Fourteen Nepalese orphans in Mangalbare, Dharan may soon be living in a new dorm facility.  A University of Colorado graduate and Nepalese resident, Bikram Palikhey is leading the fundraising and a dormitory building project, as part of a campaign for social good. 

The dormitory will benefit the 14 orphans, ages 5-14, living in the home of Sita Dewan.  Sita Dewan took children, many with special needs into her home out of goodwill, without any sponsors.  As her orphanage is not registered as a non-profit in Nepal, she does not receive the benefit of having major sponsors.  She has cared for the children by farming and animal husbandry within her small home. 

The preliminary plans for the new dormitories have been designed by architect Bikash Palikhey, Bikram's brother.  The new dorm facility will allow separate rooms for boys and girls. It will also take the local landscape into consideration - the materials will be locally sourced, windows will take advantage of the area’s wind patterns for cross ventilation, the overhang will reduce moisture from building during the monsoon month, and the roof is designed to stay cool during the summer months with straw thatch over corrugated metal.

Bikram started his personal campaign for social good earlier this year, traveling across Nepal delivering random acts of kindness to the people he meet along the way, in the trip he called ‘The Great Nepalese Road Trip to Inspire Social Good’. The random acts of kindness were documented on a Facebook page he created for the trip, and ranged from school supplies for children to a doctor visit and medicine to treat an ailment.  Family, friends, and the Boulder Colorado Nepalese community helped financially back the random acts of kindness through donations, a silent auction, and a music event in February called “Almost Unplugged Concert for Nepal.”

Bikram was inspired to give back to his home country after returning to Nepal in 2011. After being away for fourteen years, during the start of the Maoist insurgency, he found the social landscape had changed drastically.  The Nepal from his childhood was a place where kindness came naturally. After the insurgency there was no trust among citizens.  Bikram explained that “I thought committing acts of kindness would send a positive message to all citizens; a message that will hopefully inspire people to reconnect with each other again.  Hence, I raised funds and started touring around Nepal doing just that.”

The dormitory build can only be completed if the $3000 of building costs can be covered by fundraising.  People who wish to make a contribution of any size can do so by visiting the youcaring.com fundraiser.  Funds must be raised by August 31^st, 2014 in order to move forward with the building plans.

You may be familiar with Via, some of you might even use Via’s services or know someone who does.

Over the years, Via has grown into more than a simple paratransit service. Like many nonprofits, the quest for sustainability and new sources of revenue has led Via to consider social enterprise, generally defined as mission-related businesses that have promise for producing income directly benefiting the nonprofit’s clients or enhancing its ability to fulfill its mission.  

Via has operated as a social enterprise business model for over two decades.  Via’s three large earned-income contracts—the Hop, Access-a-Ride and Call-n-Ride—are transportation programs Via provides under contract to RTD, CU-Boulder and the city of Boulder and generate revenue to support our mission services. 

Expanding on the social enterprise model, Via is now offering the National Safety Council’s Defensive Driving Course to the general public. Through this certified course you can improve basic skills and refresh your driving knowledge.

This eight-hour course is designed to give you the practical knowledge and techniques to avoid collisions and traffic violations. It is a highly interactive course that helps drivers to choose safe, responsible and lawful driving behaviors through a self-assessment risk survey, a series of learning activities and discussions, and videos with real-life driver simulations and hazards recognition scenarios. Most insurance companies recognize this course and your participation could lead to discounts on insurance premiums.

The class is offered on Tuesdays at Via’s facility at 2855 N 63rd Street in Boulder.  For more information, or to register for an upcoming class, please contact Dale Binkley at 303-447-2848.

Via is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting independence and self-sufficiency for people with limited mobility by providing caring, customer-focused transportation options.  For more information on the many services Via provides, visit us online at viacolorado.org, call 303.447.2848 ext. 1014, or email us at mobilityspecialist@viacolorado.org.

Earlier this week, Adobe in partnership with Edelman Berland released a report entitled Click Here: The State of Online Advertising, which revealed that traditional marketing is more effective than online marketing according to the 1,000 adult, 18 years or older consumers that were interviewed.

When asked to pick up to 2 choices, 45% said newspapers and TV are the best marketing and advertising sources, followed by consumer forums and publications (28%), websites (22%), social media pages (9%), and blogs (4%).

While the data remains consistent with what marketers have know all along – TV is the most influential advertising medium – a digital media plan should not be given up entirely in favor of traditional. Both must work hand-in-hand in order to build a brand that people 1) remember and 2) want to be associated with.

Traditional media helps establish your brand by legitimizing it as well has having the ability to visually display your brand’s personality. An effective, creative TV commercial will make a consumer remember your name and logo when they are presented with many in a search. It can also increase recall when a memberable voiceover recites your tagline or sings your jingle.

Print, like TV is an opportunity to build your brand’s awareness, off and online. Through print you can guide prospects through your benefits and value propositions step by step. You can share images and further position your brand as a leader in the category.

It’s important that within your traditional media you utilize the opportunity to give the consumer your online information – website address, Facebook page, Twitter feed and/or YouTube channel addresses. The credibility that you have built offline will transfer online as the consumer investigates your brand in depth. This is the place to make sure your brand consistency rules are being used. Be sure to use the same fonts, colors and images so the consumer remembers your brand before they consciously think about it.

By Marc Apple, Forward Push Media

Forward Push Media uses traditional and digital advertising, branding, and social media outlets to inspire measurable brand loyalty and drive sales.

The Peapod Foundation, created by the Black Eyed Peas, collaborated with Adobe Youth Voices, a non-profit spearheaded by The Adobe Foundation, to create a new public service announcement (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efSYEZZNrEQ). The PSA demonstrates the power of the arts and technology to engage youth from underserved communities. 

Through their collaboration, the Peapod Foundation and Adobe Foundation have launched two Peapod Adobe Youth Voices Academies that will give kids access to use video, dance, music, and art to spark social change in their communities.

"As a group, we've made a commitment to help give teens the artistic tools and opportunities to help them realize their fullest potential," says Will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas, who grew up in the projects in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles, California. "Thanks to the incredible generosity of Adobe Youth Voices, we are able to expand our vision and give even more kids a chance to be productive, enterprising adults."

The academies will incorporate a high-tech curriculum developed by Adobe Youth Voices with the latest professional-grade multi-media production software – including Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 Master Collection Suite, donated by Adobe Systems Incorporated, and professional music studio tools for a state-of-the-art recording facility donated by the Peapod Foundation.  In addition to mentoring in the performing arts, youth participants will receive structured multi-media training in video, audio, photography, design and art, enabling them to creatively express their points of view on vital issues and contribute to social change in their communities.

The aim of the campaign is to nurture self-expression, creativity, community involvement, and digital literacy among young people — the kind of education these organizations feel is critical for today's youth.

Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efSYEZZNrEQ to view the Peapod Foundation and Adobe Youth Voices’ new public service announcement. 

Visit http://plantandinspire.org/ to learn more about Adobe Youth Voices.