Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Stories of remarkable individuals and organizations making a difference in the world. From entrepreneurs and activists to educators and healthcare professionals, we showcase people who are bringing about positive change in their communities, locally, globally, and digitally. Join us as we learn from these inspiring individuals and explore the innovative solutions they have developed to address some of today's most vexing challenges. Produced by the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley.
Episodes
46. A Nonprofit for Nonprofits: CARS
CARS works with over 10,000 nonprofits and raises over $60 million a year in fundraising through turn-key vehicle and real estate donation programs.Our speaker is Howard Pearl, the Chief Executive Officer of Charitable Adult Rides & Services (CARS), a national leader in vehicle donation programs for nonprofits. Howard Pearl has over three decades of executive experience and a Harvard Business
45. Guy Kawasaki: Conventional Business Wisdom That's Wrong
Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist of Canva, host of the Remarkable People podcast, author of Wiser Guy, Think Remarkable, and sixteen other books, and adjunct professor at UC Santa Cruz. Kawasaki was the chief evangelist of Apple, trustee of the Wikimedia Foundation, and brand ambassador of Mercedes-Benz. Kawasaki has a BA from Stanford University, an MBA from UCLA, and an honorary doctorate fr
44. Education, Inspiration and Innovation at Sweet Farms
Nate Salpeter, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sweet Farm Foundation, shares concepts of interconnections between food, action, and investment. In his presentation, we learn how the team at Sweet Farm is pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a sanctuary and how impact can be made locally and globally through targeted efforts that leverage education, inspiration, and innovation.Passion
43. Period Poverty: Giving Girls Their Days Back
Every day, more than 500 million women and girls live without access to menstrual supplies. This often forces them to use unsafe materials that put their health at risk and cause them to miss school or work. With menstruation lasting about 3,000 days over a lifetime (more than 8 years), this challenge is not only a matter of health but also one of equity, dignity, and opportunity.Days for Girls (D
42. Telenovelas Empowering Women
Some of the world's most difficult problems – like poor reproductive health and violence against women – are now being addressed through the medium of prime-time serialized dramas also known as soap operas or Telenovelas.Population Media Center (PMC) uses a special type of serialized melodrama for changing behavior on such issues as family planning, elevation of women's status, girls'
41. The Memory Project - A Kinder World with Art
This episode refers to a number of visuals that are in the video version which can be seen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4IDQhRnwnT1iqINDJo6rXc or on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Fyc7fM4ThnUWe believe the message is an important one, even if you do not watch the video, and hope that you will enjoy this and every episode of our series.The Memory Project is a unique initiative in which US
40. R.I.P. Medical Debt
Medical debt is the number one cause of bankruptcy in the United States. Over 40% of Americans are currently dealing with the challenges of medical debt. RIP Medical Debt was founded in 2014 by two former debt collections executives who realized they were uniquely qualified to help those in need. Our one-of-a-kind model turns $1 dollar into, on average, $100 of medical debt relief. Since RIP Medic
39. Mount Tamalpais College at San Quentin
Mount Tamalpais College is an independent liberal arts college located in San Quentin State Prison. Corey McNeil has been a student since 2011 and joined the staff of Mount Tamalpais College as a program clerk in 2017. After being released in 2021, he became the college's Alumni Affairs Associate. Jody Lewen is President of Mount Tamalpais College at San Quentin State Prison in Marin County, C
38. South African Township Micro-Enterprises
To view the video and visuals in this podcast, see: https://youtu.be/OlJkOXbR4EwThis presentation examines the unseen micro-enterprises of the South African township economy through a socio-spatial lens. Through case studies, Andrew Charman will illustrate the surprising diversity of these small businesses, provide insights into the spatial patterns in which these micro-enterprises are organised,
37. Talent Beyond Boundaries & Displaced Professionals
Betsy Fisher is the US Director of the NGO Talent Beyond Boundaries and a lecturer in international refugee law at the University of Michigan Law School. She is an immigration lawyer and advocates for government policy and technology-based platforms that help refugees and stateless people access lasting safety. She also enjoys watching sports and attempting to garden vegetables.The number of displ
36. Thailand's Remarkable Bamboo Schools
Students play an important role in the management of the school which empowers them to bring social and economic development to their communities, as well as learn leadership, empathy and compassion. In 1974, our speaker, Mechai Viravaidya, launched the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) to combat Thailand's soaring population growth rate. Using unconventional methods and humor
35. Rotary Takes On Cervical Cancer
For $2.50 a woman can be protected against cervical cancer.
A quantum leap in technology and affordable vaccines now make it possible to eliminate the often fatal disease of cervical cancer.
This episode was originally recorded in November of 2022.
The WHO has placed this effort high on their agenda, and Rotary International is taking a lead in the process. Focusing on lower- and middle-income c
34. Tree Views Help Hospitals, Schools and Children
Imagine walking into a classroom and…you are under a tree. Branches, leaves and the sun bursting through, the feeling of being outside.
Forty plus years of empirical science developed at the University of Michigan teaches us, viewing trees or images of trees calms us and helps us focus.
Nature In The Classroom is a nonprofit bringing this science to life by installing ceiling murals of trees in c
33. Inexpensive Eye Exams with Adaptive Optics
$4 glasses are one of the most affordable healthcare interventions.
In this episode, we describe how a breakthrough in adaptive optics makes this possible by providing accurate and inexpensive eye exams.
The Quicksee is an accurate handheld auto refractometer bringing eye prescriptions (the bottleneck to refraction corrections) to remote, underserved areas. The SimVis is a head-mounted binocular
32. Two Gay Grandpas Travel
Starring on the hit YouTube channel, Grandpa Bobby and Grandpa Scott tell the stories of their travels.
Travel as Service: Traveling is more than an opportunity to visit important cultural and historic sites, or a chance to sink your toes in the sands of a tropical resort.
Travel is an opportunity to create bridges to alternate cultures and traditions. It is an opportunity to learn and to grow fro
31. Diary of a Dying Girl
Diane Shader Smith, has had a vibrant career as a writer, speaker, publicist, and fundraiser with an extensive roster of clients during her multi-decade career.
When Diane’s daughter Mallory died at the age of 25, she brought Mallory’s memoir to publication as Salt in My Soul (Random House 2019), which led to the documentary of the same name (3Arts Entertainment).
Using Mallory’s words, Diane ha
30. Dateability: Making Love Accessible for the World's Largest Minority
Dateability is the only dating app designed for the disabled and chronically ill communities.
People with disabilities and chronic illness often encounter ableism on other dating apps. We understand the unique circumstances that present when dating with a disability, which is why we created a safe and accepting space to create meaningful connections for people with physical, intellectual, and psy
29. The 4-day Week and the Future of Work
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang is director of research and programs at 4 Day Week Global, a nonprofit promoting the 4-day workweek.
Alex will present an overview of the global 4-day week movement, which aims to shorten working hours without cutting salaries or productivity.
He will conclude by talking about strategies for making the case for a 4-day week in your own workplace.
His books (Work Less, Do Mor
28. Re-icing the Arctic to Slow Tipping Points and Climate Change
Today we'll learn about an organization called Real Ice.
Climate change, caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, could cause the global temperature to increase by several degrees by the end of the century, precipitating climate tipping points with serious consequences.
The solution to this problem is to cease the burning of fossil fuels and to eliminate excess greenhouse gasses from
27. Internet Archive Founder’s Interview
Brewster Kahle, the founder of the Internet Archive, presenting "Universal Access to All Knowledge."
Current statistics: https://archive.org/about/
More about the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley
Website: Rotary.cool
Meetings’ Video Archive
YouTubeChannel
How to become a member in this online Rotary eClub
More about Rotary International:
Website: www.
26. 3M Teen Winner: Detecting and Treating Mid-ear Infections
Leanne Fan is a high schooler from San Diego, CA. In 2022 she was named America's Top Young Scientist by 3M.
Fan's invention can both detect and treat mid-ear infections, and at a low cost.
Details: By 2050, 1 in 4 people will have hearing loss to some extent. In children, the majority of this hearing loss is caused by mid-ear infections.
Loss of hearing that comes from repeated ear infec
25. Is Cash Aid Better?
GiveDirectly sends cash directly to people living in extreme poverty, no strings attached. GiveDirectly is the first – and largest – nonprofit that lets donors send money directly to the world’s poorest.
They believe people living in poverty deserve the dignity to choose for themselves how best to improve their lives, and cash enables that choice.
They have successfully delivered over $700M to ap
24. Economic Development Through… Flowers?
The Chicago Eco House and Southside Blooms transforms vacant lots into sustainable urban flower farms, turning blight into economic opportunities for majority-Black inner-city communities.
Local youth are trained as florists and farmers through our workforce development program.
Why flowers? The floral industry generates $35 billion a year. 80% of flowers sold in the USA come from out of the cou
23. Using Sound and AI for Conservation
Rainforest Connection (RFCx) is a science- and technology-driven nonprofit detecting and preventing deforestation and supporting biodiversity and ecosystem monitoring in 119 countries.
Founded in 2014, RFCx accomplishes this work by combining the power of acoustics, AI, an international team of field workers, scientists, engineers, and data scientists, and on-the-ground collaborators. By utilizin
22. Wings of Knowedge: Youth Training Youth
Vahid Motazedian, serves as the executive director for Olinga Learning and the Foundation for the Application of Science (FAS), two California nonprofits dedicated to empowering youth to contribute to the social and economic development of their small, rural communities.Vahid grew up in Iran, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, and Oregon. His father studied agriculture and dedicated his life to helping small farm
21. Recycling Textile Waste
How does textile waste contribute to climate change?
FABSCRAP provides one solution.
Our speaker, Erin Wiens, is an ethical textile waste management advocate currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Her experience as a buyer in secondhand clothing spurred her interest in holding the fashion industry accountable for its environmental impact.
Currently, in Erin’s role as Community Lead at FABSCRAP, s
20. Who Owns AI Art & Stories You Create?
As AI tools become more prevalent, they raise important and complex questions about their intellectual property implications.
Who owns the works created using AI? Do AI-generated works violate IP rights? Do AI models violate IP rights when they use third-party works for training purposes?
This talk will answer these questions, and your own, in an effort to clarify these confusing IP topics.
Our
19. Tobacco and the Environment: It's Worse Than You Think
Although the harms of tobacco use are well-known to almost everyone, the harms that tobacco causes to the environment are less recognized.
These harms start with tobacco growing, which is very hard on soils and woodlands, diverts agricultural efforts away from food production, and harms farmers and their children who are engaged with this cash crop.
Tobacco product manufacturing is a dirty busin
18. Student Uses AI to Prevent Suicides
Our speaker today, Siddhu Pachipala, will make the argument that we can do far better identifying and treating suicide risk.
For all the radical leaps forward we've seen in machine learning, biotechnology, and renewable energy over the past 70 years, it feels like psychiatry is sitting firmly in the dust. Just look at the way we handle suicide.
The moment a patient walks into the clinic, they
17. Ending Malnutrition in Africa for Pennies
Two billion people globally suffer from malnutrition, aka hidden hunger, hitting Africa the hardest. Many lack access to healthy food, relying on starchy flour for every meal. This poor diet, lacking vital nutrients, tragically leads to 8,000 preventable child deaths daily.
While developed nations enjoy fortified foods like cereal, milk, and salt, two billion people worldwide lack this basic human
16. First Female President and the Supreme Court
Sylvia Whitlock, was born in New York City but educated in Kingston, Jamaica. Sylvia worked for the United Nations, before moving to California to start a career in education.
Along the way, she earned her Ph.D., cum laude, from Claremont Graduate School. Subsequently, she earned another masters degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Azusa Pacific University, and began a second career as a th
15. Carbon Smart Wood: The Power of Local Regenerative Supply Chains
Theo Hooker is COO and co-founder of Cambium Carbon which is on a mission to build local regenerative wood supply chains.
Most of the 36 million trees that fall in US cities each year are mulched or thrown in the landfill.
Cambium connects that would-be wasted material to their network of sawmills and then into big national buyers.
Their Carbon Smart Wood product diverts waste, creates local jo
14. Rebuilding the Appalachian Economy From the Ground Up
Brandon Dennison is the founder and CEO of a non-profit social-enterprise incubator in southern West Virginia lays out his organization's blueprint for rebuilding an entire economy in coal country.
The presentation will assess the current state of West Virginia's economy, then pivot to a series of solutions being tested by Coalfield Development to overcome the many challenges faced.
Succe
13. Unleashing Africa’s Lion: Development Strategies that Succeed, Dr. Ernesto Sirolli
Dr. Ernesto Sirolli is a renowned expert in local economic development and sustainable entrepreneurship.
He is the founder of the Sirolli Institute and the author of two books: Ripples from the Zambezi and How to Start a Business and Ignite Your Life.
He is also a popular public speaker and has given a TEDx talk titled "Shut Up and Listen".
In 2016, he received the IOEE International Li
12. Libraries Without Borders: Refugee Camps, Storm Shelters, Trailer Parks & Laundromats
Bibliothèques Sans Frontières (Libraries Without Borders, or LWB) is an international non-profit that strengthens the capacity of people in vulnerable situations by facilitating access to education, information, and cultural resources.
In more than 50 countries, Libraries Without Borders creates innovative cultural and learning spaces that allow those affected by crisis to learn, to play, to stre
11. HIV/AIDS Memorials: An American Story
The National AIDS Memorial has been sharing the story of the struggle against HIV/AIDS since the beginning of the pandemic. Through their programs, they remember in perpetuity the lives lost, and offer healing and hope to survivors, inspiring a new generation of activists in the fight against stigma, denial and hate for a just future.
Among these programs, the AIDS Memorial Quilt has been one of t
10. Saving Birds, Bees and Stars: The Dark-Skies Initiative
Light pollution is bad for birds, bees and your health.
This week's speaker, Stephen Hummel, is the Dark Skies Initiative Coordinator at the University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory, located in the Big Bend region of Texas.
His educational background is in international relations and astronomy. Alongside many partners, Stephen was involved in establishing the world's largest Internat
9. Fighting Poverty in Africa with Tractors and Phones (video)
Jehiel Oliver, the founder and CEO of Hello Tractor, an agricultural technology company that connects tractor owners with smallholder farmers in need of tractor services.
Jehiel has been honored with numerous awards for his work in social entrepreneurship including being recognized by Foreign Policy Magazine as a Top 100 Global Thinker and a World Economic Forum Circulars inaugural cohort member.
8. Mercury and Plastic-free Seafood: Saving Tuna & Other Fish from Extinction (video)
Umami meats is now Umami Bioworks:
https://vegconomist.com/cultivated-cell-cultured-biotechnology/cultivated-seafood/umami-meats-rebrands-umami-bioworks/
https://umamibioworks.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/umamibioworks/
Cultivated Seafood: A Sustainable Solution
Our speaker this week, Mihir Pershad, is the founder and CEO of Umami Bioworks, where he is building a team pione
7. A Blind Athlete's Vision: The Story of World Champion Lex Gillette
Sight vs. Vision - World Champion Long Jumper Lex Gillette
Lex Gillette is a globally recognized Paralympic track and field athlete for Team USA. Over his career, he has won four Paralympic medals, four world champion crowns, and even holds the world record in the long jump for totally blind athletes.
At the age of eight, Lex was told by doctors he would never see again. Little did he know, that
6. The Miracle of Giving Teens $1000 to Spend on Someone Else: The Ving Project
Liz Lefkofsky is a social philanthropist committed to championing initiatives that enhance the quality of human life. She has dedicated her professional career to various philanthropic initiatives, starting as a young child helping stuff envelopes in support of the American Brain Tumor Association, which her mother founded. From there, Liz served in numerous non-profit roles at Gallery 37, now kno
5. Unused Oil Wells Remade to Store Wind and Solar Power
An innovative energy storage system from Renewell Energy, transforming unused oil wells into energy storage with their Gravity Well system.
This week's speaker, Kemp Gregory, is the CEO and a co-founder at Renewell Energy. His personal career is a forerunner of the larger energy transition required to decarbonize the electrical grid. Prior to Renewell Energy, Kemp worked for Shell for five years,
4. From Paralyzed to Athlete: The Inspiring Story of Justin Jesudas and the R2D2 Center
The inspiring journey of Justin Jesudas, who despite being paralyzed from the neck down, became an international para-swimming champion and an advocate for assistive technologies.
To learn more about Justin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinjesudas/
To learn more about R2D2:
https://r2d2.iitm.ac.in
https://www.linkedin.com/company/r2d2-iit-madras/
Like and repost on: Facebook, Instagram
3. Can Bikes Eliminate Poverty? The Remarkable Success of World Bicycle Relief.
For the rural poor, particularly girls in school and young women, bicycles are literally a lifesaver.
Without access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities, people continue to live in poverty and die from preventable diseases. World Bicycle relief is changing that.
More about World Bicycle Relief:
Website: https://worldbicyclerelief.org
Smile (short inspirational vide
2. Crushing Medical Debt - One Nonprofit's Success
“Millions of people are on payment plans or declaring bankruptcy that they don't have to pay because they have no idea that these programs exist.” Jared Walker, founder of Dollar For
More about Dollar For:
Website https://dollarfor.org
Does my family qualify? (3 minutes)
Get Involved and help, partner or donate
Like and repost on social media:
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1. Knitted Knockers–A Remarkable Story of Love, Generosity and Service
“It was 12 years ago now, when I heard the words that no woman wants to hear: that I had breast cancer…”
From a casual knitter to the founder of a global organization, Barb Demorest's story is one of passion, purpose, and service.
More about Knitted Knockers:
• www.knittedknockers.org
• www.facebook.com/knittedknockers
• Knitted Knockers’ YouTube channel
More about the Rotary eClub of Si
Introduction to: Inspiring Solutions for a Better World
Stories of remarkable individuals and organizations making a difference in the world. From entrepreneurs and activists to educators and healthcare professionals, we showcase people who are bringing about positive change in their communities, locally, globally, and digitally.
The three segments mentioned in this introduction
Lex Gillette
World Bicycle Relief
Libraries Without Borders
More
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