Welcome to the Kleinert Foundation Weekly Reader! Each Monday, we deliver a variety of resources to help keep our community informed and engaged.
Articles, Blogs, & Reports
Café Momentum powers up for life mid-pandemic By: Restaurant.org
“Last year, Café Momentum worked with 182 kids; 42% of them were homeless or abandoned.
All of Café Momentum’s great work was threatened when COVID-19 hit, leaving its future somewhat uncertain. Despite the pandemic, Houser says 10 of the kids graduated with high-school diplomas, but the restaurant’s closure still impacted work and on-the-job training.
“We knew keeping the restaurant open wasn't an option because nobody was going to show up,” Houser says. “But we also knew we needed to provide a stable environment for the kids. It didn't take rocket science to figure out that the pandemic was going to disproportionately affect communities of color.”
The deaths of George Floyd and Brionna Taylor really affected the students and staff members. Area protests soon began, and one of the cafe’s windows was broken. Houser decided to put plywood boards up around the restaurant to protect it. He and the students decorated it with the restaurant’s logo, and post-it notes with messages about how they felt about what was happening.” Read more here.
‘Our heads are spinning’: Dallas ice cream shop gets unexpected $50,000 grant on ‘Today’ show By: Dallas Morning News, Sarah Blaskovich
“When a Dallas ice cream shop asked its fans to “save Howdy Homemade” during the coronavirus pandemic, they did.
A GoFundMe with a goal of $75,000 has now collected over $100,000 from fans of the beloved Dallas business, which employs adults who have Down syndrome, autism and other intellectual or developmental disabilities.
On Friday morning, the money kept coming in: Howdy Homemade staffer Coleman Jones appeared on the Today show on NBC and was given an unexpected $50,000 from entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis, who stars in the CNBC show The Profit.” Read more here.
Beautiful Ways to “Carry a Cause” By: Cause Consumer, May Zahrat
“Lia Valerio witnessed the bleak situation firsthand during her initial trip to Cambodia in 2000. “I was out with some friends one night, in Phnom Penh,” she relates. “We ended up at an establishment located under a hotel, where the majority of the patrons were older Caucasian men. We also noticed a group of young Cambodian girls there.”
“Later, as we talked to other people who had spent their lives living and working in Cambodia, we came to the realization that we had witnessed a form of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.”
Fortunately, her run-in with human trafficking wasn’t Lia’s only memory from Cambodia. Having recently completed her service in the Peace Corps, Lia also connected deeply with Cambodia’s rich culture as she took the long way home through Southeast Asia.
The local textile art she was exposed to, as well as concern for those at risk of being trafficked, inspired her to co-found a fair trade accessory company producing bags, clutches, and more recently, masks. Today, Malia Designs links vulnerable Cambodian artisans to enthusiastic customers in the States — customers who literally tote the makers’ cause and craftsmanship wherever they go.” Read more here.
Effective Change Requires Proximate Leaders By: SSIR, Angela Jackson, John Kania & Tulaine Montgomery
“Leaders who are proximate to the communities and issues they serve have the experience, relationships, data, and knowledge that are essential for developing solutions with measurable and sustainable impact. Importantly, proximate leaders also have the ability to recognize and leverage assets within communities that are often overlooked or misunderstood when viewed through a dominant culture lens.
Mauricio Lim Miller, who founded The Family Independence Initiative, is another example of a proximate leader. Miller was born in Mexico. When he was nine years old, Miller’s mother emigrated to the United States, bringing along Mauricio and his older sister. Unfortunately, the Miller family’s integration experience was not an easy one.” Read more here.
Podcasts
Episode 53: When Survivors have Lawyers, Survivors have Rights
“When survivors have lawyers, survivors have rights: This is the mission of the Human Trafficking Legal Center located in Washington, DC. The Legal Center has a database of every federal civil and criminal human trafficking case in the U.S. since 2009. They use this information to study trends in human trafficking, identify gaps, and advocate for change. In this episode, Deputy Director Sara Bessell, discusses some of the most critical trends occurring in the U.S. including the targeting by traffickers of those with disabilities, domestic violence and trafficking, and arresting victims in order to compel their testimony. The Legal Center is at your service to share the civil database, to pull criminal cases for you, or to potentially answer the questions you have. ” Listen here.
“Sometimes businesses forget that their business prospects aren’t nameless, faceless entities. They’re comprised of human beings – humans who enjoy being surprised and delighted. That’s why corporate gifting is important, but unfortunately, it’s often forgotten as the strong practice and business tool that it is.
Jillian emphasizes that corporate gifting should involve genuine gifts, which are not the same as marketing.
Marketing materials like branded swag are sometimes presented as gifts, but giving these sales-centric offerings can diminish the value of the gesture. On the other hand, real, personal, and thoughtful gifts can make someone feel special, seen, and heard - creating delight for the recipient. This in turn helps the gift-giver leave a memorable, lasting impression.” Listen here.
Upcoming Events
Refugee Services Texas Virtual Saturday Book Club: After The Last Border
Saturday, October 24, 2020 10:00 am- 11:30 am CST
“Join us on Saturday, October 24th at 10:00AM CST for our Saturday Book Club as we take a closer look into After the Last Border by Jessica Goudeau! We'll start off our October book club meeting by hosting a Q&A with the author Jessica herself, lead by RST's Development Director Ashley Faye, and break into smaller community groups after to further discuss the stories of the two women in After the Last Border!” Learn more here.
Wednesday, Oct 28, 2020, 11:00 AM -Sat, Oct 31, 2020, 12:00 PM CST
“Building systems that are equitable for women and people of color expands prosperity for everyone. The opportunities for human-centered design, innovation and impact that will take us there are unprecedented. But even as there are growing reasons to hope, we must commit to reform through principles, policies, and practices that level the playing field and create opportunity. bigBANG! 2020 will lift up rightful disruption and its methods to dismantle injustice and intentionally rework and rebuild systems that provide equal opportunity for all people to participate with dignity in the economic life of our society.” Learn more here.
Friday, November 9, 2020 - Saturday, November 10, 2020
“Join us for New Friends New Life's virtual conference! Sold: Virtual Conference on Human Trafficking and Exploitation offers cutting-edge topics targeting an array of professionals including advocates, legal community, law enforcement, healthcare workers, and educators. Our conference is designed to provide relevant and up to date training for those working on the front lines and behind the scenes in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation. Register today!” Learn more here.
From Dallas Doing good
Reimagining Communities with Corporate and Nonprofit Collaboration By: Mary Martin
“On October 15 and 16, Capital One is hosting its fifth annual Reimagine Communities Summit. This no-cost virtual event is open to all nonprofit, corporate, and social good leaders who are looking to learn from each other. With the event’s focus on innovation and creativity in the face of layered challenges, speakers will include Michael J. Sorrell, President of Paul Quinn College, Patrick Brandt, President, Shiftsmart + Co-Founder, Shiftsmart, Ashley Brundage, Executive Director of Housing Stability and Senior Vice President of Community Impact, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, and Dan Pallotta, Author, Activist, and Humanitarian.
Ahead of the event, Director of Social Innovation for Capital One, Monica Shortino, shares with us about her hopes for not only the Reimagine Communities Summit, but the future of community partnership.” Read more here.
From The Liberty Line Newsletter
Barr announces $100 million more to combat human trafficking By: PBS, Jeff Amy
“U.S. Attorney General William Barr says the federal government is awarding more than $100 million in grants to target human trafficking.
The money will go to task forces combatting human trafficking, to victim services and victim housing.
Barr made the announcement Monday in Atlanta with presidential adviser Ivanka Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
“This is one of the top enforcement priorities of the department and we’re on the forefront of this fight,” Barr said.
President Donald Trump’s administration in August awarded $35 million in Justice Department grants to organizations that provide safe housing for victims of human trafficking. ” Read more here.
October Book of the Month
After the Last Border By: Jessica Goudeau
“After the Last Border is an intimate look at the lives of two women as they struggle for the twenty-first century American dream, having won the "golden ticket" to settle as refugees in Austin, Texas.” Purchase a book here.
October Product of the Month
Love Welcomes - Welcome Mat
“Love Welcomes is a creative social enterprise that helps refugee women begin to stitch their lives back together. We reclaim the life vests and blankets worn by frightened, exhausted refugees as they wash up on European shores. Our team of refugee women then transform them into beautiful, handmade welcome mats (and more) that we sell all over the world.” Learn more here.