Announcing - Leadership for Social Change

Ideas start in the mind. Along the way, many get forgotten or rejected.  But some ideas remain... growing stronger over the years until they are realized.

For me, this one started in 2011. 

I'm at the Peace Corps office in Kiev saying my goodbyes. After two years of serving in Konotop, Ukraine, I'm flying back to America tomorrow.

“Jud, we're hoping that you'll record your 21 tips talk before leaving,” says Iryna, the PC training director.

My talk of practical ideas for community integration had been well received by Peace Corps Trainees. Iryna wants to use it in future trainings. Of course, I'm flattered and soon find myself sitting in front of the camera for my first ever video – 21 Tips for Community Integration.

I don't know it at the time but a new idea is forming.

Flash forward and I'm back in the Peace Corps.  This time I'm in Macedonia. Here I'm serving as an organizational development specialist helping young community leaders with management and leadership issues.

I learn a lot. I develop short in-office trainings, bi-weekly emails with “Leadership Tips”, and spend lots of hours coaching.

I don't know it at the time, but I'm organizing a body of content.

Moving into present time, I'm back in America again and missing my relationships with community leaders. I'm wondering how I can keep relationships and make new ones.

That's when the idea for a YouTube Channel crystallizes. 

 On YouTube, I can open a space for sharing and encourage community leaders in their work for positive social change.

I think to myself, “I can do this.”

But soon I discover that I can't do it alone. While I have inspiration and content, I don't have knowledge of how to make and post videos.

My son, Matthew, starts my learning process. He helps me map out a plan and shares some links for more learning. And just as importantly, his support motivates me.

Nesko and Ratomir, colleagues from Macedonia, help me solve technical problems. Other, like Sally, Bob, Fran and Barb, are a constant sources of support. When I'm about to give up, I'll talk with one of them.

Once again, I learn that ideas don't easily become reality. This one takes six years and six months.

Yet here I am on July 4^th announcing a new YouTube Channel.

 Leadership for Social Change. 

It's a place where community leaders can discover new ideas and adapt them into their own leadership.

I'm hoping that it will reach community leaders both in America and developing countries.

Maybe Peace Corps Volunteers and others who work with community leaders can pass-it-on.  

I won't be monetizing this project.  It's about helping others. 

So if you can, why not help me pass-it-on.    

Here's a couple of ideas to get you started.

1.  Subscribe yourself.  Leadership for Social Change. When a channel has more subscribers, it shows up more frequently on searches. 

2.  Post these links in your Social Media and tell people about Leadership for Social Change.  

By passing-it-on, you open possibilities for reaching leaders who might benefit a lot.  It's a "three degree of separation" thing.  

     Blog  

http://juddolphin.blogspot.com 

  

     YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5BcjFBQROBx7G5ONjQTbaw  

Thank you so much.  

Like I say in one of the videos, “We're in this life together. And we are leaders who are working for a better world...one community at a time..”

Macedonian Collaboration and Social Entrepreneurship

Coming together is a beginning,

keeping together is progress,

working together is success.
                           ...Henry Ford 

Our office is buzzing with activity.  Tonight at a cafe, we'll launch another issue of Лице в Лице, our street magazine. 

Lice v Lice means “face to face” in Macedonian.  The name is based on the way the magazine is distributed.  Instead of selling on-line or by subscription, it’s sold on the street “face to face” by vendors.

Our vendors are the homeless, Roma, disabled and others living on the margins.  They go to office buildings, street corners and other public places selling Lice v Lice. For their efforts, they collect half of the cover price - about a dollar.   It’s a form of social entrepreneurship. 

Social Entrepreneurship is an idea that has been expanding among NGOs. Business practices are used to sustain NGOs while achieving social good. For my organization, the business need of selling the magazine also achieves income and opportunities for those who have little of both. 

Street papers are a movement that has been spreading across the globe. Recently leaders from 115 papers in 36 countries gathered in Seattle, Washington to share best practices and be inspired by achievements of one another. 

Together the street papers boast 6 million readers for each edition. Learn more. 

Lice v Lice participated in the conference and presented a workshop. Others were impressed with the depth of our magazine's content. Every issue is over 65 pages and focuses on a major social issue.

To give you an idea in English, here is a link.  Read more about this social issue called Embrace Rarity.

I like the mix of data with human story and policy suggestions. People say they buy the magazine to support the marginalized but then discover it's a good read on issues that rarely are heard in mainstream media. What do you think?

The launch event starts.  We're filling the Rakia Bar, a trendy place in the heart of Skopje. The event is part of an emerging marketing strategy. It draws attention of the media and brings together a growing number of supporters. 

Tonight 200 will eventually spill onto the streets.  It's exciting.

Bundles of the magazine are carried in. I leave the heavy lifting for the younger ones. This month’s issue focuses on social responsibility and collaboration between business and NGOs. 

According to Klimentina, Director of my organization, “It’s an area that is not well developed in Macedonia. We want to encourage more.”

Underwriting tonight's event and publication costs is Knauf, an international building supply company. 

It's a first for them in Macedonia and demonstrates corporate leadership. Robert, our liaison, tells me he admires the work of Lice v Lice and is glad Knauf can help.

Robert and Klimentina

Actually, his involvement sparked a creative idea. In transporting their products, Knauf uses industrial bags. Could these bags be re-purposed?

I'm not sure how, but together Klimentina's and Robert's creativity went into over-drive. They caught an idea that these old bags could be transformed and made into something beautifully unique.

Klimentina contacted a designer friend, Irina. Soon she came up with a pattern and created a prototype for a tote bag. Other designers got involved with original art work to decorate the bags. From industrial bags emerge totally unique totes. Collaboration works.

At the event, the bags, a la totes, are on display for sale. People crowd in to take a look. It feels a little like bargain day at Filene's basement. Before long, actually less than 30 minutes, all the bags are sold. 

Cory, the Peace Corps Director in Macedonia, beams as she snags one of the last ones.

I think it adds excitement and an urban edge to the evening.  And I can’t help making an analogy. If these industrial bags can be transformed, then maybe urban societies can be too. People on the margins included and valued face to face.  Read more about the bags

But there’s more to the evening. I had assumed that the proceeds would go to Lice v Lice. Budgets are always a challenge. But no, Klimentina informs me that there's a special purpose.

“We decided to organize a collaboration with the Center for Street Children,” she says. She goes on explaining how they helped them before, but nothing sustainable. The Center tries to offer a lunch program, but sometimes there's not enough food.

Staff: Aneta, Zarmena, Alexsandra, a vendor, Klimentina, Maja
Nebojsa missed this picture.  He is off doing something important

Unknown to me, Zarmena on our staff makes many calls until she finds 4 food companies ready to donate. Tonight's money will provide the missing link.

“We'll rent a van and every week the driver will collect and deliver the food,” says Klimentina as she turns to me and asks, “What do you think?”

I’m amazed. Food for street children. 

 Lice v Lice not only writes about collaboration, publish a magazine about collaboration and gets Knauf and designers involved, but they also manage to create collaboration where street children are fed. And to make it even more amazing, it's sustainable – food from re-purposed industrial bags.

I'm thinking...

“Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success.” 

Henry Ford said it first and now I see it in Macedonia.  Collaboration and social entrepreneurship working together.  

Success.

Kindness - On the Way Home and Beyond

It's a day for festivities. Peace Corps Volunteers are being celebrated for their work in Macedonia.

This story has an unlikely beginning. It started decades ago when Ace, our Macedonian host, was young. As an adventuresome boy might do, he was exploring the town's graveyard when he discovered a stone in English. It was for an American doctor – James F. Donnelly. He lost is life here while treating others during the great Typhoid epidemic of 1914.

Ace tells us the story 

Ace was deeply moved then and now in the retelling - “A man, not Macedonian, leaving family and home, helping others and losing his life here – the first American.” 

 As the gravestone says, “Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

This boyhood memory connects years later when Ace meets his first Peace Corps Volunteers. Again, here are Americans leaving family and homes to help Macedonians. 

As a result of this friendship, he became involved in projects helping disabled children. “We didn't know there was such a problem until David helped us become aware.”

PC Country Director, Corey, assists 
Ace in laying flowers on the grave site

We walk to the town's graveyard. Flowers are laid on the doctor's grave. The story is retold and we pay our respects. James F. Donnely is remembered even though there's no mention of him on Google as far as I can tell.

As I walk back, I have a growing awareness that acts of kindness are not lost. They live on. And sometimes, even out of grave yards, a century later, they inspire others.

We gather in a room. Volunteers sit with Macedonian counterparts. All take turns sharing glimpses of Peace Corps service. I marvel at the enthusiasm of younger volunteers. Young in life, they already are making a difference.

The celebration part of our day begins. We make our way to a grand winery outside of town. As we drive down the dusty drive, I see neatly staked vines already filling with clusters of grape. It'll be a good harvest.

On the veranda of the main house, a luncheon is ready for us.

Everyone is in high spirits as we take our seats.  The day is beautiful.  A cool breeze, unusual for this time of year, sweeps down the long table.  

The meal starts with offers of Rakia – alcohol content 60% plus. It's traditional Macedonian welcome.

Two new friends.  One directs a local cultural center and wants to teach youth film making and the other belongs to a wood carving guild and mentors the next generation into the craft.  

After toasts and careful sips (at least for me), we dig into large platters of greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, roasted peppers and shredded carrots. Side dishes with feta and olives are passed along too.

I ask if the peppers are hot ones. “Just the small.” I'm told. “But try them all, you'll like.” I smile and pass the plate along. I've been there before.  Salad is followed by platters of meco. The meats include slabs of pork ribs, chicken and tasty sausages.  I transition from the Rakia to a nice Rose wine.  It's fresh and not too sweet.  

And then I try the Cabernet.  

Wow, I've never tasted such a delicious wine. It's wonderful - full body velvet with a smooth finish.

We share lots of toasts and lively conversations.  It's like we have a lot in common and of course, we do - Americans and Macedonians serving together through the Peace Corps.  

The owner beckons me to follow him. We descend into the wine cellar. It's cool and the shelves are neatly displaying bottle after bottle. I tell the owner how much I enjoyed the wine. He stands proud and I ask to snap a photo.

I buy four for about $20. I would have bought more, but I knew I had a bus ride home at the end of the day. Four is enough for now.

We say our goodbyes and head for Skopje. Along the way we see young men on bikes and others on foot moving northward. At first I thought they might be Euro-kids trekking for the summer, but no.

Internet stock photo

These are people fleeing the blood bath of Syria and Iraq. Even though I've seen images before, the horror of it all begins to seep through the car windows into my consciousness.

One fleeting image sticks with me. It's a father carrying a toddler and holding the hand of another on the side of the road and we wiz pass.

Two hours later we're on the outskirts of Skopje. My Peace Corps friends drop me off at a bus stop to get to my home. With back-pack and box of wine, I look like an American Baba.

Here comes the bus. It's #5 just as I expected, but with an added A. I ignore the A, climb aboard and buy a ticket. We get to the edge of the Center when the bus veers right. Soon I'm in unfamiliar territory.

Suddenly, the bus stops and all the people get off. What to do? I try to ask the driver. He grumbles three, three and points across the 4 lane parkway. I'm not sure what to do other than get to the other side of the road.

It's not easy, but I make it still carrying my box and clutching my bus ticket for a re-entry.

I ask an older woman about getting a #5 bus to my home in the Aerodrom neighborhood. She takes me to a bus shelter about a half a block away. I keep saying - #5 here? And she keeps looking at my ticket.

We are not yet communicating.

She opens her purse and pulls out her ID card pointing to her birth date – 1950. Huh?  And then I get it, sort of. I tell her 1945 for me. Actually, I write it since I can't recall how to say numbers that large. She points to my bus ticket saying, “ne, ne ,ne.” Finally, I figure it out. She's been trying to tell me that seniors ride free on Fridays.

We're communicating.

Suddenly, a #50 bus swooshes to a stop in front of us. She pushes me forward. I'm thinking it's not #5 or any number that I've taken before, but I'm in her hands, almost literally.

She insists that I take one of the last seats and finds a place for my box which has begun to feel awkward. Others look at us with curiosity. I try to remind myself that I'm on an adventure.

After a few stops, we get off. I think we're at a mega stop where many buses crisscross. Sure enough, here comes #5 without an A. The woman once again finds me a seat and a place for my box.  

The man next to me wonders who I am. She tells him I'm American and lots of other stuff that I don't understand. Maybe she's telling him about me buying an unnecessary ticket.  A young woman stands in front of us. She's smiling. I ask her to express my appreciation to the woman who has been so helpful. Others turn to see what's going on. Strangers are becoming friendlier. Questioning stares become gentle smiles. It's kind of amazing.

I step off the bus with farewell greetings, lots of smiles and great feelings. At home, I brim over with thoughts of my day. I'm thinking about kindness - How it works and what it does. I'm glad kindness lives on, maybe forever....

Across from my balcony,  a rainbow spreads across the sky

Skopje, Macedonia and Peace Corps Response

Retirement is grand. 

You get to do most anything whenever you want.  Get up early with the birds?  Give it a try.  Sleep in?  Sure, why not. 

Volunteer in the community.  It feels good to give back.  Invest time with family and friends.  Close relationships are so precious.  Expand hobbies and discover new passions.   Lots of retirees say they are busier now than ever before.   

For sure, when you retire, you’re a free agent and the Social Security keeps coming no matter what…I hope.

And for me, retirement means chances for new adventures.  On April 25^th, I’ll be embarking on another.  I’ll be taking off from Dulles airport.  Destination is Skopje, Macedonia.  It’s the birth place of Mother Teresa. 

Click here link to learn more about Macedonia. 

My purpose is to serve for a year as a Peace Corps Response Volunteer (PCRV).

Peace Corps Response provides opportunities for returned Peace Corps Volunteers to undertake short-term, high-impact assignments in various posts around the world. It began as a Crisis Corps in 1996 responding to the genocide in Rwanda.  Since then, over 1000 Volunteers in more than 40 countries have served.

PC Response Volunteers fill specific needs for skills and expertise.  Along with language and cross cultural understanding, they are able to have an immediate impact where it is most needed.

Last Fall I ran across this posting for an Organizational Management Expert.  I thought, "That sounds like me."  My working life has always involved developing and managing organizations.  While in Ukraine as a Peace Corps Volunteer, I taught leadership and organizational development seminars. 

But what really caught my attention in the posting was the organization’s vision and mission:

Our Vision is one of a more equitable and just society which actively values supports and empowers marginalized people. 

Our Mission is to alleviate poverty and to enhance inclusion of marginalized people….

“Wow,” I thought, “these are the kind of values that I have tried to work for throughout my life.  Here’s an organization that speaks to my passions and I have some of the skills they need to be helpful.” 

It didn't take too long before I applied and entered the Peace Corps application process. I was assigned a recruiter.  An interview compared my background and skills with Macedonian needs.  Peace Corps agreed that it was a good match.  Before the end of 2014, I was offered the position.  Hooray!

But there’s more, namely medical screening.  Here’s where the process gets muggy and bogged down.  Lengthy forms had to be completed.  Many doctors had to be consulted.  Medical record had to be obtained from archives. 

My broken arm required faxing 32 pages of operational procedures.   Yikes! 

More followed. Sixteen requests for vaccinations, blood tests, x-rays and the like had to be fulfilled.  If anything, the Peace Corps medical process is thorough and it takes many weeks.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that for a guy bordering on 70, I’m in good health and I’m going to Macedonia.  Hooray!

So here I am embarking on yet another adventure.  My apartment is rented to a good friend.  My needed possessions are reduced to two duffle bags.  And my mind is churning with excitement.

I’m grateful that in a world riddled with strife, senseless murders and so much warfare, we still have space and funding for a Peace Corps.  I intend to make the best of it. 

Few of us get to change the world in any dramatic way, but most of us can add a little more light. 

On this Easter morning, I’m thinking of Pope Francis and the ancient prayer from his namesake.

Lord, make me an instrument of your Peace. 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith; 
where there is despair,hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
in pardoning that we are pardoned;
it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.

Pope Francis and Istanbul's Grand Mufti Rahmi Yaran pray together in the Blue Mosque, Istanbul. 

PC Acronyms

 The Peace Corps loves acronyms.
Of course there are the easy ones like PCV or Peace Corps Volunteer.  But then there are more complicated ones like PCMO or  Peace Corps Medical Office and PST or Pre-Service Training.   Some people experience ET or Early Termination, but most of us go all the way.   Right now I am experiencing COS or Close of Service.   I finished my two page check-list and have said my goodbyes to a wonderful PC Staff.

In less than 24 hours, I depart from Ukraine leaving behind a DOS or Description of Service  in my official record.  Take a moment and give it a read.  Soon I will be a RPCV or Returned  Peace Corps Volunteer and a proud one at that!

"The U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires, a. i., James D. Pettit swore in Mr. Judson W. Dolphin as a Peace Corps Volunteer on June 18^th, 2009 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Mr. Dolphin was assigned to Konotop, a City of 95,000 Ukrainian and Russian speakers in Sumy Oblast which is located in the northeastern part of Ukraine.  He worked as a full-time NGO/Community Development facilitator at Hearts of Love Charity Fund, which has a director, 6 primary volunteers and many other occasional volunteers.

As a Community Development volunteer, Mr. Dolphin focused on transferring organizational development skills. He consulted with his primary organization, conducted workshops, and implemented projects. During his second year in Konotop, Mr. Dolphin connected with secondary organizations including governmental, NGO and educational institutions.

Yelena Yuschenko, Director of Hearts of Love Charity Fund, was his counterpart. Ms. Yuschenko along with other volunteers opened Hearts of Love in the fall of 2008 as an activity and support center for special need children and their families. Mr. Dolphin was their first Peace Corps Volunteer arriving in June of 2009.

Ms. Yuschenko introduced Mr. Dolphin to the community during a partnership meeting within the first week of service. Mr. Dolphin followed up with individual meetings and further networking to broaden his contacts in the community. Within three months, he had met with over 25 leaders from the NGO, educational, governmental and business sectors.

Mr. Dolphin deepened relationships through an innovative 10 week Leadership English Course. About 15 leaders participated in the twice weekly course that ran for 10 weeks. He authored the curriculum and tailored material to the abilities and interest of his adult students. As skills and English language learning were being shared, mutual trust was developing.

For example, when flu quarantine closed Ukrainian schools, including the Konotop Institute where classes were being held, the City Department of Pensioners and Disabled Persons volunteered a space so that the classes could continue. Having a US Peace Corps volunteer freely using a space in a city governmental building is unusual and was a first in Konotop.

At his primary site, Hearts of Love, Mr. Dolphin worked with volunteer staff to start an Art Expression Class for special need children. Collaborating with Ukrainian volunteers set the framework for transfer of skills and eventual sustainability. Now even when Mr. Dolphin is away from site, the Art Class continues with about 10 children participating each week.

In the winter of 2009, Mr. Dolphin provided guidance in developing a funding strategy for his host organization. Higher energy costs and increased activities at the Center required additional funding.

Through a series of discussion and presentations, it was decided to initiate a local funding strategy to supplement grants from foreign benefactors. With additional guidance and training provided by Mr. Dolphin, Hearts of Love held a successful charity auction selling bead-work that children and parents had made. A silent auction was also organized with services or goods that had been solicited from 16 local businesses of whom most had never contributed to Hearts of Love before. Over 3800 UAH was raised along with much media exposure.

Media reports during the holiday season stimulated copy-cat auctions raising additional money. In 2010, the Charity Auction was repeated with expanded leadership and is on the path for sustainability

In January of 2010 Mr. Dolphin led a needs assessment process involving children, volunteers and parents at his site. The idea for a SPA project emerged calling for a computerized learning center for the special need children of Hearts of Love. Often, these children are passed over in school and do not have access to the power of computerized learning.

Implementation of the project was delayed because of unforeseen illnesses, but in September 2010, a computerized learning center was opened. Five Ukrainian volunteers now teach and oversee about 25 children (non-duplicated number) each month. Plans are underway to secure additional funds for connecting to the Internet.

Also in 2010, Mr. Dolphin developed a series of Organizational Development Seminars. Leaders from both government and non-government sectors had heard about success at Hearts of Love and wanted to benefit from the knowledge and skills that Mr. Dolphin brought with him from a life time of non-profit management and teaching experience.

Mr. Dolphin conducted a needs assessment with leaders and potential participants. From this information, he developed a series of four 3 hour seminars in both English and Russian. He worked with a translator and presented each seminar twice in order to better accommodate schedules.

As a result 26 leaders participated in one or more of the seminars. They gained information and practice for developing mission statements, conducting SWOT analysis, building teams, working with volunteers, growing as leaders and of course, understanding fund raising strategies, organizational stability and grant writing.

As word spread about the value of the Seminars, Mr. Dolphin was invited to adapt the material for special audiences. The City Department of Families and Children held a meeting on volunteering and Mr. Dolphin presented information on working with volunteers to about 50 people. And then youth leaders of the City met to learn skills and share ideas. Mr. Dolphin presented leadership skills and team building to 23 young leaders. All presentations were conducted with Russian translation.

Mr. Dolphin was honored by the Konotop Institute and Polytechnic School during its 120^th anniversary. Among the many business, educational and business leaders, he was invited to briefly address over 100 people who had gathered to mark the occasion. It was a very special honor to be the only American to be a part of this historic moment.

Also while serving in Konotop, he has made brief presentations at half dozen primary schools, several youth organizations and other meetings. On one occasion he shared the podium with several of Konotop’s remaining Great War veterans. Stories of personal sacrifice during the War were blended with other stories about individuals volunteering to make the country a better place to live. Mr. Dolphin concluded his remarks by paraphrasing President Kennedy, “Ask not what Konotop can do for you, but what you can do for Konotop?”

In the summer of 2010, Mr. Dolphin and other Peace Corps Volunteers discovered a lack of English literature books in all of Konotop. A rich cultural exchange and world of new ideas was closed to the people of Konotop. Mr. Dolphin set out to correct this deficit. At first he was rebuffed by the city library. They were not interested in partnering. But then, Mr. Dolphin approached the English teachers, librarians and director at the Polytechnic School. They were enthusiastic and eager to partner.

Over the next 6 months a small team works steadily.   As a result, an English literature library of more than 300 books was opened on March 2, 2011. Access is open to anyone on Konotop and a month long public education campaign was launched to inform the community about this new opportunity.  Within the first month 38 books had been circulated. More will follow since the School plans to integrate an English Literature course into their curriculum.

During his intensive work with the Polytechnic School, Mr. Dolphin started a monthly advanced English conversational seminar. Each seminar was interactive and gave students a chance to leave textbooks and have real English conversations. About 18 students participated in each session.

In February and again in May of 2011, Mr. Dolphin was invited by Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv to teach in their Institute of Leadership and Management. It’s the only institute in Ukraine offering a master level program in organizational development and NGO management. Their goal is to equip Ukrainian leaders for developing Civil Society.

Mr. Dolphin taught a 6 hour seminar on Public Relations and Media, a 3 hour seminar on Fund-raising and Grants, and another 3 hour seminar on Story Telling. Each was well received and sixty-five leaders participated in one or more of the seminars.

Continuing their relationship, Nataliya Bourdon, Director of the Institute of Leadership and Management, has invited Mr. Dolphin to be a long-distant advisor. They plan to have regular Skype conversations as this important effort to build civic society continues.

Throughout his Peace Corps service, Mr. Dolphin enjoyed his exposure to Ukrainian culture. While his language level was tagged at low intermediate, he had no difficulty in developing many new friendships. During a thank you party as he prepared to leave, more than 40 of Konotop’s leader and friends came to say farewell.

Mr. Judson W. Dolphin left Konotop, Ukraine on May 25, 20011 for end of service meetings with the Peace Corps staff in Kiev.

Following Ukraine's Declaration of Independence in 1991 and its decision to become an independent democratic country, a bilateral agreement was signed by US and Ukrainian Presidents to establish a U.S. Peace Corps Program in Ukraine in 1992. Since then, US Peace Corps Volunteers have been serving in Ukraine in the areas of business development, education, environmental protection, youth development, and community development. Mr. Dolphin work as a Community Development Volunteer, as well as his role as a representative of the people, culture, values and traditions of the United States of America, was part of a nation-wide development effort in Ukraine.

Mr. Judson W. Dolphin completed his Peace Corps service in Ukraine on May 27, 2011."