Hundreds Take Action To Make A Difference For Thousands!

Families picking out school supplies.

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Last week Just DO Something…Anything!, along with Century 21, helped sponsor it’s first Take Action! event at Barnett Park in Orlando, Florida. Nearly 400 residents showed up along with dozens of volunteers, who helped distribute over 3,000 back-to-school supplies: pens, backpacks, clothes, pencils, paper, and other items.

But the event wasn’t just about helping families get materials they need to start the school year. Take Action! was about doing just that … taking action against social injustice.

Finding just the right size.

JDSA, along with some of their Central Florida nonprofit partners: Harbor House, A Gift For Teaching, and Florida Abolitionist, spent the day talking with residents about the importance of what they do and how they do it!

Also on hand was the Orlando Rowing Club, Orlando Dragon Boat Club, and Dueling Dragons boat team. Dragon’s “Cops and Kids” program is a unique partnership teaming Orlando police officers with at-risk teens, who compete in boat races across the country.  Their story was recently featured on The Today Show.

Orlando Rowing Club President, Johnny Hood and Chairperson, Chris Luciano brought a “skull boat” and an “Erg,” or indoor rowing machine for residents to try out.

Making a difference with hand prints & finger paint.

Before the kids picked up their items they were asked to “make their mark” with paint!  “Taking Action!” by writing out – next to their imprint – exactly, what they’re going to do to help make the world a better place.

Clean the World, an Orlando nonprofit, cleaned off the paint with donated soap.  Clean the World and the Global Soap project have distributed over 25 million bars of soap to 99 countries!

“We gave away about 75% of all the donated items.  What’s left is going to Haiti for those in need … thanks to Divine Way Ministries.” says Take Action! event coordinator, Anastacha Constant.  Not only did Divine Way help with donated items, they also took care of all the food and drinks.

Affordable Document Service lent their support to those in need.  LA Fitness talked with residents about the importance of exercise and nutrition.  And Orange County Fire/Rescue brought a firetruck.  Where kids (and a few adults) climbed inside and learned about fire safety and injury prevention.

Ideas for next year’s Take Action! Event are already underway…

Kids get an inside look!

Fire truck on display.

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Taking Action! with pens, markers, and paint!

Teen With Cerebral Palsy Inspires Nike to Design Zip-Around Sneakers for the Disabled

From: GEOFF WEISS / ENTREPRENEUR STAFF

With its latest sneaker launch, Nike is once again tapping into its pioneering design pipeline and appealing to the human aspects of athleticism — a branding strategy that has helped make it the most beloved sportswear brand on the planet.

When the company’s first employee, Jeff Johnson, had a stroke and lost functionality on the right side of his body in 2004, CEO Mark Parker initially began brainstorming about a laceless shoe for easier entry and exit.

After the idea was set into motion, Nike received a letter on social media in 2012 from Matthew Walzer — a then-16-year-old Florida high school student with cerebral palsy. “Cerebral palsy stiffens the muscles in the body,” Walzer wrote. “As a result I have flexibility in only one of my hands, which makes it impossible for me to tie my shoes.”

“I started thinking about doors on a hinge,” said Nike design guru Tobie Hatfield of his approach to designing what would ultimately become the Nike Flyease — a basketball shoe constructed with a zipper around its ankle that can peel away for easier access.

After sending Walzer a prototype in 2012, Hatfield continued to work directly with Walzer to perfect the design, knowing that such a shoe could be helpful to untold masses. And now, Nike is selling the finished product on its website, the $130 Lebron Zoom Soldier VIII Flyease.

What’s more entrepreneurial than tackling a pervasive, unsolved problem through innovative design? “When we say, ‘If you have a body, you’re an athlete,’” Hatfield said, referring to Nike founder Bill Bowerman’s famous quote, “that means everybody.”

Related: This Program Wants to Help People With Disabilities Become Entrepreneurs