Podcasts

Tim Whitaker and Mighty Writers: Giving Kids the Power of Writing

In Advocacy, Business, Careers, Children, Education, Immigration, Journalism, Philadelphia Channel, Poverty, Social Activism, Uncategorized, Under 30, writing

Numbers don't lie. Philadelphia is the poorest big city in the country. Nearly 40-percent of the city’s students are not graduating high school and only 30-percent of eighth grade kids are reading and writing at grade level.

That’s why in 2009, Mighty Writers was launched with a five-word elevator pitch: To teach kids to write.

They do this through four-day-a-week writing academies at their six neighborhood locations in Philadelphia, at their Kennett site in West Grove, and at their site in Camden, New Jersey.

Over the course of a year—including summers—they take students through every genre of writing but always with the same goal: to get kids to think clearly and write with clarity.

Safi Organics and Joyce Kamande: Empowering African Farmers

In Business, Environment, Farming, Hunger, Infrastructure, Social Entrepreneur, Sustainability, Technology, Uncategorized

Safi Organics uses technology to downsize and decentralize fertilizer production, making it feasible to implement on a village-level basis using locally available resources and labor. This reduces the logistical cost and produces a high-quality product that, at the same price as conventional fertilizers, can improve farmers’ yields by up to 30%.

Jeffrey Rosen and the National Constitution Center: Visit—Learn—Debate

In Education, Election Reform, Home, Immigration, Media, Philadelphia Channel, Podcast

Jeffrey Rosen is the president & CEO of the National Constitution Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the U.S. Constitution. Located steps from Independence Hall in historic Philadelphia, the Center engages millions of citizens as an interactive museum, national town hall and provider of nonpartisan resources for civic education.

Alicia Wallace of All Across Africa: Making & Selling Products That Strengthen Africa

In Advocacy, Business, Careers, Children, Corporate Social Responsibility, Infrastructure, Poverty, Social Entrepreneur, Uncategorized

Alicia Wallace is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of All Across Africa. Known as, AAA the company is a social business working to create thousands of jobs by designing, training and exporting products from rural parts of Africa, thus using business as a change-agent for poverty in the developing world.

Ellen Hwang, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation: Reimagining Public Spaces

In Advocacy, Children, Corporate Social Responsibility, Infrastructure, Philadelphia Channel, Philanthropy, Poverty, Public Spaces, Uncategorized

In Philadelphia, Knight Foundation focuses on the power of public spaces to unite and strengthen the city. In partnership with the city and other funders, they piloted Reimagining the Civic Commons, an initiative to connect and reinvigorate public spaces such as parks, trails, recreation centers and libraries. Their goal is to bring together people from all backgrounds, develop new local leaders and foster a more vibrant, engaged community.

Bren Smith of GreenWave: Farming the Ocean Differently

In Business, Careers, Corporate Social Responsibility, Education, Environment, Farming, Hunger, Infrastructure, Social Entrepreneur, Sustainability, Technology

GreenWave is training a new generation of ocean farmers feeding the planet and building a blue-green economy in the era of climate change. GreenWave is a non-profit organization founded in 2014 dedicated to climate resilience and equity. They work in two areas: farm replication and market innovation. Their goal is a blue green economy - built and led by restorative ocean farmers - that feeds local communities while protecting the planet.