Week in Review: Come do pushups for Kiva on Thursday!

May 11, 2012

By: Brigitte Bradford

What if your physical output could translate into social good inputs? That's the idea behind education platform Udemy's PushUpCharity challenge. They recruited 5 startups to do pushups to raise money on behalf of nonprofit organizations, and our friends at Github, a code sharing and collaboration platform, decided to do pushups on our behalf!

The first startup to reach 100 pushups wins 40% of the total raised funds, and the other four startups will split the remaining 60% with their respective non-profits.

You may be asking... So... what should I do?
Well, great question!
1. If you're in San Francisco, come join the party this Thursday! Tickets are $10 (buy here: http://pushupcharity.org/)

2. Help fundraise by donating to Github's team.

3. Join in the playful banter on Twitter by following @pushupcharity and @github.

While startup nerds are sweating for Kiva, there's another group of people who expend a remarkable amount of energy to help support a brighter future -- mothers.

We have been talking a lot about mothers, and the importance of anyone who helps nurture potential and encourages people to dream. By understanding the issues they face and offering them a way to empower themselves, we are helping them provide more resources to improve their lives, the lives of their children and future generations.

Huffington Post recently shared the top 30 places to be a mom based on mother and child health, educational attainment and economic status. Check out the article here. By working in countries that didn't make the list, our goal is to improve the quality of life for mothers worldwide.

One of the amazing things I notice when I watch videos from the field or read the Kiva Fellows Blog is the story of these women, who in spite of trying circumstances maintain their sense of humor. When things get tough people often say you can either laugh or cry, and while there is a time and a place for both, laughter is a powerful tool.

As New Yorker cartoonist, Liza Donnelly shares in this TED talk, humor allows us to see traditions and society in a way that highlights its shortfalls and frees us to step outside the box and think about change.