blog.SmallCanBeBig.org

• 2012-04-30

  

  Have you done something BIG lately? 

• 2012-04-24

  This is the story of Caine’s Arcade, a 9 year-old little boy with a big imagination we only thought existed in Calvin and Hobbes. Caine’s dad recalls how his son sat outside every weekend over the summer, patiently waiting for just one customer to buy a $2 Fun Pass. Finally, there was one customer - and that one customer made a BIG difference for this little boy. 

  When we saw this short film the story connected with us beyond our own memories of cardboard creativity. We connected because it’s about someone else believing in our simple dreams, and as we’ve seen here that can mean BIG things happen! The story of Caine’s Arcade is about the power of imagination. The power of a small $2 Fun Pass. The BIG power of one.

• 2012-04-17

  A different view of families who live ‘on the edge’

  B.J. Epstein’s Huffington Post article “Shutting Windows: Against Cultural Boycotts” urges readers to engage with cultures different than their own to prevent the idea of ‘shutting the window.’ “Shutting the window leaves us sitting at home alone, by ourselves, ignorant, hating and fearing what is outside without ever daring to take a peek.” 

  These days there is at least one article in every major newspaper about families living in poverty. We have written countless tumblr posts complete with graphs about homelessness. We can learn all about the facts and figures but it’s difficult to engage with numbers. On the other hand, it’s easy to engage with people. Let’s learn about the goals, dreams, families, and routines of those going through a tough time. Chances are great that we will find something in common. 

• 2012-04-12

  Nine year-old Caine builds an arcade out of cardboard at his dad’s used auto parts store. Cue flashmob & the best day of Caine’s life. The power of people to have an impact on one. How big is that?

  Source: NPR

• 2012-04-10

  Guest Post: SCBB Teams Up with Mind/View Films

  SmallCanBeBig, Read Between the Lines and Mind/View Films are teaming up in an effort to raise funds for a new film while simultaneously helping families. The feature film, Electric City, will be directed by award winning filmmaker, Nick DeRuve and produced by Roger Moran of Mind/View Films.

  Electric City is the story of a local economy that flounders when a big business moves on to another town. In a more personal way, it’s about a thirteen year-old attempting to keep his family intact when they receive a final eviction notice. Today, this is unfortunately a narrative of national relevance.

  I was presented the script by Nick DeRuve last year. As the writer and director, he was driven to write and get this story on film because he lived it. ‘On the edge’ was how he was raised, it was the environment in which he grew up. He took all those elements in his life and molded it into a story. He has been evicted before in his life, and he’d had to worry about his family’s financial stability as a kid.

  As soon as I read it, I was emotionally attached because of how I was able to relate. I grew up in Paterson, a pretty rough and low-income city in New Jersey. My parents worked hard all their life to make sure I didn’t have to worry, but it wasn’t always the case. Like a lot of parents, they struggled at times to make ends meet. Particularly, a couple of years ago when the economy hit a low.  Financially, things became difficult and we couldn’t keep up with payments. Their house is currently going through foreclosure.

  Nick and I both met and had the passion to tell this story because, to us, it truly hits home. We both want to make this film as a way of giving back to our families and inspiring other families to keep aspiring.

  With that premise in mind, we felt it was only right to attempt to make this film while at the same time helping families in need. It’s a common issue today; we all know someone who has been affected by the threat of foreclosure or eviction. Mind/View Films and Nick’s company, Read Between the Lines, have always had a shared mission of making films about social issues.

  Our goal is to raise $50,000 through our IndieGoGo campaign. $.20 cents of every dollar raised will be donated to SmallCanBeBig.  This is just the beginning of a long relationship with SmallCanBeBig, we look forward to involving the film industry and raising awareness for families who live on the edge.

  The film will be shot this summer in the director’s hometown of Schenectady, NY. Check out our page here.

  Respectfully,
  Roger Moran
  Mind/View Films, LLC

• 2012-03-27

  How long can you last with 1 cup of iced coffee?

  With spring in the air (and in the gale-force winds whipping through Boston), something else begins to percolate as temperatures warm: iced coffee. In last week’s issue of Grub Street, Kurt Soller wrote an article that explains why an iced version costs more than your regular cup of hot coffee.

  Here are some quick facts:

  • A cold cup of brew includes 62 cents worth of ground coffee vs. 35 cents worth of beans in a hot cup o’ joe
  • Paper cups for hot coffee cost 6 cents, plastic cups for cold coffee are 9 to 12 cents each
  • Renting an ice machine could cost 12 bucks a day (never mind when that ice machine breaks…)
  • Are you a straw or stirrer person? Well, that’s another 1 or 2 cents added
  • All included - total costs for a cold cup of coffee add up to about 80 cents
  • To maintain profit margins, coffee places charge your morning energy boost on the rocks at $3 a cup

  Don’t see the connection to SCBB just yet? Well here it is:

  Every cent adds up to a value. Maybe the value is your ability to plow through another busy morning at work; maybe it’s the value of looking less haggardly after last night’s too-fun adventures. The point is, you are the one who decides the value of that $3 cup of 62 cent cold-brewed beans. 

  What if you gave that value to Ms. T and her family of teenage boys? Trust us, they don’t need any more energy and caffeine in that house. Instead, theirs is a need of sustainable value: a future that will last long after your final sip. Now that’s a BIG value. 100% profit margin included.  

• 2012-03-19

  Spotlight: You

  We know that you’ve heard us say it time and time again: Your small-dollar donations positively impact a family on the verge of crisis. And despite sounding like a broken record you continue to return. 

  Whether it means covering utilities so M can spend her time with grandchildren comfortably after cancer treatments, or for Little E to find a permanent space to grow - your philanthropy means everyday people helping everyday folks in your communities.

  You have heard about why it works. But we’d like to take some time to talk about who makes it work: 

  “Philanthropy is no longer the preserve of wealthy individuals and foundations but is increasingly being taken up by large numbers of young people wanting to give small amounts of money and track how their donations are used,” writes Sarah Murray for the Financial Times, March 7th 2012.

  Increasingly we live in communities where one click of the “Like” button, one more “Share” request, and an ask for RT’s are the virtual equivalent of holding-hands. It’s how we are able to reach across borders and stand together on opposite sides of the world. It’s how a President was elected. It’s how Foundations change their minds. It’s how policies are reversed. 

  But let’s get back to who makes it work. To make a long-story short, you. Collective you’s and your recognition that there are people in your communities who need help, and quite simply we are there for them. That’s BIG. 

• 2012-03-08

  Happy Women’s Day

  Need we say more? We will, of course. Matriarchs head up the majority of the families on SmallCanBeBig. We see time and again their courage in life’s most difficult situations. Take Baby B’s mom, who has doggedly hunted down cancer treatment for her son. Together, they are beating the odds and looking forward to another birthday. M, who is also undergoing treatment for cancer, is cared for by her grandmother, who on top of facing M’s diagnosis is also the legal guardian of four other grandchildren. While the facts are tough, M’s grandmother has replaced fear with love and is facing the facts head-on. 

  Realities on SCBB are often difficult. But we stay optimistic because we know the women heading up the crises are not to be messed with. Why do we think that’s so? Because when times are tough, women show up. They solve the problem, find the band-aid, make the soup. 

  From all of us at SmallCanBeBig, go you. Happy Women’s Day.

• 2012-03-06

  Jackpot!

  Around the world one in ten children could be awarded a lucky ticket: a lifestyle of livable means. In an op-ed from yesterday’s Washington Post, Kate Roberts writes about the chances a child has to make an impact on their world. As you might have assumed, the numbers are not in their favor; but this does not mean it’s impossible. Together, we create BIG possibilities!

  We’re not waiting for a shooting star, a chance to game the system, nor are we donning our lucky socks (well…). But with every $1, $3, or $7 that is donated to meet a family’s goals, we are tipping the chances back in the favor of children. It’s more than the fact that their lives are bursting with potential, it’s because we continually see them delivering on tangible social good already. “Youth today have proven their ability to be architects of a more just and equitable world. Now let’s give them a chance to get to the drawing board.” 

• 2012-02-28

  

  It’s what we’re all about! 

  We believe that every dollar makes a BIG impact. This single mom, despite her own setbacks, has never ceased to continue doing the things she loves: volunteering & helping others. Can we pay it forward in her own time of need? 

  (via gardenofsimple)

  Source: conflictingheart