Are Philanthropists Getting a Bit Too Ambitious?

Bevans Branham’s Newest Blog Post:

You can’t help people you don’t listen to. You can’t teach Bobby calculus if you ignore his lack of algebra. You can’t teach Joe to appreciate literature if you ignore his inability to read. The more you try to help people without asking what they need, the more of a self-absorbed pinhead you become.

When philanthropists do charity, they have to be humble in the way they help others. Real charity requires collaboration and communication with locals. It requires understanding that just because a certain program worked in region A, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will work in region B. It requires acceptance that somethings are just beyond the will and comprehension of any one individual except when that individual can listen to others. For a charity to be effective, it will require forethought.

Don’t build roads if people have nowhere to go. Don’t give books if people don’t know how to read. Don’t donate free clothes if it will leave half the locals unemployed. Analyze and contextualize what people need; then you can help them.

With all the money given to the world’s poor, you’d think world hunger would’ve been eradicated by now. But this money is simple charity; it’s giving money without thinking where that money goes. These donors have a lack of understanding and involvement with the people they are trying to help. They ignore the channeling issues, the political barriers, the corruption and the unintended consequences that make these donations ineffective. If you want to help the world, you have to do your research, you have to be responsible in the way you help and you have to make sure you’re actually making a difference.

Anything we do has unintended consequences, especially if it affects a large number of people. If you want to be important enough to leave a mark somewhere, it will have to be somewhere local, where you have the time and energy to listen to people, to learn their histories and to leave something that would have permanent benefit. But if you want to save half of Africa, maybe you should stop being a superhero and work with others to achieve your good intentions. Together, those others know a lot more than any one individual is capable of knowing.

via Bevans Branham http://bevansbranham.org/are-philanthropists-getting-a-bit-too-ambitious/

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Venture Capitalist: Energy Storage for the Future

From Bevans Branham of Palm Springs, CA:

California passed a bill stating that one third of their total energy supply must be in the form of renewable energy by the year 2020. This bill has pushed major venture capitalists such as Peter Thiel and Vinod Khosla as well as major corporations like General Electric CO and Microsoft Corp to fund various different projects. Thiel and Khosla have invested money into compressed air as a means of energy storage. The idea works in tandem with windmills, energy is generated by the mills which are then funneled beneath the earth as compressed air. The compressed air is stored in a geologic storage structure, and when the air is needed it is funneled back to the surface and heated to produce electricity.

Energy storage is considered the “Holy Grail” as studies show that in California; grids have 51 gig watts of peak capacity for heat to boost air conditioning demand even when it only requires two thirds of that amount for the majority of the year. Unfortunately, the cost of building a battery substitute for the current natural gas powered plants is a major deterrent. Major storage companies such as A123 and Flywheel maker have already filed for bankruptcy. This doesn’t even account for the once available government subsidies which have since then run dry. However, the issue still remains that a substitute form of energy storage must be utilized by the year 2020. With venture capitalist funding the projects, the challenge becomes more business oriented which will hopefully promote the severity of the need for renewable energy.

via Bevans Branham Venture Capital http://bevansbranhamvc.com/venture-capitalist-energy-storage-for-the-future/

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Lindsay Branham – The Heart of a Humanitarian

Lindsay’s dynamic career as a humanitarian began early in her life. Before she completed her undergraduate work at USC in journalism, at spring break, she gathered a group of compassionate companions and flew to the beaches of Thailand to help rebuild some of the homes destroyed by the historic tsunami of December, 2004. Before she returned to Bankok to fly home, she gave away all her remaining money, forgetting that she owed airport tax. The generosity of an American businessman who overheard her telling the story, got her back safely.

That summer, after graduation, she volunteered to spend 6 weeks at an orphanage in Uganda. It was there, in a small village, that she met refugees from surrounding African countries, fleeing oppression and injustice, and first heard about the horrific abduction of children as young as 6 years to serve as “weapons of choice” and soldiers for the murderous madmen of the Lord’s Resistance Army.

She moved to Lake Kivu in the DRC to serve with the non-profit organization, Food for the Hungry as International Media Director, and became very familiar with the destruction and damage to not only the children, but to their families and communities.

Her heart ached to help, to heal, and to reconcile these innocents.

Discover the Journey:

Lindsay subsequently co-founded Discover the Journey and has filmed and photographed many of the children affected by the LRA violence, and has even been instrumental in freeing some of them from captivity. Her images have been seen by many and used by broadcast media to illustrate the crisis in Congo, surrounding countries and around the world while also serving as a CNN and BBC contributor.

Her dedication to reintegrate and reconcile these children has led to her innovative “Mobile Cinema” project, funded by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, seeking to restore the traumatized young people to peaceful lives in their villages and homes, and overcome negative stigma, by using their own stories for local expression and healing. There has been significant success and Lindsay’s work is being expanded into CAR and other regions where children are being victimized and traumatized by violence and war. She introduced the story with word and pictures in her compelling piece,

http://mobilecinema.dtj.org/blog/2013/2/8/space
, which details the lives and challenges of the families she’s worked with in her extensive research and travel to the war-torn areas.

The impressive and exciting results are extensively outlined in The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative publication: click here.

She has loved, cared and written about other children in crisis in other parts of the world as well, including the American southwest, where children suffer poverty and malnutrition and the orphans in Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 2010. She helped produce an award winning documentary with Soledad O’Brien and CNN, “Rescued”.

In 2005, Lindsay co-produced a documentary with the New York Times about the corporate cover-up of responsibility for fatal accidents at railway crossings, which won the Pulitzer Prize for journalistic excellence.

Her work can be seen on her website: artisandelapaix.com.

Lindsay’s words and images captivate and inspire, and her heart to make a difference has changed the world in powerful and positive ways, she’s truly an Artisan de la Paix – a remarkable artist for peace!!!!!

via Bevans Branham Non-Profits & Humanitarian http://bevansbranhamnonprofit.com/lindsay-branham-the-heart-of-a-humanitarian/

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Mid-Century Modern Hotels That Work for this Century

Original Post

Mid-century modern designs have been popular in some hotels over the last couple of decades.  When done properly this design direction can be tasteful and fun, but when done poorly it can look very, very tacky and actually be quite uncomfortable.  It usually describes mid-20th century developments in modern design, architecture and urban development from roughly 1933 to 1965.  Some of the tenets of mid-century modern design include glass walls, spare furnishings and open plans, with an emphasis on light and space.  In a recent article in Tablet Hotel’s Magazine  they discuss ten hotels that pull off the “mid-century modern” look quite well.  Let’s take a look at some of these beautiful, modern hotels.

1. The Standard Miami

Perhaps it’s the afterglow of Miami’s golden age, but for some reason, mid-century modern interiors in The Standard Miami simply look better with that Miami sunlight coursing in through the windows. The Standard Miami combines the local brand of ’50s modernism with Scandinavian furniture from the same time, all within an atmosphere that is slightly lower-key than close-by Collins Avenue.

2. La Solana Boutique Hotel

Created in 1947, La Solana (located in Punta del Este, Uruguay  is a masterpiece created by the architect, landscape designer and furniture-maker Antonio Bonet.  The six rooms of La Solana have a retro kind of beachiness to go along with the retro, mid-century modern décor, with sliding glass doors facing the ocean and canvas bags full of beach towels.

3. Hotel Alexandra

Located in Copenhagen, Denmark, the interiors of the hundred year old Hotel Alexandra seem to have solidified around 1955, and the truly impressive collection of Danish furniture is put to extremely good use in rooms that serve as live-in homages to the epic Danish designers — including Arne Jacobsen, Hans Wegner, and Finn Juhl.

The list from Tablet Hotel includes seven other mid-century modern hotels that look stunning, but these three really bring this style to life within their walls.  If you’re looking for a place to stay, I highly recommend checking out one of these hotels and getting a mid-century modern flair into your life!