by Alexia Parks | Jun 5, 2014 | Article
About 20 years ago, I was handed a copy of the Red Cross business plan. When asked what is the business of the non-profit Red Cross, most people respond: disaster relief. My response, after reviewing their document, is that the business of the Red Cross is selling blood. It’s a billion dollar business. And the Girl Scouts? Money from cookie sales fuels the Girl Scout programs and summer camps. Mi Casa? The Latino community and working families served by this non-profit gain access to resources for improving education, after school enrichment, business training, and career development. Most non profits are risk-adverse. They don’t want to – or are unable to – borrow money and go into debt to fuel their programs. So the idea of a for-profit social enterprise that is tasked to make money for the non-profit is a new, innovative concept for many organizations like Mi Casa. Over the past seven years, after the loss of major government funding during the Bush Administration years, Mi Casa has made steady progress to identify a money making social enterprise that would both align with their mission statement, and bring in a steady cash flow to fund their non-profit programs. Last December, they launched TalentSource Staffing, a full service staffing agency in Denver, CO. After a slow start, they are now experiencing exponential growth and a welcome cash flow that goes directly to support services and resources that the non-profit offers. A second Mi Casa social enterprise that will teach financial skills to Latina women, is just launching. The addition of money making social enterprises to fund the work of...
by Alexia Parks | May 16, 2014 | Article
What global women’s movement would you lead, or support? Says Zainab Salbi, CEO and founder of Women for Women International: “We cannot build sustainable democracies, economies, or solutions for climate change and food shortages if we do not fully incorporate women in policy responses.” Is more than half of the sky held up by women? Or is it more like 70%, or even 90%? Salib explains: “In our agricultural policy, we fail to consider issues like nutrition and food security, climate change, and the significant but often unrecognized fact that 70% of the world’s farmers are women. Women produce 90% of the staple food crops, such as rice and maize—the crops that feed the world. Women also prepare these crops for household and community consumption, eating last or not at all when food is scarce. And women do the majority of tasks that involve close proximity to the environment, such as farming and fetching water, and hence shoulder a disproportionate amount of the danger associated with pollution and climate change.” Read more HERE or at...
by Alexia Parks | May 6, 2014 | Article
The Leadership Project SUSTAINABILITY 2020 Alexia Parks 10 TRAITS Academy is the only science-based leadership training program in the world that is based on the New Science of the female brain. It is designed for students who are committed to self-development, personal integrity, increased social influence, and strengthening an inner will to lead. Organized into teams of five, participants will gain valuable civic leadership experience and a DIPLOMA for taking part in this 2-day training intensive. Accepting applications now! An Invitation to Become Part of Something Great 10 TRAITS science-based leadership training based on the New Science of the female brain includes team building, conflict resolution, speed mentoring, facilitator training, and deep cybernetic goal setting. You will gain civic engagement credit for learning then leading the Sustainability 2020 visioning process at a sponsoring corporation or local school. ALEXIA PARKS 10 TRAITS ACADEMY IN COLLABORATION WITH NON-PROFIT: THE EDUCATION EXCHANGE INVITE 100 COLLEGE WOMEN TO A 2-DAY LEADERSHIP TRAINING INTENSIVE BASED ON THE NEW SCIENCE OF THE FEMALE BRAIN TRAINED IN TEAM BUILDING, CONFLICT RESOLUTION & HOW TO FACILITATE A SUSTAINABILITY 2020 PROGRAM FOR CORPORATE SPONSORS OR LOCAL SCHOOLS. 20 FOUNDING CORPORATE SPONSORS Are you filled with passion? Are you looking for a sense of purpose in life? Do you sense that now is the time for you to discover your 10 natural leadership traits? Do you want to experience your life as it was meant to be led? In a supportive community of like-minded people you will learn how to tap into your full potential. You will experience what it feels like to be all you can be, in EVERY...
by Alexia Parks | May 2, 2014 | Uncategorized
Worried about the MERS virus? As a global virtual mentor for the United Nations UN-Habitat YouthFund, and in my work as a science journalist, I travel around the world without ever leaving home. Over the past few days I have been asked: “Is it possible to get the flu twice within a few months?” Yes. “Can you help me pay for tonsil surgery?” No. “Can we cancel our (Skype) meeting? I’ve been in bed for a week.” Yes. Antibiotics are losing their power to fight infections. “It’s a problem that belongs to the entire planet,” says Dr Carmen Pessoa Da Silva, who leads a scientific team on antimicrobial resistance at the World Health Organization. If antibiotics are losing their power to fight infections around the globe, how can the ordinary person – without a knowledge of science – fight back against disease? As a member of a group of super fit seniors who focus on health and fitness as a lifestyle and spiritual practice, my recommendation to WHO is this: follow me around for a day. Develop a program around what I do on a daily basis. With a cost of pennies a day, here is what I do each day: 1. Eat two meals a day that include a small amount of high quality protein. Antibodies made in the body’s own immune system are made of pure protein. Eggs and sardines set the “gold” standard for protein with a rank of 100%. 2. Avoid eating in between meals in order to strengthen stomach acid which will kill bacterial and viruses on contact. I also avoid drinking liquids at...