GES has played a big part in NU Stands with Haiti, the Northwestern community’s response to the earthquake in Haiti. So far, the community as a whole (undergrads and grad students combined) have raised well over $12,000. And where has the money come from? Canning, bracelet sales, yoga classes, and, well, keggers.

We’ve spent a good amount of time at GES meetings discussing the way things are going here. It’s been a huge success in terms of fundraising, and a large part of Northwestern has contributed their time or money to help the hundreds of thousands of Haitians affected by the earthquake. And one of the best parts is that this extends way past the usual boundaries of engagement at Northwestern — there are easy ways for everyone, literally everyone, to get involved, even if it’s only by giving $5 and assuming that whoever you’re giving it to will get it to the right place.

I think we can all agree that the more money we can send to Haiti, the better. But are there any problems with the way we’re doing it? Is raising awareness by changing your facebook status or paying an extra couple of bucks for a party (I believe the term is “slacktivism”) the right way to go about it? Is there a right way to go about it? NU Stands with Haiti has also been arranging panels and discussions to actually educate the community, but on a college campus, it’s a certainty that the parties will be better attended than the panels, no matter which experts they bring it.

I think if we at GES had our way, everyone would know about the specific organizations they were supporting, and they would know exactly what was going on in Haiti, where their money was going, why it’s imperative to help this country, and why now. But the reality is that not everyone cares enough, and that anything that we as a community can do to help is better than not doing anything at all, even if it is just blindly donating. Right now, what Haiti needs is numbers, and if we can do that through appealing to Northwestern’s cravings for beer and baked goods, then that’s the way we’ll do it.

Well, we’ve got the perfect solution for you! GES is excited to announce an awesome opportunity being offered by our partner Sparkseed. It’s called the Social Innovation Competition, and wee are encouraging all delegates to apply! Sparkseed is accepting applications from exceptional college undergraduates who are leading or will launch ventures that tackle today’s toughest social issues. This is a great opportunity for GES delegates who are looking for funding, consulting, or mentoring opportunities. Prizes include $11,000 in seed money, $20,000 in pro-bono consulting, and top quality mentorships from entrepreneurs and executives.

To apply, go tohttp://www.sparkseed.org/competition/ and sign up!

The deadline to apply is February 7th, so don’t waste any time. When you apply make sure to let GES know so that we can encourage all of our staffers to follow your project profile on YouTube. Good luck!

Anything is Possible from The Canary Collective on Vimeo.

There are no words to describe how thrilled we are: Brian Bordainick will be the opening keynote to GES. He will speak at the opening banquet, in front of GES staff, delegates and everyone who has collaborated with the realization of the Summit, including Northwestern’s President Morton Schapiro.

Why Brian?

The opening keynote should give delegates a taste of what GES is about, what they should expect from the Summit and above all, it should give them a clear sense of WHY they are here. They are here to form a learning community of individuals that care to see beyond the end of their nose, and dare to act upon what they see.

Brian is one of us. When he graduated, he went with Teach for America to New Orleans. He found a community devastated by hurricane Katrina. Right now, kids at George Washington Carver High School receive classes in prefabricated trailers and of course there is no proper sports infrastructure.

New Orleans’ 9^th Ward suffers from many illnesses related to lack of infrastructure and places for the community to gather and enjoy. The aspect of a place can affect a community in very bad ways.  Brian saw that obvious connection between low graduation rates, high crime and drug use with the fact that students were not motivated by their surroundings.

Due to these harsh realities and after being promoted to Athletic Director after only 3 months in Teach for America, Brian founded the 9^th Ward Field of Dreams, a non profit organization that has already raised more than a million dollars for a project that will bring a football field, track, lighting system, and stadium seating to New Orleans. This will not only benefit Carver High School, but also the rest of New Orleans.

This project builds community by creating a space for young people to practice sports and for the whole community to enjoy themselves, get to know each other and this way realize all the potential they have to further improve their surroundings. When they accomplish their goal, the 9^th Ward will be completely conscious of the inherent ability all communities have to come together and fight for the same cause.

The lesson:

After hearing Brian’s story, delegates will realize that it is never too early to take upon projects that seem “too big” for young people like us. At GES, delegates will make life long connections and learn skills that will enable them to take over projects that improve communities in the same way – and through a million different methods-that Brian is doing with New Orlean’s 9^th Ward. He inspired us, we hope he inspires you too!!

Although we are only months away from GES 2010, we felt that it was extremely important to talk about the crisis occurring in Haiti right now and tell you what we’ve been doing to respond.

• Thursday afternoon, a number of students contacted Northwestern’s President Schapiro to encourage him to “articulate a university response in reaction to the earthquake.” President Schapiro responded by posting a link on the university’s homepage with information on organizations assisting with relief efforts.
• On Wednesday night, a bill was passed in Associated Student Government (ASG) Senate stating that “ASG’s Public Relations committee or a committee of dedicated ASG senators/students will help…to coordinate a school-wide fundraiser to collect anything that might be of help to those struggling in Haiti.” We’ve reached out to the Senator leading the committee and will be a part of the organizing efforts. In particular, the committee will be planning a week of events intended to raise funds and awareness of the crisis in Haiti. GES will be spearheading a panel discussion intended to provide students with the historical and social context they need to fully understand why Haiti has been so devastated by last week’s earthquake.

The bottom line is that this is an important moment for GES as an organization and, more importantly, a community, to demonstrate its ability to respond thoughtfully to an international crisis that is unprecedented in GES’s short history. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate what being “globally engaged” really means.

To be honest, we are both struggling to find an appropriate way to respond as a community that prides itself on engaging with global problems beyond writing a check or watching the news. Does fundraising for Haiti fit GES’s values? Should we work with other groups on campus, such as ASG or GlobeMed? How should GES mobilize its remarkable passion and commitment to respond to the catastrophe in a way that sets an example for the rest of the Northwestern community?

CommDev facilitated an activity addressing some of these questions on Tuesday with our staff, but we invite all of you, as our extended GES community, to contribute to the discussion. We encourage all of you to get informed and think critically about what’s happening right now in Haiti. There is no doubt that GES will take tangible action, and we want your help in figuring out what this will be. As always, feel free to email us or post below.

Thanks for reading, M & A

What is SEE College Prep?

We are the largest non-profit organization focused on SAT prep in California, and the second largest in the country. Our programs have served more than 500 educationally disadvantaged high school students, and will expand this upcoming summer to serve 650 students at 20 program sites across California. During the academic year, our team of 15 prepares for the upcoming summer. We had about 20 paid staff and more than 50 volunteers involved with our programs last summer.  We expect that number to double this coming year.

What did GES offer you?

When I came to GES, SEE College Prep was an idea. I think I told myself at the time that I knew what I was doing, but I really didn’t. The mentorship and camaraderie I experienced at the summit was phenomenal, and really opened my eyes to how big the world really is. It was so valuable to be immersed in an environment where our projects were the primary focus.

How did GES prepare you to continue with SEE College Prep?

The main thing that GES offered was a group of people who were equally passionate about changing the world. Whether they were speakers, staff members, or delegates, everyone was extraordinarily committed to doing what they could to help. Everyone was so supportive, and seeing other projects that were further along than mine was truly inspiring. After the conference, we also participated in the Global Giving Fundraising Challenge for GES participants. We raised just under $5,000 and earned a permanent spot on Global Giving. I didn’t realize it at the time, but we wouldn’t have had enough money to even make it through our first summer if it were not for the access we had to Global Giving.

What have some of your greatest challenges?

We have had to grow up very quickly.  It is also difficult to maintain quality at scale, and it’s been a challenge to systematize the various processes that enable our programs to be successful. Every few months I encounter a huge learning curve. The most recent was learning the ropes of professional fundraising; the current task is to build a Board that offers us the many different kinds of support that we need.

What about your greatest successes?

The majority of our students tell us that their SAT teacher is one of the best teachers they ever had and that their SAT tutor was the best mentor they ever had. In the spring, we placed second in the BASES Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, Stanford’s premier social venture business plan competition. Recently, we’ve attracted coverage in BusinessWeek and the New York Times. I’m also very proud of our revenue model which allows us to cover the majority of our expenses with revenue we generate ourselves.

What are your plans for next year?

I will graduate from Stanford in June and have accepted an offer with McKinsey & Company in Los Angeles.  However before I join them in January 2011, I will pursue a merger with Let’s Get Ready, a non-profit of its kind that offers SAT preparation and college preparation programs to nearly 2,500 low-income high school studente each year. Such a move has tremendous value because it offers a way to sustain our efforts and share innovations that will beneift thousands of students each year in New England; it would also offer Let’s Get Ready a much smoother entrance into California and an opportunity to bring their work onto the national state. Once the merger is complete and I transition to McKinsey, I will serve on Let’s Get Ready’s National Board of Directors, where I will chair their California Advisory Board.

What advice to you have to anyone else with their own project?

No matter what, never give up. A lot of luck has come our way and enabled the small things we have been able to accomplish.  And never forget that as exciting as these projects might be at times, we are looking to solve real problems that affect real people. Every bit of effort really does matter.

Check out the advice they gave to counselors and other attendees at the College Board Forum.

Jet setting around the globe in the name of sustainability, Juan Soriano, a 2009 GES delegate, attended the 2-week UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, December 7-18.  As part of SustainUS, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of young people advancing sustainable development and youth empowerment in the United States, Juan represented youth across the US.  Through SustainUS, Juan also rallied behind a cause he strongly supports as a native of Peru, which was to send a delegation of youth from Latin America who are often underrepresented at conferences such as these.  During the conference, Juan delivered a speech drafted by the International Youth Climate Movement (IYCM) to the heads of state inside the Bella Center on behalf of youth around the world.

But just because we’ve gained greater visibility in the field doesn’t mean that GES is only for the most advanced delegates.  GES values diversity – and we don’t mean just ensuring cultural diversity (although we have that, too).  We’re talking about diversity of perspectives.  We want people from big schools, and people from small schools; people with a lot of experience, and people with none; people with well-developed projects, and people with only the spark of a good idea.  We construct everything from our curriculum to our outcomes opportunities with this diversity of perspectives in mind.  Last year, we offered workshops on fundraising and webtools at the beginner and advanced level.  Our outcomes opportunities were similarly multi-tiered, targeting projects at the idea, planning, or implementation stage.

We believe that everyone who’s passionate about and committed to global change should have a seat at the table. And that everyone, from the delegate who started her own NGO, to the delegate who took a class on refugees and decided to do something about it, has something to contribute and learn from each other.

So the bottom line is this: don’t be intimidated!  There are sure to be some pretty notable delegates at GES 2010.  But there will also be delegates who you haven’t heard of.  Yet.

“The last few years have seen an explosion of incredible training programs for young changemakers. From StartingBloc to AshokaU to the forthcoming Unreasonable Institute, it’s never been a better time to be a young socially-minded entrepreneur. Yet even with all of these options, I believe the Northwestern University hosted Global Engagement Summit is THE must-attend event for young people wanting to make a difference. Here’s why:

1) Community. No one does community as well as the students who run the Global Engagement Summit. Part of this is the fact that Northwestern (and Chicago more broadly) are the intellectual and active home of Asset-Based Community Development, so the community-oriented framework is embedded in the way they think about social change. Part of it is that they ask workshop facilitators to stay for as much of the event as possible, and have delegates stay with student staff members. Part of it is the alumni who are social change leaders in basically ever part of the world. Most of it is that the event is run by 60-100 students who care first and foremost about creating the best experience for the participants.

2) Custom Curriculum. GES is not about panel discussions or talking-heads, and instead focuses on creating a five-day curriculum driven by upwards of fifty workshops and small group discussions. Students chose the workshops that most relate to their enterprises, and are also treated to 1-on-1 mentorship sessions with workshop facilitators.

3) Diverse Participant Pool. One of the original decisions that GES made was to invest a huge portion of it’s time and money into recruiting international participants. Each year, closer and closer to half of the participants are international students – either flown in from abroad for the event or international students at American universities. This helps challenge the America-centric development conversation.

4) Critical Conversation. In fact, one of the hallmarks of the GES experience is challenging easy rhetoric and good intentions. The original event was actually designed in explicit contrast to the easy “we can save the world with just our passion” sentiment that was too easy for many students to slip into. Students are challenged to think about their best role in the world, and many of the GES “successes” are students who re-evaluate whether their new organizations or projects are actually necessary.

5) Opportunity Pipeline. From the very beginning, GES wanted to make sure that it backed its critical training with real opportunities for better action. From funding (GES has helped students raise over $150,000 to date, in partnership with groups like GlobalGiving) and media opportunities, to pipeline partnerships for additional training and support with groups like the Unreasonable Institute and Fast Forward Fund, GES is a jumping off point for far more resources than it can provide in the week of the event itself.

+ a Bonus: 6) It’s Entirely Student Run. In full disclosure, I founded GES when I was a student at Northwestern. But I didn’t make it great. It was made great by the now five years of incredible student leadership and more than 400 undergraduates who each volunteer hundreds and hundreds of hours a year to create the most incredible experience they can. The constant stream of new ideas and new energy is what keeps the event a unique experience.”

There’s still time to apply!

International Delegates Application Deadline: DECEMBER 15, 2009

American Delegates Application Deadline: DECEMBER 30, 2009

The GES Outcomes Team recently brainstormed over 80 different organizations that we’re interested in working with this year and did extensive research on all of them to determine which ones would be a perfect fit for GES. It was exciting and inspiring to see the awesome work that other organizations are doing in the field of international development. I can’t wait to start working with some of them!

At the end of the meeting we decided it would be great for the GES Outcomes team to have a slogan this year. Some of the ideas we came up with included, “the next ascent,” “more than a summit,” “taking you to the next level,” “the descent,” and “to the summit and beyond!”

We also want to create a name for all the cool organizations we partner up with for the Global Engagement Summit. In the past these have included orgs like Global Giving, Fast Forward Fund, Mission Measurement, All Day Buffet, and Pivot Non-Profit Consulting. In the future we will add stellar organizations including the Unreasonable Institute, Sparkseed, and Starting Bloc. But we don’t have a good way to describe our partnerships with these organizations. We were inspired by the fact that the Unreasonable Institute names their partners “pipeline partners,” so we want to work off of that. Unfortunately… all we could come up with was “aqueduct partners” and “opportunity catipultors.” Not so great.

We’re not quite sure what works best for us, so we’re opening it up to you for suggestions! Leave your suggestions for us in the comments area, and one lucky reader will get to choose the 2009-2010 Outcomes team slogan and partnership name. As a reward for your creativity and for helping us out we will arrange for you to have an all-expenses paid dinner at the globally engaged restaurant of your choice. So start suggesting away!