< PreviousWelcome to Better Introducing individuals and organizations who are making the world better, one cup, cap, campaign, and connection at a time FEATURE 10 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINEWelcome to the first issue of Make The World Better Magazine! We’re on a mission to amplify good, which means we’re thrilled to feature a diverse range of organizations in these pages who are all working towards a common goal: to make the world better. Read on to learn how these incredible companies are advancing children’s rights and equality for girls, serving up a more ethical cup of coffee, empower- ing youth to meet their full potential, combating homelessness on a national scale, kicking single-use takeout food containers to the curb, improving lives in the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and connecting people with essential information on clinical trials. SEP 2021 • ISSUE 01 11Shalini, 21, looking at the camera, is advocating for the end of child marriage in Uttar Pradesh PLAN INTERNATIONAL CANADA Advancing children’s rights and equality for girls, one campaign at a time 12 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINEAs children, we’re told we can be anything, from astro- nauts to Hollywood movie stars. Unfortunately, for many kids (especially girls) around the world, their dream is basic rights and opportunities. Plan International Canada works to remove barriers so children in underdeveloped countries can live out their potential. We chatted with Plan International Canada about their mission and what makes this organization unique. Tell us about Plan International Canada’s mission. Plan International Canada works for and with children, community members, and govern- ments so that all children around the world can exercise their rights. We do this by focusing on eight core areas, with gender equality as a foundational objective. Our work seeks to tackle the root causes of gender inequality and remove barriers that keep children, especially girls, from reaching their full potential. Plan International Canada is a member of a global organization dedicated to advancing children’s rights and equality for girls. Plan International has been building powerful partnerships for children for over 80 years and is now active in more than 75 countries. What inspired your founders to start Plan International Canada? In 1937, British journalist John Langdon-Davies founded what was originally known as Foster Parents Plan for Children in Spain to help chil- dren whose lives were disrupted by the Spanish Civil War. By 1938, 300 Spanish children were sponsored by Plan International. Th e follow- ing year, Eleanor Roosevelt became a sponsor, continuing to support the organization for many years. Plan International marked its 60th anniversa- ry in 1990 by reaching an incredible milestone: supporting its one millionth sponsored child, a young girl from Mali. By 1999, the number of Plan-sponsored children grew to over 1.2 million children. A decade later, Plan International began highlighting the unique challenges faced by girls in low-income countries, launching our Because I am a Girl initiative in Canada to promote gender equality in the countries where we work. Plan International celebrated its 84th anni- versary in 2021, marking our continued com- mitment to children’s rights around the world. What were some of the challenges you encountered? Plan International Canada has over 80 years of experience in international development and humanitarian response, and remains SEP 2021 • ISSUE 01 13committed to children’s rights and equality for girls as the world navigates and responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. Th e COVID-19 crisis has aff ected people across the globe and has become a challenge in the humanitarian world. Primary health impacts have been grave, and associated lock- downs and disruptions have led to addition- al (secondary) impacts. Th e pandemic has caused unprecedented hardship for people around the globe, but for girls in crisis, it’s done more than just set them back. It’s unravelling decades of progress. Th irteen million girls are at risk of becoming brides, two million girls are at risk of experi- encing female genital mutilation, and millions are at risk of never returning to school once they reopen. Th rough its global response, Plan International has been assessing the extent and severity of the secondary impacts of this crisis on women and children, especially girls, since March 2020. We are constantly working to ensure that progress is not reverted in terms of children and girls getting their rights. What do you consider Plan International’s biggest success? Plan International’s gender transformative approach to international development and, in- creasingly, our work during emergencies aspires to support women, girls, men, and boys in all their diversity to change this reality. Th rough Plan International Canada’s am- bitious 20 Million Reasons Campaign, we’ve reached 18.4 million children around the world – over halfway to our target of improving the lives of 20 million children by 2022. How do you feel Plan International Canada makes the world better? Plan International Canada knows achieving the Sustainable Development Goals ambition of “leaving no one behind” requires transformative change. We confront and challenge discrim- ination and human rights violations based on gender. All of our work – programming or advocacy – tackles the root causes of gender inequality and helps reshape unequal power relations. It focuses not only on providing equal opportu- nities and outcomes for all, but on removing Millions of girls around the world are in crisis. Th eir futures are already written for them, as they experience the tragedies of child marriage, no education, sexual violence and exploitation. Together we can Stop Th e Setback by helping girls rewrite their futures for the better. As we move into the fourth phase of our global fundraising campaign, we aim to raise awareness of the work Plan International does and drive donations to help us support the world’s most vulnerable girls and provide them with the support they need to fulfi l their potential. 14 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINEthe barriers that keep girls and women from achieving their full potential and exercising their rights. Our focus is to meet and grow our com- mitments to children, as well as the more than 86,000 communities we work with over the long term. Plan International Canada has developed a comprehensive girl/woman centric index – the Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment Index – that measures changes in the root causes of gender inequality and captures the breadth and scope of gender transformative change. A gender equality approach is about under- standing these relative diff erences and inter- secting identities, appreciating that they are not rigid and can be changed. It is important to keep these diff erences and intersecting identities in mind when designing strategies, policies, programs, and services. Ultimately, promoting gender equality means transforming the power relations between women and men, girls and boys, and individ- uals with diff erent gender identities in order to create a more just society for everyone. Tell us about your organization’s goals. We strive for a just world that advances chil- dren’s rights and equality for girls. We engage people and partners to empower children, young people, and communities to make vital changes that assist girls in accessing their rights. We want to fulfi l the promise of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal. Plan International Canada’s strategy is to work through our 20 Million Reasons Campaign, which intends to improve the lives of 20 million children, especially girls, by 2022 so that they can learn, lead, decide, and thrive. Within the strategy, we also have an ambi- tion to transform the lives of 100 million girls. Child sponsorship and grassroots community work are central to our strategy and achieving this ambition. How can people help or contribute to Plan International’s mission? Every day, millions of girls around the world are denied their basic human rights simply because they’re girls. Th rough initiatives such as Because I am a Girl and the Child Sponsorship program, Plan International is working to advance girls’ rights by helping them unleash their inherent power and potential. Th e contributions support girls in championing change in their communities by helping them access their right to education, healthcare, and clean water. Th e COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and magnifi ed injustices around the world – especially for those most vulnerable. Th rough the Stop the Setback Campaign, Plan International is working to ensure girls have access to the supports they need to powerfully claim their right to a safe, healthy life, and a path of their choosing. Visit plancanada.ca for more information and follow @plancanada on social media to #StopTh eSetback. plancanada.ca info@plancanada.ca tel: 1.800.387.1418 facebook.com/PlanCanada twitter.com/PlanCanada linkedin.com/company/plan-canada instagram.com/plancanada youtube.com/user/plancanadavideos SEP 2021 • ISSUE 01 15Did you know that Canada is one of the top glob- al consumers of coffee? Canadians love our coffee; it’s one of our simple pleasures. The only thing better would be saving the world as we drink it. Salt Spring Coffee set out on a mission to do just that: use coffee to be a force for good. We chatted with Digital Marketing Specialist Veronica Meas about Salt Spring Coffee’s goals, and what makes this company unique. Tell us about Salt Spring Coffee’s mission. Our mission is to change the world for the better through coff ee. Salt Spring Coff ee wants to use coff ee as the vehicle to be a force of good. Coff ee allows us to make a positive impact along our supply chain, which includes communities from where we source our coff ee all the way to our staff , our customers, and our community. What inspired your founders to start Salt Spring Coffee? Inspired by the Salt Spring Island way of life, founders Mickey McLeod and Robbyn Scott em- barked on a journey to bring sustainable coff ee to their community. In their quest for coff ee that was environ- mentally friendly and fair to farmers, they built long-term partnerships with producers to source organic, shade-grown, fair trade coff ee. What do you consider Salt Spring Coffee’s biggest success? Salt Spring Coff ee’s greatest success is setting high standards from the beginning so we can provide access to coff ee that is traded fairly and grown sustainably. For us, success isn’t based solely on profi t, but also purpose – we will never compromise people, the environment, or quality for the sake of gener- ating more profi t. What makes your organization unique? Salt Spring Coff ee was a trailblazer and among the fi rst coff ee companies in Canada to off er organic, fair trade coff ee. What makes us unique is that not only are we organic and Fair Trade Certifi ed, we are also SALT SPRING COFFEE Serving customers a good cup of Joe they can feel good about 16 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINEa certifi ed B Corp. While organic and fair trade certifi cations verify our products, B Corp certifi ca- tion verifi es our practices and impact on people and the environment. It’s a third-party audit that helps us measure and constantly improve our social and environmental impact. How do you feel Salt Spring Coffee makes the world better? Salt Spring Coff ee sources organic, shade-grown coff ee. Th is means that instead of clear cutting forests to grow coff ee in an industrial fashion, coff ee is grown in its natural environment under tree canopies. Shade-grown coff ee preserves natural biodiver- sity, protects the ecosystem, and helps prevent soil erosion. Better soil quality means that coff ee can be grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Salt Spring Coff ee is also Fair Trade and Fair For Life certifi ed. Th is means that producers are paid a fair price plus an additional premium on top of the cost of coff ee that goes toward the producer’s community. Additionally, Fair Trade also ensures fair working conditions that are free from discrimi- nation, child labour, and forced labour. Salt Spring Coff ee is proof that businesses can be successful while making business decisions that are better for people and the planet. Tell us about your organization’s goals. Our goal is to make sustainable, fair trade coff ee available to everyone. We currently off er whole bean and ground coff ee, but we know that custom- ers also enjoy other methods of brewing, such as using pods. We will continue to develop our off erings to include additional formats so that sustainable, fair trade coff ee is available to all coff ee drinkers. Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you’d like to share? We’re working on a plan to invest in energy effi cient equipment that will help us signifi cantly decrease our greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, we participate in a waste diversion program that tracks our weekly waste diversion. We are putting together a plan to help us get to Zero Waste by 2026. What do you most want people to know about Salt Spring Coffee? Twenty-fi ve years later, Salt Spring Coff ee is still family-owned and operated, and our aspiration remains the same: To be change makers through coff ee – doing our part to make the world a better place. How can people help or contribute to Salt Spring Coffee’s mission? People can help with Salt Spring Coff ee’s mission by supporting organic, fair trade, and B Corp compa- nies. By supporting these companies, people have the power to show businesses that they want to buy from brands that care about more than just the bottom line. It can help create a world where every business has a positive impact on the people and the environment. saltspringcoffee.com orders@saltspringcoffee.com tel: 1.800.332.8858 facebook.com/saltspringcoffee twitter.com/SS_Coffee instagram.com/saltspringcoffee SEP 2021 • ISSUE 01 17WHAT BETTER MEANS TO YOU It’s a journey. Making positive and impactful changes, building on successes, and learning from mistakes to keep improving. Nikki Manthey Lead Copywriter Sparx Publishing Group 18 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINEaking positive hanges, building d learning from p improving. SEP 2021 • ISSUE 01 19Next >