Which businesses are growing the fastest in the US?

What do you imagine when you hear growth?

Do you think about height? Age? Or something as simple as a house plant. Try focusing on economic growth? How about economic growth?

Yes, you've heard our economy is slowly getting better. But..did you know one kind of business is growing faster than others?

Actually, its growth has been higher for over a decade! So do you think you know what kind of business we're talking about? Take a quick guess before you keep reading!

A Surprising Statistic

A few weeks a go, a surprising statistic came out of the  Urban Institute. 

The  2001-2011, nonprofits businesses had a 25% growth. This was actually higher than that of for profit businesses. How much higher? Well, for profit businesses only had growth of .5%.

Let's be fair, only about 10% of the workforce was employed by nonprofits in the year 2010. BUT..a majority of those people were tax exempt charities that have a variety of missions. They are serving the needs of many people in the US.

So what's all this growth mean then?

The Real Impact

The New York Times commented on the report, believing this growth has to do with:

• People are in need of healthcare assistance
• Greater Demand for Relief
• Growth of Family Foundations

Simply put, people are in need of assistance whether economic or otherwise. At the same time private foundations have been investing a lot of money to help organizations serve their communities.

All of these things points to what Khadarlis has always tried to do: Serve all the local communities of Rhode Island. We've donated thousands of dollars worth of services to people who need it the most: fire victims and the impoverished.

A lot of Work Ahead

With foundations donating to organizations, and with organizations doing good work, shouldn't a lot of good be happening?

Yes!

A lot of great organizations are doing their part to help people get through difficult times. At the same time, we can't forget that that Rhode Island still has the highest unemployment rate.

We at Khadarlis pledge to give more and grow faster to meet the challenge of helping local families. We'll have a lot of new things happening for the rest of 2014.

It's going to be great!

If you want to find more about Khadarlis visit our website at www.Khadarlis.org right now!

See our New Volunteer Posting on Serve RI!

After quite a long time, Khadarlis is back on Serve RI!

If you're unfamiliar with the website, Serve RI is the best place for volunteers to connect with nonprofits in Rhode Island. They've done a fantastic job making sure our needs are met.

With a year long subscription for $100, we've been featured in their newsletter, had posting in the ProJo and can put up a ton volunteer postings!

But the best part is we get to find passionate volunteers who want to make a difference. What does this mean for you?

We have several postings available right now!

 If you've ever wanted to help a nonprofit grow and gain valuable experience click on one of these positions:

Content Developer

Grant Writer

Administrative Assistant

Greeter

Logistics and Donation Coordinator - COMING SOON!

Just follow the directions on each posting and we're happy to hear from you!

What the Andean People Can teach you about Service

If you were asked "What is service?" what would it mean to you?

This is a question we are asked often at Khadarlis. Sometimes it's from our volunteers who don't understand how our entire organization could stand to volunteer without funding.

We can sum it up with a single word: Ayni.

The Andean People and Ayni

Original Photo By: morrisey via Flickr

The Andes is a massive mountain range located in South America. The Andes is also where the word "ayni" originates.

Ayni is comes from a special tradition practiced by some people of the Andes. While it can be described several ways, Ayni is simply giving gifts or services to others. The idea is if you give something to someone in need, they will help you in the future. Or in another word, call it "reciprocity."

You aren't helping someone for money or because have to help someone since they helped you. Ayni, which some say translates in "proper relationship," is about connecting with others and giving service.

In many ways this is what a nonprofit does (or what we think should happen!). 

Connections in Service

We like Ayni not only makes people "give back," but creates networks of people helping each other. If one person helps, they may return the favor and then also help others.

That's what Khadarlis aims to do by serving!

While we pay for our partnerships we want to strength communities. And while we can't physically build a home we want to exchange our time, our effort, our lives to do so.

Even if we cannot be paid, or clients can't give back to us, we hope that they create helping hands in the community.

Ayni in Everyday Life

If you've taken anything away from this conversation we hope that it's one thing: help others that are in need. 

This is what Khadarlis runs everyday!

To Find our More About the Work We do Visit our Website: www.Khadarlis.org

RI Foundation grants Khadarlis $8000 Capacity Building Grant!

With enough effort and patience great things will happen.

That patience has lead us to the news that we have received an  $8000 capacity building grant from the RI Foundation.This is the largest grant Khadarlis has received!

If you are unfamiliar with the RI Foundation, we suggest you visit the RI Foundation website at: http://www.rifoundation.org. The Foundation is the leader in charitable giving in RI and provides grants in tons of key areas to help the people of RI.

With that said, we want to say Thank You Very Much to the Foundation and its efforts! And there's a lot of work to be done!

Our Plan

We want to use these resources wisely! So our plan is to work on organizational development. To do this, plan focusing on the key areas of 

• Board Development
• Develop Standard Procedure
• Create Organization (our biggest problem!)

None of us here at Khadarlis have had much experience developing an organization. That's why we reached out to some experts at an organization called Half-Full

Our new Partnership

We were particularly excited to work with Half-Full since they've had significant experience with Business Development. We've been in contact with Rebecca Twitchell, one of the founders of Half-Full, and hope to move forward with the amount of work being done.

While we can't go into details yet, we are excited to get work done! We're getting closer to a better Khadarlis everyday. 

Our Executive Director has excited for this potential partnership for weeks! Now, it's becoming a reality.

Subscribe to Stay Updated With our Progress!

Helping our Neighbors at Bannister House

You might say we  live in a time where people don't care to help their neighbors.

We must live in a different time at Khadarlis! Our passion is the same, whether helping our friends or total strangers. Especially when some our neighbors are suffering this winter.

Introducing ourselves to Bannister House

Our Executive Director, Aisha Khadar, took a quick visit to Bannister House a few weeks ago. Bannister House does great work providing everything from nursing to social services.All she wanted to do was introduce herself to the staff and let them know Khadarlis was here to help the local community. 

But what she saw shocked her. 

So many of the Bannister House's residents needed help! People were missing winter clothes. Worse, many didn't have coats to last them the winter.

She knew Khadarlis had to do something! 

Helping those in Need

Without asking a thing in return Aisha wanted to get a huge donation drive ready. 

While most of Khadarlis was still getting organized from our donations and moving, volunteers made sure to spend time to get as many winter clothes as ready as possible. Before we knew it, there were over 20 trash bags of clothes ready to go. 

What Khadarlis Donated

Those 20 bags held over 170 coats, sweatshirts and sweatpants for the residents of Bannister House. All Khadarlis asked for in return was for the people of Banister House to stay warm this winter.

You don't have to run your own non-profit to make a difference. Take a chance this year, meet new people in your community and help those people in need! It's worth it!

Khadarlis is happy to have to help our new friends!

A Happy New Year and New Beginning from Khadarlis!

Welcome to Khadarlis' first blog post of 2014! From all of us at Khadarlis we wish you and your loved ones a Happy New Year!

Last time we spoke, we unveiled the design for our new logo, but the new year brings new signs! Take a minute and see what Khadarlis will look like in 2014.

The New Design

In order to truly make Khadarlis' new location a home, we wanted to bring positive energy and renewal to Khadarlis' brand. Of course, we need to make an awesome first impression in an area we haven't served before. After searching for a screen printing vendor who could get us signs, this is the final design:

Our new design features our motto and the new logo, and will be hung over the new entrance way of Khadarlis. The new sign should welcome our visitors as they step inside the new Khadarlis, and be the first step towards connecting with a new community.

Once inside, clients will be able to see posters of all our past efforts before meeting our staff.

A Special Thanks

While we serve people every day, we certainly don't have the type of graphic design to make such a beautiful logo!

That's why  we give our sincere thanks to Johnson and Wales University (JWU), media department for this great new logo, and (East Coast imaging) for making our new signs for our new home.

Looking Forward to a New Year

We look forward to meeting the new faces in the community and another year of service. We want to give away as much bread, give away as many donated goods, and help build better lives for as many people as we can.

Have a great new year! Visit us at www.Khadarlis.org

RI Non-Profit Khadarlis Announces New Logo!

With the New Year comes new changes!

This year, Khadarlis is moving forward with a new logo, and we would love to share it with you. Take a look at some of Khadarlis' past logos below, and our newest logo below!

This logo will soon be featured at our new location on 105 Dodge Street Providence, RI.

Our new logo emphasizes our commitment to serve both Rhode Island and Sierra Leone. We do this with full giving and service, with our own bare hands.

All of the efforts of our staff and volunteers are symbolized within this connection. After all, we at Khadarlis always keep this saying in mind:

"Reaching to Connect means Everything. Reaching to Connect comes from the Heart."

Do you like our new logo? Comment and tell us what you think!

Khadarlis is moving this December!

They say the holiday season is the time of year for change and new beginnings. It's no different here for Khadarlis!

Since mid-December our wonderful staff and volunteers have been packing our office on Chalkstone Avenue. We've had a great run here at the Lillian Shawn Feinstein Center, but it is time to move!
And there is a lot to move!

You never really know how much there is to move until you actually have to! As we take down the posters and projects from our walls, we will take our history of service with us.

We will remember the service projects done by our college service learning teams, the people we've helped in Rhode Island and internationally, and the many hours we've put into Khadarlis.

We won't forget the many friends we have among seniors and staff here at the Center as well.

The new building space is located within the First Tabernacle Church.While we're a settling in the new office, we won't be open for service.

Front of the First Tabernacle Church

So once again we would like to remind you that our new location is 105 Dodge Street, right near Classical and Central High School and Cranston Street.

Unfortunately, we won't be serving the community until the start of the new year on January 7th.

We just don't have the time or location set up to handle our donations. We're saddened that we won't be open during the Christmas holiday or New Year but it's out of our control!

Please share this, and let others know our new location on 105 Dodge Street!

Khadarlis Community Thanksgiving Dinner

We're all excited to be home for the holidays, especially when we have a delicious turkey waiting for us!

Meet some of those who came!

Unfortunately, while each of us enjoys turkey with our families not everyone is able to.

Providence's unemployment and homeless rate rank among the highest U.S., and ever year hundreds of people can't afford to have a turkey. Worse, some people won't be able celebrate at all.

Thanks to efforts of local organizations and communities, we can bring Thanksgiving to those who need it most!

This past Thanksgiving, Khadarlis teamed up with SIXFIVE81 to bring hold a Thanksgiving dinner that was open to the public. It was an awesome success and the picture to the right illustrates some of the people who came by!

If you stopped by, you might even have spotted Senator Paul Jabour.

We want to give special thanks to our sponsors who were gracious enough to donate food for this event with less than an month's worth of time before it started. We also want to thank our volunteers and executive staff for planning an event like this.

Dinner was delicious! If you're curious about who was cooking, it was Khadarlis' very own President, Dharlis Johnson, who not only prepared the ingredients the evening before, but cooked them too. 

President Dharlis Johnson (left)

Khadarlis will keep serving the homeless and struggling people of Rhode Island. We hope to hold another Thanksgiving event next year.

But one organization can't do it alone!

We need readers and supporters like you! When we truly strive to help others, we're working to create stronger communities.

Please, visit our website and see what you can do to help. Every donation and share counts!

Let the River Flow: Signs of Progress in Water Work

            Clean water is one of the most persistent problems in the developing world today. More than a billion people on our planet have absolutely no access to any clean water. Having clean water is another crucial step towards development for many third world countries. Every 15 seconds, a child dies from water-related illness, and this is the leading cause of death for children under 5. Fortunately, over the past five years, Khadarlis for Sierra Leone has worked hard to provide access to clean water for the villages it services.

            In 2008, on the organization’s second trip to Sierra Leone, we built our first water well in Jimmi. The establishment of a well gives access to clean, safe water, which directly impacts the health of the community. When children live longer, they are able to attend school longer, and grow up safely to become productive members of their communities. On top of that, a reduced mortality rate, especially among children, helps to create more stable family structures, providing a good foundation for further reform.

            On Khadarlis 4^th trip to Sierra Leone, in 2009, we conducted tests and evaluations to check the quality of the supply system in Jimmi (as well as the quality of the water). This confirmed the effectiveness of the system design in Jimmi, and allowed Khadarlis to install their 2^nd water well – this time in Senehun.

            These are the only 2 water wells Khadarlis has been able to build to date. During the trip in 2011, we were able to perform some maintenance on the water supply systems to help ensure the quality of the water it was producing. The next steps in water work for Khadarlis really revolve around money. Currently we are attempting to find donors and apply for grants to raise the $5,000 we need to establish a third well in Sierra Leone. If you are interested in helping another community take a huge step towards becoming a safe place to live, you can find donation information at http://khadarlis.org/. Khadarlis has made huge progress towards making clean water a reality for all people in Sierra Leone, and they will continue to do so as we head into the second half of 2012.

Marisa N.

Volunteer Blogger | Khadarlis for Sierra Leone

Join Us, Let’s Walk Together…

As they say all great journeys begin with a single step, and this past summer when Khadarlis returned to Sierra Leone they took more than a single step towards their goals, they took many steps. Thanks to the dedicated hard work of its supporters and volunteers Khadarlis was able to get closer to its vision of self-sustainability for every village in Sierra Leone.

Khadarlis for Sierra Leone was successful in bringing clean water to communities, building houses, supporting agriculture projects, handing out school supplies, installing solar energy, distributing the contents of a 40 ft. container and making sure every person in the village had a pair of shoes to call their own!

Here’s a brief summary of the work Khadarlis did on their recent trip to Sierra Leone:

·         Built a water well that will service over 400 villagers with clean safe water

·         Built 5 mud/cement houses that will provide shelter for 17 families (thanks to volunteers from Bryant University)

·         Partnered with Sierra Leone Department of Agriculture to participate in the ABC program which involves educating farmers & supplying them with tools and seeds

·         Farmers organizations set up in all four villages

o   Palm oil plantation started with 40 acres – 10 acres in each village

o   Cashew plantation in each village – 6 acres in each village

o   Pilot program with vegetables that was a great success

·         First day of school – every child in each of the village schools received a pen, pencil, & notebook

·         Refurbished the old Jimmi Secondary School Library – painting, shelving, and stocking it with books – this will benefit 5000 students

·         Installed 36 driveway solar lights to light up the pathway in the town centre

·         Distributed container items which included – blankets, clothing, sheets, toys, furniture, mobility tools for the elderly  and over 7000 non-perishable food donations

·         Supplied the Jimmi Clinic with gloves, bedding, sanitary aides, bandages, medications, and gave first aid supplies to the birthing centre for deliveries

·         Partnered with the Jimmi Barbgo World Vision for technology – this enabled Khadarlis to use their office space & internet for free

·         Khadarlis also registered with the Department of Economic Development, Social Welfare, and SLANGO (Sierra Leone Association of Non-governmental Organization)

Khardarlis is only beginning…

We have many more steps to take on this journey towards our goals in Sierra Leone and we invite you to join us!  

Please go to www.khadarlis.org  to see how you can help.

                                           

                                                                                                   - Patti Smith (gypsydiplomat@gmail.com)