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This past weekend on the Backyard Philanthropist our theme was Social Innovation.  It is a term that has been tossed around both in the non profit world and the business sector for quite some time.  The use of the term and the movement is growing and Canada is definitely becoming a leader.

The term social innovation simply put means new ideas, concepts for social issues.  So it could be a new way to educate youth, it would be an idea for urban farming, it could be a concept for provision of health care.  The important component of social innovation is that it isn’t necessarily brand ‘new’.  The strength of social innovation lies in its aggregate approach to solving issues or barriers in civil society.

It is a multi disciplinary approach that involves partnerships and collaboration between multiple sectors; in particular a cross over of the non profit and for profit, government sectors.

We were thrilled to have Bruce Dewar, the CEO of Lift Partners on our two segments with Gordon Hogg, who is considered the grandfather of Social Innovation here in BC.  Gordon also happens to be the MLA for White Rock - South Surrey and is the Parliamentary Secretary for Non Profit Partnerships.

Both Bruce and Gordon spoke to ‘patient capital’ which refers to an ‘investor who is willing to make a financial investment with no expectation of turning a quick return.’

In social innovation this is a really important component.  We all know and recognize that in order to solve some of societies ‘wicked problems’ we need long term investment.  And that includes financial.

Lift Philanthropy is one of the partners in BC Ideas; ‘a community of action, designed to identify, convene and invest in some of BC’s best social innovations.’

BC Ideas recently announced it’s winners and along with financial supporters like Lift, $270,000 was given to social innovations and innovators across the province.

One of the recipients is the 60 Minute Kids Club.  Co founder Curtis Christopherson, owner of Innovative Fitness, is passionate about getting kids moving.  I had no idea that only 12% of children and youth in Canada get the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity.  60MKC goes into schools across Canada, motives and educates both parents and children about the health benefits of physical activity then provides them access to an online platform.  Online kids can track their physical activity, their healthy eating and earn rewards for being most active in their class, in their school, even the most active school in the province.

We were really impressed with Curtis and knowing that 12% stat, advocate every school in the country to get involved.

We also had Leona Gatsby in the studio with us from Decoda Literacy Solutions.  Decoda was a funder of BC Ideas and gave out four $5,000 awards to organizations that were advocating and supporting literacy in the province.  One thing I learned from Leona is that literacy is not just about reading.  Literacy also involves comprehension, and the utilization of language.  And we learned that many people in our province struggle with reading, and learning due to poverty, lack of resources in their communities.

Our shows theme resonates on so many levels.  We know we need to make changes to our social services in our province.  It can be overwhelming, especially for those ‘wicked problems’ as Gordon calls them; homelessness, poverty, mental illness.

We need innovative people creating collaborative new ideas for the public good.  The secret according to Gordon and Bruce, is the closer the solution is to the grassroots the more successful.  And I have to say, all the recipients of BC Ideas fulfill that model.

I would also argue that there are many many people in our communities who are social innovators and may not even realize.  BC Ideas, though the official contest is closed, is still open for those who want to share their own social innovation, maybe find support from business professionals or other like mined organizations and individuals.  BC Ideas online platform will remain open as a vehicle for your social innovation.

We encourage you to check out the organizations mentioned, go listen to the Backyard Philanthropist and learn how you can include your own ideas into community development.  It can benefit us all…

Maybe social innovation is the new panacea?

I have been fortunate, lately, to be surrounded by healthy people…both in an emotional sense and a physical sense.

This past weekend we were lucky to air a show we taped with Peter Van Stolk, the CEO of SPUD and Dr. Michael Murray, one of the world’s leading authorities on natural medicine.  What a pleasure speaking to both of these men.  They are well versed and well lived in the world of organic food and it’s health benefits.

Peter uses a phrase we have begun to adapt in our own home ‘food is the new pharmacy’ and it is a phrase Dr. Murray has been advocating for over 30 years through his books, his speaking and his teachings.

When you ‘need’ to create a healthier lifestyle, for whatever reason, it can be extremely overwhelming.  As many of you know, it is something I have been delving into for the past year.  There is a lot of information out there, A LOT.  And depending on the celebrity endorsement, many of it can be misleading if not completely off base.

This week’s Backyard Philanthropy show in particular discussed the discovery of natural foods; go to your farmers market, meet the farmers who are growing beets, strawberries, carrots.  Or perhaps, discover the world of free run, non medicated chickens.  Or it could be a soap, a piece of clothing.

We are fortunately here in the lower mainland to have access to a lot of farmers markets.  In Ladner, we have what I believe, is one of the best Sunday markets.  Unfortunately, it only runs from June to September.  So during the week and during the winter months, I use SPUD and have been a client on and off since 1987!

Having just completed my Isagenix 30 Day Cleanse, I am now moving into discovering how I can keep my body healthy, make it even stronger, more resistant to disease and stress (something I have plenty of).  After 30 days, I lost 15 lbs, and a total of 29 inches off my body combined.  On top of that, I feel good and have a lot more energy.

I will still be maintaining my Isagenix program as I value the program and actually really like the French Vanilla shakes.  As a non breakfast eater with my hectic lifestyle, it is one of the best lifestyle changes I have made.

On the show, we asked Dr. Murray about juicing, a ‘fad’ that I thought was, well, a fad.  Turns out juicing is actually incredibly beneficial to us.  It helps us with what I learned regarding ‘free radicals’, increases our absorption of antioxidants, flavins.  All of this aides us in reducing the risk of heart disease, developing diabetes, and prevention of many other diseases associated with aging, weight gain, menopause, exposure to unhealthy lifestyles.

So this week, I will be getting a slow juicer from SPUD and have signed on to participate in their new ‘juicing box’ program.  Bare in mind, I have never juiced in my entire life and my only experience was when my older sister went through a phase of drinking carrot juice and turned orange!

Dr. Murray did say…’better red than dead’.  So maybe my skin will get a lovely red hue from juicing beets out of my Organic Autumn Harvest Juicing Box!!

Stay tuned for what’s next…and how my juicing experience is going!  I have become a big fan of Dr. Murray and he challenges anyone to come up with a juice he hasn’t created yet!  I take him up on that challenge!

In the meantime, especially during the holiday season, I will forge ahead into creating that optimal lifestyle of health and well being.  I start drop in badminton tonight…wish me luck, it’s been 25 years since I played!

And I will fail again.

I opened up a blog this morning from Seth Godin on how ‘non-profits have a charter to be innovators’.  Seth explains that non-profits don’t fail enough.  That they play it safe, they provide ‘effective aid’ or a ‘palliative’ solution.

Seth articulated something that anyone working in the non-profit sector knows and understands, that there is a bigger issue we need to solve.  Take homelessness as an example.  We have plenty of organizations, too many if we were to be honest, handing out blankets, creating shelters, developing programs to feed, clothe, aid the homeless. 

Now let’s try and count the organizations coming up with innovative solutions or doing innovative discovery as to the root cause of homelessness and being innovative in its eradication; umm yea, not too many.  A complex issue, I get that as it requires collaboration with multiple sectors and has a myriad of barriers.

Seth talks to the organizations themselves.  I challenge that it is about the actual people in the non-profit sector.  My being one of them.

I went into business to solve a problem.  It was a big problem, not only to solve but to go into business specifically to solve a non-profit problem.  I was met with so much adversity, naysayers, skeptics.  I was met by industries that do not embrace change.  And for all my success in the process, I still failed…

And I will fail again. 

Does that make me a bad person, someone who doesn’t understand the sector?  No.  It definitely has it’s learning.  And boy, have I learned a lot…about myself, about my sector, about the people around me both pro and con.

And I will fail again, and again, and again.  And that makes me, and others just like me, great innovators.

As someone who is entrenched in the non-profit world, both as a supporter and a receiver of those ‘palliative’ services we have come to rely on, I look forward to meeting others who have failed…because those are the individuals who ultimately, will solve our communities most devastating social issues.

Heading out to buy a t shirt that has “I failed” written across the chest…

As many of you know, this past year I have been on a journey of health and well being.  My wonderful nutritionist, Tricia Sedgwick, is a holistic nutritionist and recently we taped a show for The Backyard Philanthropist and we asked Tricia, what is a ‘holistic’ nutritionist.

Simply put, a holistic nutritionist is a nutritionist who looks at whole health.  Whole health is a way of looking at our life wide open and not compartmentalizing the components of our life that make up our well being.  Ok, that sounds really foo foo.

We know from experience that if we are struggling physically, it affects us mentally, emotionally.  We know that if we are having an emotionally challenged day, it can be physically draining.  Everything is connected in one way or another. I won’t go into the philosophical or biological explanations.  It is common knowledge, we experience it often and we don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out.

I am emotionally charged.  Anyone who knows me in my inner sanctum knows I am driven by emotions; vice or virtue, you be the judge.  So when I have a ‘moment’ and am emotionally drained, exhausted, it impacts my whole being.

Lately, I have been dealing with a variety of emotional events.  Yesterday, as an example, Sophia had what we believe to be a drop seizure.  It was frightening.  She merely collapsed, her legs gave way and she was down.  Thankfully she was in her bedroom, close to her big soft comfy chair and I was right next to her.  The emotions still swirl inside me today.  I couldn’t eat yesterday, my thoughts were distracted, I had a headache by the end of the day and emotionally, I was ‘sensitive’.

For the most part, parents like me, are very good at tucking the emotional components inside, in our castle and can move into our day, walk amongst the living.

However, a dozen years later, it can’t NOT impact your whole health.  For me, weight gain, hormone imbalances, hair loss, lack of energy, forgetfulness.

The past few months though, I have taken the step of doing a cleanse.  It is a first for me.  I LOVE food…so anything that deprived me of that love I would run away from, fast.

However, I knew that I needed to cleanse, to clean out all the guk that had built up in my system from years of running with my feet on the gas and the break pedal at the same time.

To my surprise, it has been easy.  Really easy.  Tricia has been my guide and supporter throughout the process, which is critical in anyone’s success at trying something new.  And I am not deprived, far from it.

I order my Harvest Box from SPUD and every week get a delicious assortment of in season produce that I am learning to cook, and am enjoying the process.  I have chosen to augment my healthy lifestyle with Isagenix, and am part of the Global Impact Group; health and wellness advocates made up of nutritionists, athletes, do gooders.

The cleanse is coming to a close, 30 days for me and I am happy to say I have lost close to 20lbs, inches off my body, have way more energy, and have a renewed faith that this last year of learning is only the beginning.

Moving into the big give season, I encourage anyone who is a caregiver to give yourself the gift of holistic nutrition…whether you want to lose weight, or perhaps simply not gain over the indulgent holiday season.  Or perhaps, you are like me, emotionally drained at best, and need to surround yourself with good people, good nutrition, inside and out.

Contact me to find out more!