Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) March 06, 2012
On a recent visit to an east side community center that serves thousands of free meals to children each week, Dwight Armstrong noticed something that concerned him. Children eating lunch at Shepherd Community Center were served juice not wholesome, nutritional milk.
I asked, Why arent these children drinking milk? said Armstrong, who is CEO of the National FFA Organization. The answer was that the center couldnt afford it.
Shepher director Jay Height shared with Armstrong a vision he has, which is to provide Indiana food from Indiana farmers for Indiana children his center serves. That same day, Armstrong began tapping into relationships he built during a 30-year career in the agriculture industry.
One of Armstrongs first calls in an attempt to secure milk for the center was to Fair Oaks Farms in northern Indiana. During the conversation, co-owner Mike McCloskey mentioned one of his key employees had a seventh-grade son who is a member of Boy Scout Troop No. 152 in Rensselaer. When Joel Ordones heard about Shepherds needs, he volunteered to lead efforts and find donated food items.
Ordones, 13, wrote, rewrote, submitted and pitched proposals to three high-profile Indiana companies that produce milk, beef, pork and eggs. After months of determination, the first round of donations Ordones secured were delivered to Shepherd on Feb. 12, including hundreds of gallons of milk donated by Fair Oaks Farms. Ordones also secured hundreds of pounds of beef donated by Fair Oaks Dairy Farms, hundreds of pounds of pork donated by Belstra Milling Co. in Demotte, Ind., and dozens of eggs donated by Rose Acre Farms in Seymour, Ind.
Were so pleased and thankful for the efforts of Joel Ordones and the generosity of Fair Oaks Farms, Fair Oaks Dairy Farms, Belstra Milling Co. and Rose Acre Farms, Height said. Were thankful to be able to provide Indiana meat, milk and eggs to the families who depend upon this center to survive.
Shepherd pays only the cost of packaging and processing for the donated food. Because of financial support from the Indianapolis Colts organization, Shepherd is able to offset these costs. The Colts organization applauds the efforts of this young man and is happy to help ensure the best nutrition possible for the children that Shepherd Community serves, said Pete Ward, chief operating officer for the Indianapolis Colts.
Joel recognized the need for meat, milk and eggs in the diets of the children and families who rely on Shepherd Community Center and used his networking and leadership skills to make things happen, Armstrong said. Joel is an incredibly committed and caring young man and I am astounded by what he was able to accomplish.
Shepherd Community Center is a faith-based, inner-city ministry that opened in 1985 and works with neighborhood youth and their families fighting poverty by engaging and empowering them to cultivate healthy children, strong families and vibrant neighborhoods through a Christ-centered approach.
This is another example of how Joels Boy Scout training has taught him how to complete goals and perform good deeds to help those in need, said Fair Oaks Farms manager Julie Basich.
The National FFA Organization provides agricultural education to 540,379 student members in grades seven through 12 who belong to one of 7,489 local FFA chapters throughout the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
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There is an interesting example from Tanzania, which may fit your definition. This is the SMS for Life program, run by Roll Back Malaria, with Vodafone, and IBM. This uses as a reward for medical staff stock levels of antimalarial drugs. Knowing the stock levels avoids the problem of critical drugs running out, by re-ordering when stocks run low.
The project manager is Pete Ward, he may able to give you insights into the social entrepreneurship aspects.
There are also lots of good examples in Russell “Less Walk, More Talk: How Celtel and the Mobile Phone Changed Africa. Wiley, 2008. ISBN 978-0-470-74320-1