What Makes the “Most Influential Social Good Champions” Tick? [INTERVIEWS]

Social good may be an ambiguous term, but one thing is very clear — online giving needs champions to help promote, galvanize and inspire people to join in the cause.

The Mashable Awards honors all sorts of achievements, like must-follow personalities and best mobile platforms. But this year we’ve also added the “Most Influential Social Good Champion” category, supported by Yahoo, to also show the often unsung social good heroes some much deserved love.

We asked the five finalists in the “Most Influential Social Good Champion” category some questions about their work and what’s next. Read on for a closer look at who they are, what they do, and how you can get involved.

charitybuzz

Can you spend some time on-screen with Johnny Depp while also doing good? The celebrity-minded, high-living non-profit charitybuzz says yes; it takes an interesting approach to social good. By using luxury items and celebrity-backed experiences, charitybuzz is able to bring in huge amounts of cash while also donating to a multitude of foundations and non-profits.

“I’ve always believed that if you’re successful in life, it’s your responsibility to contribute, make a difference and come up with creative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems,” said Coppy Holzman, CEO and co-founder of charitybuzz.

“Being a social good champion means finding innovative ways to solve the toughest problems,” says Holzman. “And it’s about all of those things – raising money, awareness and inspiring change. Charitybuzz champions social good by empowering non-profits, for-profits and consumers with a platform to raise funds and make a difference in a positive, upbeat, easy way. Our community is very diverse, but it shares the common thread of wanting to do as much good as possible while enjoying life.”

“We’re like one big family here,” he continued, “and we consider ourselves really lucky that we can make a difference. Every day we hear about how the funds we’re raising affect social change throughout the world. I consider myself really blessed that we can do this.”

Hardly Normal

Hardly Normal is a blog created by the once-homeless, now homelessness activist, Mark Horvath. Horvath more often connects through two other sites: WeAreVisible and InvisiblePeople.tv. Although Horvath claims he can’t write, spell or use grammar, he has used his voice to both represent and help the often “invisible” homeless communities. His efforts have helped clothe, feed and provide a voice for the homeless.

“Don’t waste a good crisis,” Horvath said. “It’s a simple concept and it’s how InvisiblePeople.tv started. For the most part I had lost everything but some furniture, my car, a box of photos, laptop, small camera, and my iPhone. My laptop could not cut video because it had a 5400 drive. Videos need to have a music bed, nice graphics, b-roll and be well-produced. But after looking at what I didn’t have and all the problems that were stopping me, I decided to just use what I had. I registered a domain, changed the header on a WordPress theme, grabbed my camera, and started to interview people.”

“I am very grateful that people voted me to be here,” Horvath told Mashable. “To be candid, I was shocked to even be nominated. What I can tell you straight from the heart is if I win or don’t win, I will always continue to fight for people that are suffering.”

The Uncultured Project

Shawn Ahmed started The Uncultured Project to raise awareness about global poverty by posting videos of his travels through Bangladesh. Rather than just show doom and gloom, Ahmed tried to show both the problems faced by impoverished people as well as potential solutions. Ahmed didn’t intend to start a charity, but donations started to come in once people saw his videos. It now acts a cultural bridge drawing together individuals, organizations and charities aimed at ending global poverty.

“I’m not a celebrity, Silicon Valley rockstar, or an executive director of an NGO. I’m just a guy,” Ahmed said. “Any good that I’ve done is just because I’ve been able to connect people with my personal journey using a laptop, a camcorder, and an Internet connection mostly (but not exclusively) from my parent’s homeland of Bangladesh. My Bengali heritage, especially in regards to traditional ways in which Bengalis help the poor, has been a big influence in my work. That non-Western heritage, I suppose, is another thing that makes me different from the other nominees.”

“I don’t consider myself a ’social good champion’ as much as I see myself as a bridge-maker,” Ahmed said. “When I started this journey in 2007, most of the conversation about global poverty (especially on YouTube) was just black and white images of poor starving kids with flies on their faces with a message to donate to some charity for ‘less than a cup of coffee a day.’ I wanted to connect people with this issue in a less guilt-driven way. I figured the best place to start was the country I’ve been to many times as a child and have a heritage with spanning back countless generations.”

Chris Hughes

Chris Hughes may be best known for his involvement with Facebook and Obama’s winning presidential campaign, but his latest project has the potential to eclipse both for the amount of social good it can do. Jumo is a non-profit aimed at connecting people that want to do good with the non-profits and charities that need their support, sort of like an aggregation hub for all things social good. Although in beta, Jumo is already looking to make waves in the social good community.

“[Hughes is] putting a lot of his own reputation and his time behind it,” said Peter Panepento, assistant managing editor at the Chronicle of Philanthropy. “What sets [Jumo] apart at this point is that it has someone who has succeeded in the [social media] space who is engaged and who is putting his time and effort into it…

“Obviously what he’s trying to do is become [a social good champion]. The fact that he’s making the effort means he has the potential to be one.

“The non-profit world is, they’re both excited about [Jumo], but there’s a lot of skepticism about it right now… The true test of that is — Chris’ celebrity and his track record aside — it’s going to come down to whether people actually use it.”

John Cena

John Cena earned his fame as a champion with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), but he has also proven to be a social good champion outside of the ring. Cena is actively involved in a variety of wish-giving and grief support charities including the Kids Wish Network and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. While he’s not the only celebrity to take part, Cena’s active engagement and dedication have earned him the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award. A social good champion is about both impacting lives and leveraging exposure to bring light to a worthy cause.

“The kids just love him,” said Alicia True of the Kids Wish Network. “He’s such a character and he’s such a positive influence, even if it’s just wrestling. It’s almost just inexplicable. When they meet him he’s just perfect, he’s a great role model.”

Jill Atchinson, a team leader for Kids Wish Network, has been on some of those trips to see Cena: “The kids especially want to meet him. He’s definitely the most popular wrestler people want to meet… Getting to meet their hero definitely gives them extra confidence to get through the battles that they’re facing with their health issues and makes them feel that they’re special.”

Cena just topped his 200th wish for the Make-A-Wish foundation this past week. “The great thing about having celebrities involved is that they’re directly involved in the mission; they’re granting wishes,” said Brent Goodrich, media relations manager for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. “In John’s case, he’s granted 200 wishes in six years, which is just phenomenal.”

“He doesn’t really want attention for the wishes that he grants be he also realizes he has the ability to spread awareness about what he does,” Grant added. “The great thing about John is he’s so humble about his involvement and really reinforces the message that it’s about the kids.”

What’s Your Pick?

Of these five nominees, which one is your pick for “Social Good Champion?” You can let us know in the comments, but be sure to take part by casting your vote.

The Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity (Vegas)

In partnership with Cirque du Soleil, The Mashable Awards Gala event will bring together the winners and nominees, the Mashable community, partners, media, the marketing community, consumer electronics and technology brands and attendees from the 2011 International CES Convention to Las Vegas on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Together, we will celebrate the winners and the community of the Mashable Awards at the Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage in the beautiful New York New York Hotel. The event will include acts and performances from our partner Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. In addition, there will be special guest presenters and appearances.

Date: Thursday, January 6th, 2011 (during International CES Convention week)
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 pm PT
Location: Cirque du Soleil Zumanity, New York New York Hotel, Las Vegas
Agenda: Networking, Open Bars, Acts, Surprises and the Mashable Awards Gala presentations
Socialize: Facebook, Foursquare, Meetup, Plancast, Twitter (Hashtag: #MashableAwards)

Mashable Awards Category Sponsor:

Yahoo! is an innovative technology company that operates the largest digital media, content, and communications business in the world. Yahoo! keeps more than half a billion consumers worldwide connected to what matters to them most, and delivers powerful audience solutions to advertisers through its unique combination of Science + Art + Scale. Yahoo! is proud to sponsor this Mashable Award because Yahoo! is focused on connecting individuals to a community of millions so they can change the world together. That’s How Good Grows at Yahoo!. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit the company’s blog, Yodel Anecdotal.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, RichVintage

More About: charitybuzz, chris hughes, hardly normal, john cena, mashable, mashable awards 2010, most influential social good champion, social good, uncultured, Yahoo

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