GLOBE ​#SmallChangeBigDifference

The mission of GLOBE (Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs) is to help entrepreneurs in developing countries help themselves out of poverty by providing them with microloans to launch a small business and kick start their dreams of a better life. Many of our borrowers are women with children, and need financial assistance to enhance their lives and support their communities. The effect of receiving a microloan reaches many families and improves their quality of life, while inspiring others to reach out for our help. A small amount of change makes a huge difference in our borrowers’ lives and their entrepreneurial pursuits. With the income from GLOBE-funded businesses, borrowers can pay for the family’s medical bills and send their children to school – breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty. A small dollar amount in the United States is enough to provide resources to ignite the entrepreneurial spirits in the seven developing countries in which we operate.

A small change can make a big difference in another sense as well, for the student managers who run GLOBE every semester. As current GLOBE managers, the small decision we made to enroll in GLOBE has already had an enormous impact on our lives and how we view poverty around the world. Just a few weeks into the course each GLOBE manager was able to give examples of how we used our borrowers’ stories to inspire us to make a change around us, whether it was on or off-campus. We became aware of the common causes of poverty affecting our borrowing communities due to lack of resources, opportunities, and education, and we recognized the poorest of the poor need our help the most.

Take for example Evan Dittig, a former GLOBE manager from the fall 2016 cohort. Soon after graduating from St. John’s, ShredCo was born, a company Evan started with inspiration from GLOBE. His business combined his passion for both skateboarding and social entrepreneurship, with a mission to “improve mental, physical, and social well-being on a local and global scale through skateboarding”. Since ShredCo was founded, Evan has been able to apply the knowledge he learned in GLOBE to reach out and share his passion for skateboarding with those living in poverty, giving them confidence and self-esteem. ShredCo has launched outreach programs on a national and global scale, such as “Spread the Shred Board Drive”, which raised money for more than 60 boards for skateboarders living in poverty across three African Nations. The strides made by Evan show how small change can make a big difference in the lives of GLOBE student managers.

This difference also applies to Holly Gola, a current GLOBE manager of the Enterprise Development and Programs Impact Audit Team. Due to GLOBE, Holly has gained a sense of solidarity and hope, which she hopes to apply to her future in law. GLOBE has given Holly hands-on experience with social justice initiatives that advocate for poverty awareness. Holly will take everything she has learned to make small changes that will yield big differences in improving the lives of those without a voice.

The impacts of GLOBE go beyond our borrowers. This program has transformed the lives of students who have shifted their career goals to focus on social justice and to help those in need. These students have learned the value of giving back. Now it is time for you to give back to GLOBE -- to help us in making a big difference in our student managers’ and borrowers’ lives by donating today -- because your small change can truly make a big difference.