Putting your skills and network to use to help kids.

by Dan Grady and Michael Martin

Dan Grady at C-CORE Consulting Group has made multiple trips with RetailROI, the first time not really knowing what he could bring to the table…until he arrived….and then it hit him.

Often charities work project to project, never knowing where the funding is going to come from and battling day to day priorities. The head of a charity often has the vision of where they want to go but lacks the plan to get there. That was true of what he saw the first time he went on a trip.

In his day job Dan works on business process design and helping companies streamline their IT systems to match the business processes. As part of his multiple trips to Plan Escalon in Honduras, Dan engaged with the leadership team to put together the 5 year capital plan and project plan to help prioritize the processes and project for building a new dorm complex, bringing his every day experience to helping in this environment while also lending his experience in Fresh Item Management with how the kitchen was set up.

In addition, his experience with Fresh Item Management has helped in guiding LifeSong Farms on in the country of Zambia as part of the sustainable funding project in growing and selling strawberries to local supermarkets. His ideas are helping to increase the amount of funding that this strawberry business through better protection of the strawberries in route, better presentation in the stores, and more flexible payment options for customers. This knowledge is helping the school of 300 children become self-funded through their business opportunities. Giving a hand up, rather than a hand out.

Dan realized quite quickly that the greatest thing all of us have to offer on a RetailROI trip is not helping build a wall or paint a building, but rather the knowledge and experience we bring from the things we do every day and our network of friends and colleagues that can help with a specific part. YOU have a lot to offer these charities in the field. But you won’t know what it is until you join a trip and see the work.

Dan brought his daughter, Kelly, on this latest Honduras trip and on a personal level, he says it’s the best decision he made.

“I think there is no better trip you can take with your kids. It’s the best way to get them to understand the world and how they can make a difference.”

In short Dan says, “My experience (with ROI and on these trips) has been outstanding”