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How this accountant went from crunching numbers to changing worlds.

“When you create change, you will be change.”

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State Farm

Mark Horoszowski, cofounder of MovingWorlds.org, learned the benefits of giving back at an early age.

His parents immigrated to the states from Slovenia and Poland with next to nothing, like so many other families at the time, and so were used to simultaneously helping those in need and receiving help in return.

"Helping each other is just part of what that community did," recounts Horoszowski. "We were always doing things to be supportive."


With that volunteering gene firmly ingrained, he went on to join the Boy Scouts, then participated in student leadership programs. In college, he volunteered with The American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life program and even helped start one at his school.

When it came time to graduate, Horoszowski’s volunteer work gave him a leg up in the accounting job market — his field of choice at the time.

Horoszowski ended up accepting a position with a prestigious accounting firm but quickly discovered something strange: Though his volunteer work helped him land the job, they didn’t want him to continue it once he was part of the company.

Such a work environment felt limiting to Horoszowski, so he decided to leave and join a young health care marketing group.

He spent two and a half years there learning digital and social media marketing strategy, but he longed to learn more about international social entrepreneurship.

In 2010, he packed his bags and set out on a yearlong journey around the world that would change his life as well as the lives of many others who would later follow in his footsteps.

Photo via Mark Horoszowski/Moving Worlds, used with permission.

Everywhere he went, he volunteered his skills in exchange for advice in social entrepreneurship.

As his journey was coming to an end, he met his soon-to-be cofounder of Moving Worlds, Derek Norde.

Norde had spent the last decade helping social good start-ups access capital so that they could grow, but he was often left frustrated.

"I'm so tired of all these social good orgs asking for money when they actually need accounting systems or marketing plans first," Horoszowski recalls Norde saying.

That complaint ended up being the spark of inspiration for their organization.

Horoszowski's travels and connection with Norde led to Moving World's mission: "To help get expertise to the parts of the world that need it most, but also provide transformative experiences for the people giving that expertise."

Moving Worlds essentially acts as a matchmaker between organizations looking to solve challenges and professionals looking to have an immersive volunteer experience.

Each professional (or "experteer" as Moving Worlds calls them) is placed based on their skills and the country they'd like to explore. If experteers want to stay in the states, that's an option too.

The hope is the pairing will become a partnership in which both sides will benefit in some way. Or as Horoszowski puts it, "when you create change, you will be change."

These transformative, immersive volunteer experiences seem to appeal most to millennials, especially when they can utilize their skills.

According to the Case Foundation's 2015 Millennial Impact Report, "77% of millennials said they're more likely to volunteer when they can use their specific skills or expertise to benefit a cause."

This is a generation of optimistic doers who genuinely believe their actions can make a difference, even if they’re not exactly sure how yet.

One prime example is Erin Dowd — a teacher who was falling out of love with the idea of teaching when Moving Worlds brought her to a group called the Honduras Child Alliance. She ended up assisting them with teacher training and curriculum development and realized the latter area of education was her true passion. Through her work there, she ended up being connected with an organization called Level Up Village, where she is now the director of curriculum.

Just like that, both sides of the volunteer partnership were changed for the better.

As for the experteers who return to the states at the end of their program, they often continue volunteering locally using the same principles and skills they’ve acquired with Moving Worlds.

It may seem strange to think of volunteering as giving and getting, but in Horoszowski’s experience, that’s what makes it work.

"Even if giving should be totally selfless, the reality is when it’s done that way, human behavior kicks in over time and people start falling out, which ends up being more harmful to organizations over time," he explains.

Combining social awareness with career prospects is the perfect way to get millennials (aka the definitive multitaskers) involved. But it's not just about prospects — current employees can benefit from partnership volunteering as well.

Say an employee gets feedback that they need to work on a certain skill set, such as problem-solving. What if instead of having them take a course or go to a conference, the company sends that employee experteering? The employee then gets useful experience in the field, an organization gets assistance from a skilled volunteer, and the company comes out of it with an improved employee and philanthropy points. Everybody wins.

Moving Worlds can help millennials and employers realize a more mutually beneficial way of volunteering for the modern world.  

Horoszowski said it best: "Imagine how much good will be created when more people encourage those around them to volunteer in ways that make them, and the world, better."

Identity

Celebrate International Women's Day with these stunning photos of female leaders changing the world

The portraits, taken by acclaimed photographer Nigel Barker, are part of CARE's "She Leads the World" campaign.

Images provided by CARE

Kadiatu (left), Zainab (right)

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Women are breaking down barriers every day. They are transforming the world into a more equitable place with every scientific discovery, athletic feat, social justice reform, artistic endeavor, leadership role, and community outreach project.

And while these breakthroughs are happening all the time, International Women’s Day (Mar 8) is when we can all take time to acknowledge the collective progress, and celebrate how “She Leads the World.

This year, CARE, a leading global humanitarian organization dedicated to empowering women and girls, is celebrating International Women’s Day through the power of portraiture. CARE partnered with high-profile photographer Nigel Barker, best known for his work on “America’s Next Top Model,” to capture breathtaking images of seven remarkable women who have prevailed over countless obstacles to become leaders within their communities.

“Mabinty, Isatu, Adama, and Kadiatu represent so many women around the world overcoming incredible obstacles to lead their communities,” said Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA.

Barker’s bold portraits, as part of CARE’s “She Leads The World” campaign, not only elevate each woman’s story, but also shine a spotlight on how CARE programs helped them get to where they are today.

About the women:

Mabinty

international womens day, care.org

Mabinty is a businesswoman and a member of a CARE savings circle along with a group of other women. She buys and sells groundnuts, rice, and fuel. She and her husband have created such a successful enterprise that Mabinty volunteers her time as a teacher in the local school. She was the first woman to teach there, prompting a second woman to do so. Her fellow teachers and students look up to Mabinty as the leader and educator she is.

Kadiatu

international womens day, care.org

Kadiatu supports herself through a small business selling food. She also volunteers at a health clinic in the neighboring village where she is a nursing student. She tests for malaria, works with infants, and joins her fellow staff in dancing and singing with the women who visit the clinic. She aspires to become a full-time nurse so she can treat and cure people. Today, she leads by example and with ambition.

Isatu

international womens day, care.org

When Isatu was three months pregnant, her husband left her, seeking his fortune in the gold mines. Now Isatu makes her own way, buying and selling food to support her four children. It is a struggle, but Isatu is determined to be a part of her community and a provider for her kids. A single mother of four is nothing if not a leader.

Zainab

international womens day, care.org

Zainab is the Nurse in Charge at the Maternal Child Health Outpost in her community. She is the only nurse in the surrounding area, and so she is responsible for the pre-natal health of the community’s mothers-to-be and for the safe delivery of their babies. In a country with one of the world’s worst maternal death rates, Zainab has not lost a single mother. The community rallies around Zainab and the work she does. She describes the women who visit the clinic as sisters. That feeling is clearly mutual.

Adama

international womens day, care.org

Adama is something few women are - a kehkeh driver. A kehkeh is a three-wheeled motorcycle taxi, known elsewhere as a tuktuk. Working in the Kissy neighborhood of Freetown, Adama is the primary breadwinner for her family, including her son. She keeps her riders safe in other ways, too, by selling condoms. With HIV threatening to increase its spread, this is a vital service to the community.

Ya Yaebo

international womens day, care.org

“Ya” is a term of respect for older, accomplished women. Ya Yaebo has earned that title as head of her local farmers group. But there is much more than that. She started as a Village Savings and Loan Association member and began putting money into her business. There is the groundnut farm, her team buys and sells rice, and own their own oil processing machine. They even supply seeds to the Ministry of Agriculture. She has used her success to the benefit of people in need in her community and is a vocal advocate for educating girls, not having gone beyond grade seven herself.

On Monday, March 4, CARE will host an exhibition of photography in New York City featuring these portraits, kicking off the multi-day “She Leads the World Campaign.

Learn more, view the portraits, and join CARE’s International Women's Day "She Leads the World" celebration at CARE.org/sheleads.


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Over or under? Surprisingly, there actually is a 'correct' way to hang a toilet paper roll.

Let's settle this silly-but-surprisingly-heated debate once and for all.

Elya/Wikimedia Commons

Should you hang the toilet paper roll over or under?



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