The first example was of the delicacy of chicken feet (“chicken paws” in industry vernacular). Carlos Ayala is the Vice President of International at Perdue Farms, and he claims that without exporting chicken paws to China, his American-based company would struggle to be profitable. Instead, they cannot keep up with demand. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, indeed! (For the record, Carlos himself considers chicken feet a delicacy and enjoys them)

MedWish International is a non-profit whose innovative recycling can help human feet (and other body parts) overseas. They distribute medical waste, including such items as mislabeled medical supplies and expired tongue depressors, to developing countries that would otherwise have to go without.

The third example was of TerraPower, a nuclear-energy firm that actually reuses nuclear waste as fuel.

Each of these stories certainly lives up to its label of “weird recycling”. And although Perdue Farms and TerraPower clearly see financial benefits from their innovative approach, there is a broader environmental impact as well.

While individuals are generally well aware of the importance of recycling at a household level, businesses would also do well to consider how they can produce less waste. Although Purdue Farms had to take on a large initial investment to set their chicken paw export line of business in place, it has paid off significantly.

What sort of changes could you make in your home or organization to boost recycling or reuse? Sometimes it just takes a little “thinking outside the coop”.

SoloHealth  (An emerging leader in the self-directed healthcare industry) is focused on increasing health and wellness education and disease prevention, through innovative technology design systems.

SoloHealth plans to launch its newest innovation and next generation in health and wellness kiosks.

What is the purpose? Theoretically, to reduce the time and cost of routine doctor visits and the search for available health care providers based on specialty or geographic location.

SoloHealth is offering interactive, medical kiosks that can perform regular screenings as they pertain to vision, blood pressure levels, weight and body mass indexes, and even an overall health assessment. The kiosks can also provide the “patient” with information about available doctors either based on location or medical specialty.

Check out the video here…

So, how much to use it? …..Free.
The goal is to build a healthier and more effective American Healthcare system, essentially resulting in a Healthier America. The strategy of doing so begins with use of these kiosks. They will be installed in highly trafficked retail locations and pharmacies such as Rite-Aid, CVS and Walgreens stores nationwide. You may have noticed blood pressure machines and such in similar store currently or in the past. These SoloHealth Kiosk Stations would replace such machines in these locations.

It’s hard to guess what type of promotional activities may be used to encourage folks to replace routine visits with their physicians for a machine. This seems like a very personal decision. Some people have dedicated relationships based on trust and security with their physicians.

But on the other hand, the reported rate of the population that is uninsured (as of Census Bureau 2010) is 16.3%.  This is about 49.9 million people. Surely a [large] portion of this group of people must not be seeing a primary care physician regularly, and is not receiving routine screenings that could potentially be substantially important.

From the eyes and strategy mind of a Social Behavior Change agency, I applaud the effort, and the goal that could potentially be achieved here. If this can get people to be more aware of some regular health stats of their own bodies, and gain tips to staying or becoming healthier, that is wonderful. So many people are unaware of simple health problems that can easily be maintained and managed with the proper knowledge. But, as we all are aware, there have been and still are significant difficulties in the ways people are getting healthcare treatment. Ongoing insurance issues, growing numbers of patients versus the amount of Primary Care Physicians available, the list goes on..

Perhaps using these kiosks will increase legitimate access to routine health care. Certainly they cannot replace doctors. However, simple screenings for vision, blood pressure and weight management are often times, issues that go unnoticed or overlooked by individuals. It is sometimes “not worth the time and hassle” to make an appointment for such screenings. So…by eliminating  the time and hassle it takes to get an appointment, go to the office, wait, see the doctor..etc… Some people may be less reluctant to ignore the screenings if they can be completed in the middle of their retail shopping trip. Perhaps, even if one was not going to the store with visiting the Kiosk in mind, they may be prompted to do so when they stumble upon it. For some, this could be tremendously helpful, especially if an unexpected result comes up.

This health and wellness kiosk has the potential to promote healthy behavior change. By providing a way for regular screenings to be done outside of the doctor’s office and in conjunction with people’s daily life routines… there could be astronomical increases in the nation’s wellness.

Convenience plays a huge role in the way people feel and act about certain things. So we may see significant use of these kiosks from people who do have a care provider and can afford appointments, but would rather not “find the time.” Not to mention the use from those who are underinsured or uninsured. They are eliminating the costs of copayments and appointments.  

What do you think?…Are these going to be an effective substitution for routine physician visits? Share your thoughts. Do you think any significant change in the wellness of the population will occur if people have access to these machines? Thoughts and comments warmly welcomed.

Being attractive is nice, being memorable is effective.

Creativity and design are two elements that matter to the consumer. Impressive experiences that meet the needs of the customer are the goal. Creating meaningful campaigns that meet these needs and gets the point across is the perfect balance for successful marketing of socially responsible businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Focus on creating a strong brand with innovative and engaging design. Once the design elements are put in place, create engaging campaigns that are going to stand out among all that other noise we are surrounded with. Implementing emotion into a creative campaign can be wildly effective and successful. Planting an idea into someone’s mind using distinctive imagery and clever wording will put get a message across to the audience that they will have a hard time forgetting.

Let’s consider The American Cancer Society’s “Fight for More Birthdays” campaign. This is a great creative idea that really connects with the target market. One might ask.. Who/what exactly is the target audience of the American Cancer Society. Well, perhaps a better question is.. who ISN’T?  Everyone who is fighting cancer is fighting for more of their own birthdays. Everyone who has ever lost a loved one to cancer is wishing that person could have had more birthdays. Everyone who is in jeopardy of ever having cancer will be fighting for more birthdays.

Frankly, this campaign is brilliant and is literally reaching every single person. Everyone has a birthday, and can relate to the message that this is sending out. It is probably safe to say that everyone in the U.S. has been affected by, or knows someone who has been affected by cancer. So this is really impactful in reaching the appropriate audiences that may or may not be suffering from any form of cancer.

The “Fight For More Birthdays” is a very well rounded campaign with both a website and a blog full of information and touching stories. Check it out! There is even an interactive spot on the site where you can choose from a large variety of vocal artists to personalize “happy birthday” videos, e-cards, phone calls and group e-cards to share with someone. There are a series of video stories depicting the different efforts in “the fight to save lives.” Contests, mobile apps, videos, testimonials, songs… you name – they put it out there to the world.

Check out www.morebirthdays.com to view all of the ways the American Cancer Society is changing the way we think, feel and act about cancer.

What am I getting at? New innovation initiatives in healthcare have been present in under-developed and developing countries for as many as 10 years now. So… with all of the mobile applications and basically an endless fountain of information at our fingertips with smart phones, where are our mobile health applications?

 Companies like mHealth Alliance and mHealth Initiative, Inc. have been innovation leaders in this area, penetrating the market with new ways to lead healthier lifestyles. Some mobile options for health care here in the U.S. Mobile phone apps have been created to:

• Assist expecting mothers seeking advice for a healthy pregnancy (Text4baby)
• Help elderly people, and people who take a lot of medicines to remember when and what medications to take (MedCoach)
• Provide emergency assistance when needed (5Star Urgent Response)

So expanding upon these ideas, and taking into consideration what already exists, we should be utilizing this “mHealth” initiative to our advantage. Collaborative efforts between government agencies, private sector organizations, health care professionals, technologists and non-profits/cause related organizations can create amazing success among improved health efforts nationwide.

Since many of the applications that have been created for developing nations are for things like disaster relief, tuberculosis treatment, AIDS related care and women without access to professional health care for childbirth, it is hard to say what technologies and ideas we can adopt and learn from these mobile applications. However, the idea of using applications to promote and sustain healthy behavior change initiatives can be a game changer and wonderful addition to a behavior change campaign.

Through graphically engaging content, useful yet enticing content, and integrated interaction with the demographic, the best behavior change results will occur. So putting this cutting edge technology and innovation idea to work is the next step in promoting healthy behavior change in the U.S. Applications with game based content creates an incentive for the person to interact with the information at hand. These applications may even be as straight forward as providing tips and information regarding the behavior change initiative. Regardless of the actual content that is well thought out and implemented into a mobile application of a campaign, using this approach can shy rocket the results of healthy behavior change initiatives in the U.S.

Some colleagues and I are attending the SVN Fall 2001 Conference, “Movers, Shakers and Change Makers” this weekend, beginning today. The whole idea around this conference is to connect business people, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business owners, and many others interested in community/social change. What better way to acquire business relationships, partnerships, and just plain friendly relationships, than to put a bunch of people with similar interests and initiative into the same environment.

As I read through the article, I was making some connections between this event, and the point that Baker was trying to make. At least my take on the main idea of the article is this: It takes more than a big idea, and some really good copy writing to make community impact and social behavior changes happen on a large scale. Community change initiatives need to be a collaborative effort between a nonprofit (or the organization originating the initiative), engaged and passionate leaders, dedicated staff, and public sector organizational support in order to yield significant results.

(Check out the full article, http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/effective_partnerships . This is a very useful insight to social change initiative thinking. Some challenges, and some helpful tips to the steps toward building these successful partnerships are explored in the article. I won’t go into detail summarizing.)

Now.. why is this related to the “Movers, Shakers and Change Makers” conference we are attending this weekend? Much of the reason of being here is to utilize networking and familiar relationships to open up about business initiatives, and learn and share knowledge among a group of enthusiasts. But there is ample opportunity to build relationships that may spin into successful, and necessary partnerships in the future. Many of us, here, look forward to taking on new insights about the ways in which we can bring about social impact effectively. Who knows.. we could be the missing pieces to someone else’s puzzle.

To read more about the conference, and check out the types of workshops and discussions that are on the agenda, feel free to visit http://www.cvent.com/events/2011-social-venture-network-fall-conference/event-summary-177b631142d247a0953e0d27c44a2e85.aspx.

So what’s all the hype about?

Saving time and money, increased recycling initiatives, cleaner environment, and promotion of sustainability.

Saving time and money: with about 240 million tons of waste produced each year, someone has to be responsible for cleaning it up. The frequency of waste management organizations picking up curb side trash in an urban setting is, on average, two times a week. The BigBelly Solar Trash compactors have decreased the amount of pick-ups to about once every two weeks in these busy city areas. Thus saving the cities  time and significant costs on waste removal. (Or any venue that has adopted these trash compactors!)

This leads to a cleaner environment through eliminating emissions and use of fossil fuels, associated with waste removal trucks. In addition, Public Health Departments support BigBelly Solar trash compactors because they decrease the amount of overflow of trash/litter that generates in the environment. Less overflow and litter leads to less risk of societal health problems due to extensive waste exposure.

Increased recycling initiatives have also become more effective with the BigBelly recycling stations. The availability of public recycling receptacles encourages folks to use them appropriately, rather than mixing recyclables in with the regular trash. Society members of areas where these are available attest to the efforts of “greener” trash solutions and environmental preservation.

The sustainability factor associated with these trash compactors is this…

Young citizens are being encouraged to, and taught how to practice a cleaner, more environmentally friendly method of disposing of waste. Older citizens are easily adopting the new system because the trash compactors are simply there and available. The messaging is also pretty obvious. The compactors are designed relative to their areas, as well as promoting behavior change and clearly stating their purpose of environmental and cleanliness initiatives.

BigBelly trash compactors have been widely adopted among cities, towns, parks, sporting complexes, universities and other public venues. I believe we will be seeing these a lot more frequently as the positive effects continue to become apparent, in the areas that have already made this environmentally friendly change.

BigBelly Solar recently won the GoingGreen Global 200 award in September for being a “Game changing company driving the global greentech revolution.” The behavior change aspect is what we support. Healthier behavior, healthier people, healthier environment. All achieved by switching out trash cans.

For more information about BigBelly trach compactors… check out http://bigbellysolar.com/

What does this mean for you?

If your organization still isn’t on LinkedIn, it should be. Then reach out to your most passionate volunteers and supporters, and encourage them to add you to their profiles.

Volunteers

Often, people choose to volunteer for personal issues; they want to make a difference. Yet according to a survey of hiring managers conducted by LinkedIn, “Twenty percent [said] they have made a hiring decision based on a candidate’s volunteer work experience.” You appreciate the work your volunteers do for you, so help them advance in their career by letting them know this experience can be recognized elsewhere as well.

Similar to standard work experience, volunteers can list the position title, dates served and a description of what they did. Unfortunately, there is not yet a way to ask for recommendations related to volunteer work.

Supporters

We all have a broader network of supporters than those who directly volunteer for the organization. Now those individuals can also help promote your organization by simply listing it on their profile. People viewing their profile can learn about your organization through their mention.

Convinced? Great!

Adding your organization to LinkedIn

If your organization is not already listed on LinkedIn, the first step is for an authorized user to create a company page. This needs to be done by someone who has an email address associated with the organization’s domain (i.e. yourname@yourcompany.org, not yourname@gmail.com). Company pages can include information on your mission, location, job opportunities and more. See the American Red Cross company page at http://www.linkedin.com/company/157239 for more information.

More information on Company Pages is available at: http://learn.linkedin.com/company-pages/.

Adding “Volunteer Experience and Causes” to a profile

Once the company page has been created, you can start asking individuals to add it to their profile. Because this is a new feature, it’s not very well known as of yet.

1. Go to “Edit profile”.
2. Below the summary box and above the Work Summary section, select “add section” in the light blue box.



3. Select “Volunteer Experience and Causes” from the list of possible sections.
4. Volunteer Experience can be added just like standard paid work experience
5. Causes and organizations can be added by selecting the type of causes from a list provided, and typing in the names of specific organizations. If the organization has a company page (see above), it will show up as you start typing in the name.
6. Select the appropriate organization, and it will be displayed on your profile.

Some of us have already found creative ways to add our volunteer experience onto our profiles (as work experience), but others may not have taken the initiative to do so. Let your supporters know that this is a great way for them to showcase their passion and talents., and help further promote your organization.

LinkedIn can also serve as a valuable collaboration platform to engage with like-minded individuals. Interested in how you can use LinkedIn to further your business? Contact us!

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