the son of sharecroppers and a leading activist in the civil rights movement alongside of Martin Luther King, Jr. Arrested more than 40 times, Lewis and his colleagues exhibited incredible courage until they brought about sn end to legalized segregation and racial discrimination.
All four of the speakers were inspiring, each tackling different issues but united by their desire and dedication to making the world better. This unity of purpose is what we need in the marketing arena. Sure we need to do good for our brands. But why not do good for the world we share at the same time? It really isn’t that tough.