So You Think You Can Give

Season 1 is coming to an end! Don't worry - the party's just getting started, but before we officially move into the future we're taking one more look back at the past by chatting about the big lessons learned from Season 1 and how they apply to whatever you're up to these days! This season as been full of lessons. The interviewees and social causes featured during Season 1 of the podcast ranged from fair trade to financial literacy, from mentorship to money, from world class hospitals of New York City to make shift birthing centers in Haiti. We talked about privilege. We talked about theatre. We talked about voting with your dollar, and why every dollar counts. And we talked about about giving back is the new black. Philanthropy isn't a privilege for the wealthy. We're taking it back, one Broke Girl at a time. In this week's solocast I go over the 5 biggest takeaways I have from Season 1 - takeaways which relate to both giving back, and launching a podcast (they actually have a lot in common!): Just get sta

Quite simply, its really hard to not get behind this week's featured organization, St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children. It's all too easy to take a healthy childhood for granted - until a child with special needs enters your life. For children with special needs, who require care which is often complicated as well as costly, an organization such as St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children is a game changer. One of only a handful of organizations around the country dedicated to providing intensive rehabilitation, specialized care, and education to children with special needs and life-limiting conditions, this organization aims to bring health care to every child who needs it, now and in the future. St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children is committed to improving the health and quality of life for children and families with special needs. Their work includes a broad portfolio of initiatives aimed at improving the lives of special needs children, and supporting their families, every step of the way th

Looking to learn a little more about international development, social issues, or how to be a donor on a budget? Its 2017: access to information isn't the issue, but knowing where to begin can be. So with that in mind, today's solocast will give you some suggestions for jumping off points for you, dear listener, if you're looking to learn more, do more, or just want a few suggestions on some good ways to kill time during your commute. This solocast will give you recommendations for books to read on a wide variety of topics in the international development/social issues space, as well as a few suggestions for podcasts which will provide you with insights on personal finance - the non-boring and non-scary kind (and what Broke Girl doesn't need a bit of that?)! If you're looking for a few new reads, want to educate yourself on some fascinating world events from recent decades, or are just curious about how a Broke Girl who Gives Back likes to unwind at the end of the day (hint: it involves Bravo TV) then this ep

Gail Anderson is a powerhouse of positivity who turned her love of volunteering and giving back into her life's work. In this episode we dive into Gail's motivation, mantras, and the movement she's building one small action at a time. Gail is one of those people who you just can't ignore; her attitude and energy is infectious, and she's taking her desire to contribute to a whole new level by creating Giving Back with Gail. What started as an Instagram account of daily positivity has grown into an online community of people who not only want to see change in the world - but want to be a part of making it happen. Giving Back with Gail is part inspiration, part motivation, and part action, as Gail offers herself not only as an example of how to fit giving back into a busy girl's life, but also as a resource for people looking to get started in giving more - and just aren't sure where to begin. Links below to Gail's info as well as some of the resources we spoke about in today's episode: https://www.givingbackwi

When Nadene Brunk traveled to Haiti in 2003 as a midwife working with a small medical team, she had no idea the trip would lead her into the work of her lifetime. For over a decade Midwives for Haiti has trained over 120 midwives, cared for over 94,000 safe pregnancies and births, and provided reproductive health education to women in some of the most challenging regions of the country. Midwives for Haiti is on a mission to increase access to skilled maternity care in Haiti, and has a vision that pregnancy and childbirth are safe for mothers and babies in Haiti. Working in collaboration with Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health and Population and other NGOs, Midwives for Haiti delivers "culturally appropriate, high impact health interventions", with an approach aimed at reducing three major challenges pregnant women in Haiti face: the delay in the decision to seek care, the delay in reaching care, and the delay in receiving adequate care. In this interview Nadene speaks about her own experience as a mi

When Deb Gottesman and her partners opened a small theatre coaching program for striving actors 25 years ago, she couldn't imagine what The Theatre Lab would eventually become: an inclusive theatre training community with services that reach far beyond the stage. With an emphasis on "access" to anyone with an interest in performance, The Theatre Lab is now the home to both a major scholarship program providing theatre training to low-income students, and a Life Stories program which provides an opportunity for marginalized people to finally get a chance to tell their stories. Working with senior citizens, returning veterans, women experiencing homelessness and addiction, incarcerated youth, and other people who generally don't have a chance to speak openly about their lives, the Theatre Lab's Life Stories program provides both a platform for expression as well as artistic training to those whom "theatre training" can seem beyond reach. The Theatre Lab relies on funding from various resourc

When Ryan Weimer took his 3-year-old son out for Halloween in a pirate ship costume, he saw for the first time people treating his son not like a child in a wheelchair, but just like every other child out trick-or-treating that night. The moment was so meaningful that Ryan realized it was something that other families with special needs kids deserved to have as well - and Magic Wheelchair was born. Magic Wheelchair is a non-profit organization with a vision "to put a smile on the face of every child in a wheelchair", and a mission "to give kids in wheelchairs an unforgettable experience by creating custom costumes for them at no expense to their families". By recruiting and organizing Build Teams, and supporting them with technical guidance and materials, Magic Wheelchair teams have transformed wheelchairs into pirate ships, fire engines, race cars, sea turtles, even a chef's kitchen. The all-volunteer teams are a mix of pros and amateurs, artists, designers, photographers, and just people

This first interview episode of the podcast features Megan Bahns, one of the co-founders of Consume with Love, an online marketplace for sustainable, fair trade, cruelty-free clothing and accessories. A great "Ethical Shopping 101" conversation, this episode explores ways to be a more conscious consumer - even on a budget. Let's be honest - the struggle to be a more ethical shopper is real. Whether its because the fair trade clothes you find just aren't so cute, the sustainably made bag you're eyeing is just too pricey, or because you're not even sure what "ethical shopping" actually means - its not easy to vote with your dollar. Megan and her twin sister Michele founded Consume with Love as a way to address these challenges and make ethical shopping more accessible for all of us. By finding fashionable clothes and accessories, made by a variety of artisan groups, women entrepreneurs, and suppliers focused on core values such as sustainability and cruelty-free products, Consume with Love

This episode is a brief hello and introduction of the The Broke Girl's Guide to Giving Podcast, a weekly conversation featuring the work of non-profits, social enterprises, and mission-driven individuals, bringing awareness to the work they do, the social issues they’re addressing, and practical ways that everyday people can get involved in giving back - even on a budget. Each week this show will feature one organization or individual trying to make a difference. The podcast has 3 key goals: It aims to bring awareness to the work of mission-driven organizations – discussing the social issues they’re addressing, the model of their work, and both the successes and challenges they face in carrying out their work of serving others. The podcast will also highlight practical ways that everyday people can get involved in giving back to the episode’s featured organization, even when money's an issue (when is it not?) And finally, The Broke Girl's Guide to Giving Podcast, social media accounts, email list and w