Was expecting descriptions of minor innovators/tinkerers. As important as that is, forgot whom I was reading. All are doing incredible things, but as we need so much more of this it is worth pondering what most of them seem to have in common. They are:
• bold change seekers. This is not “50 Simple Things You Can Do…”
• their specific innovations are necessary, but not sufficient
. learners. They do not start out with all the answers
• creative
• do not seem to provoke excess controversy, or they seek to win over adversaries
• challenge assumptions, such as “late 90’s” science needs to be “translated,” and definitions, such as “rape”
• not status conscious, with the “receptionist [being] probably the most important person on the team”
• not giving up on public policy or regulatory bodies
• numbers are important but do not dominate
• money challenges can be (probably very) imperfectly met in creative ways, and
• do not appear to be attention-seekers at the personal level, although as shown in the column, that could come.
What else does this tell us? One thing is that range of issues are important. To get more people like these, it would help if we asked for it. Potential social helpers, such as volunteers, or even professionals, and to some degree social entrepreneurs, are not usually asked to stretch beyond standard job, professional, or task descriptions. Not a lot of innovation there. Those seeking badly needed positive tipping points are particularly encouraged.
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Jennie Joseph has been fighting to save the lives of mothers and babies. Her model is proven and powerful. If the established medical programs want to make a difference they will pull together in support of the valuable practices she implemented.
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I love this column. I just spent over two hours drilling down into learning about the organizations and efforts described. As an advisor to philanthropists, it's also a great learning tool. Thanks, Tina Rosenberg. The Fixes column is sorely needed.
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It'a a group to which we take hats off,
Doers at whom Trump would scoff
Men, Women, non-whites
With bright burning lights
In time we'll have more than enough.
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Someday . . . don't laugh, now . . . we're going to find a monument to Trump in Washington, D.C. The man who saved the union of the United States from Sleeping Sickness. Don't forget, you read it first in the New York Times - the home of real, factual news.
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We humans never stop trying to make our world a better place. Have we been successful over the past myriaannum? Time will tell.
Great column! Keep it up NYT.
Katie Fahey is incredible. What she and the volunteers and voters in Michigan accomplished is truly remarkable. And now the Republican legislature (majority because of gerrymandering) are pushing through bills in the lame duck session to significantly undercut those accomplishments. It’s disgusting.
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If anyone was wondering, during this holiday season, who was deserving of giving their charitable donations to . . .well, now you have a list.
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We forget that there are lots and lots of these type of people, maybe not doing lots of ground breaking things, but still going through life and adding to the lives of others around them.
The nice woman at the holiday card website that helped me fix my photo card.
The sports trainer who works so hard daily at an alternative high school then onto her business helping young athletes and doing it with such love and enthusiasm.
The two high school boys giving of their limited time to participate in a three year school improvement program that they won't even get to benefit from the fruits of their labor.
My child in the 7 month of a 27 months as a Peace Corp Volunteer dealing with no electricity, no running water to teach students Math and Economics.
People forget that there are millions and millions of nice, decent, caring empathetic people in this world.
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I don’t think the ranking of the U.S. on infant mortality is accurate. And the link supposedly verifying it does not do so.
What a positive column. Just today somebody said to me that "Talk is cheap." How true. The future belongs to the doers.
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What wonderful bedtime stories to read. Now I can sleep.
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I am a long time subscriber but guess I missed the Fixes column. I won't in the future--this was a strong, strong blast of sunshine and inspiring to boot. So glad I stumbled here.
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@Kimberly Gabriel So did I. This would seem to be the problem with a digital subscription. When one reads the newspaper as paper, one turns pages and reads from beginning to end. I at least, in digital versions, tend to jump from one section to another and never get to everything.
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