How are you building community collaborations in your organization? Who are the mentors and professionals who have guided you in your practice? We discuss these topics and more with Dr. Deidre Carmichael of the Child Welfare Training Collaborative and Project Director at GSU’s Professional Excellence Program. We begin with a conversation on gratitude in professional relationships with Natalie Merchant’s Kind and Generous. We then transition to a great conversation on child welfare, trauma/resilience, community collaborations, and professional development. We then relive the memories of great 80s and 90s songs about family, including Stephanie Mills’s rendition of Home from the musical The Wiz. This is the first of four episodes during our fall season - stay tuned and subscribe!

“They have lost faith, and we have lost credibility with them,” shares our guest Men Tchaas Ari of Communities in Schools as we talk about the importance of relationships in supporting student academic, social, and emotional wellbeing in the wake of the pandemic. We discuss educational inequality, achievement gaps, mental health and trauma, and how nonprofits and community organizations can build partnerships with schools to support student wellbeing. Roger and Drew kick off the episode with David Bowie/Queen’s Under Pressure and we wrap up with a celebration of Soul to Soul’s Keep On Movin’. Shout out to Roger’s sister and CIS hero Marianella Echevarria and recent graduates at all grade levels - and enjoy PRIDE month!

This week, we explore support for bereaved parents, grieving children, and teens, highlighting the work of the Charlotte-based nonprofit KinderMourn. We’re joined by Michelle Goins, grief therapist, who shares about her experience working with grieving parents and children at KinderMourn and spreads the word about Kindermourn’s annual duck race. We also welcome Melisa and Ryan Larkin, who share about their experience as parents at KinderMourn and the loss of their child, Sean. We reflect on these themes long with the music of Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven and Semisonic’s Closing Time. Support KinderMourn at https://www.duckrace.com/charlotte.

Drew & Roger are back! We're launching the Common Good Mixtape where we mix the music of the 80s and 90s with social work and nonprofit practice. We're joined by Edwin Arce Jr. & Patrick Hayes to kick off our segment on mental health to discuss social work practice with veterans. We talk common misconceptions about veterans, the divide between civilians and those in uniform, and how to support veterans experiencing homelessness. We also talk about invisible wounds and the lasting legacy of trauma for veterans returning from overseas conflicts. And we also listen to Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA in light of the challenges of integration into civilian life for veterans.

This week, we welcome Tosca Bruno-van Vijfeijken, George Mitchell, and Hans Peter Schmitz to talk about their book, Between Power and Irrelevance: The Future of Transnational NGOs. We talk about how the “architecture” of the sector - or how nonprofits are set up and function - may in fact get in the way of bringing about the change nonprofits seek. We also discuss inherent challenges in the sector including the tension between advocacy and direct services as well as themes across the sector related to leadership and organizational culture. The episode closes with a conversation on the cars of the 80s, with the Volvo station wagon getting a lot of love!

Atenas Burrola joins the CGH to talk about her work at the Immigrant Justice Campaign working for and with immigrants and offering legal representation to ensure they receive fair and just treatment under the law. We also talk about nonprofits can think about their connection to the community they serve and how nonprofits can navigate advocacy work as a registered 501(c)3. We begin the episode discussing the importance of representation among five areas of your nonprofit: board of directors, staff leadership, front line staff, donors, and volunteers. Roger’s trivia question asks you to dig into the history of the iconic 80s band The Clash.

What’s a “recipe” for success in housing and homelessness in Atlanta? This week, we invite Marc Pollack, developer, investor, community activist, and home chef to discuss his work in affordable housing and his recent new project, the Quarantine Cookbook. In addition to having a fun conversation on cooking, the slow-food movement, and farm-to-table practices, we talk with Marc about his work with Partners for Home Atlanta, the Atlanta Affordable Housing Fund, and The Gateway Center, three organizations working to address affordable housing and homelessness in Atlanta, GA. We begin the episode discussing the role of staff and leaders taking time to know their community - drawing inspiration from the phrase, “good shepherds smell like their sheep.” Roger also shares this week’s trivia question that will test your knowledge of 90s baseball trivia.

How do the best nonprofits define, know, and serve their community? This week, we invite you to reflect on how you define community in your nonprofit, and how you navigate knowing, serving, and working through issues of insider-ship and outsider-ship as a professional nonprofit leader. For our guest interview, we welcome Whitney Jackson and Monica Akerele this week to talk about the work of Warrick Dunn Charities in providing access to affordable housing for single mothers and low-income families. Whitney shares the importance of following up with families, supporting them through difficulties, and providing financial literacy and affordable financing as critical pieces to solving the affordable housing crisis. Roger also shares this week’s trivia question that will test your knowledge of 90s basketball movies.

How do we overcome indifference? This week we invite Sam Stanton and Cecilia Espinoza, two former Maryknoll Lay Missioners as they describe their work providing social and family services in the community of Nirivilo, near Linares, Chile, during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. They share their experiences of cross-cultural encounter through international exchange programs and mission trips and share what they have learned when working across cultural difference. Sam and Cecilia also share their love for Chilean folk and protest musicians and the role of music in inspiring social change. Drew and Roger share a new 80s/90s trivia questions and Roger shares an inspiring story of kindness from a former Common Good Hour guest.

How do we practice encounter? What does it look like, and what specific practices help create it in our daily work in the nonprofit sector? We begin this episode talking about how to integrate courage, mercy, generosity, humility, and fidelity into our everyday nonprofit practices. We also invite Dr. Marcus Mescher, author of The Ethics of Encounter: Christian Neighbor Love as a Practice of Solidarity, to deepen our understanding of encounter and to share an ethical framework for advancing the Common Good through solidarity. Dr. Mescher shares how nonprofits play a critical role in bringing people together across sectors to solve challenging social problems. We conclude by taking a moment to remember the 539 thousand people who have passed away due to Covid-19 over the past year, especially Norma Suclupe, Roger’s mother, for whom this episode is dedicated.

This week, Drew and Roger share practice stories and highlight how moments of encounter often come through ordinary interactions. Anne Archer Dennington and Floyd Hall of Flux Projects discuss how artists serve as our community’s best storytellers and documenters of culture, as well as how public art creates spaces of encounter. Alexander “COSTxONE” Acosta of Soul Food Cypher describes how a cypher builds community with youth through celebrating identities and drawing upon the positive aspects of hip/hop and rap. Cost also talks about how cyphers, rap, and hip/hop serve as medicine and spiritual practices for the black diaspora communities. Don’t forget this week’s trivia question featuring an actor from John Singleton’s 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.

This week, we begin a new series focusing on the theme of encounter and the idea that all good social sector practice begins with and is rooted in relationship. We share three key aspects of encounter that every helping professional can integrate into their practice. In addition, we invite Karen Mariner, Jeff Lax, and Suzanne Boyd of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to share their work supporting individuals living with MS. They discuss the challenges faced by MS patients, highlight the work they are doing to build a national network of support services, to advocate for new legislation to support the MS community, and to support cutting-edge research that will lead to a cure. Be sure to participate in this week’s Betcha Don’t Remember to test your knowledge of the iconic 80/90s band, the Beastie Boys.

Over 5 billion people lack access to surgery worldwide, posing a massive global health challenge. This week, Drew shares about his work Childspring International, a global health nonprofit based in Atlanta which just completed its 5,000th pediatric surgery this month. Drew describes Childspring’s projects in pediatric orthopedics, cardiology, plastics, and general surgery and the organization’s growing focus on supporting medical capacity building. He also describes how he integrates a lens of accompaniment when working with children, families, and communities seeking access to surgical care. Be sure to participate in this week’s Betcha Don’t Remember to test your knowledge of the #1 billboard song of 1997.

We’re joined this week by Gerard Littlejohn, Executive Director of the Steve Smith Family Foundation and co-host of the podcast Cut to it with former NFL player Steve Smith Sr. We kick off the podcast talking about Gerard’s work in East Charlotte, where his organization supports housing challenged students connect to class during Covid-19 through the innovative Virtual Learning Center.

How are nonprofits and other community organizations accompanying adolescents and college students as they navigate their studies during a pandemic? We are so lucky to be joined this week by Elliot Karp, CEO of Hillels of Georgia, to talk about his work in supporting students on their journey through college.