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Nike Partner Mercy Corps Honored

Nike partner Mercy Corps,was recognized with the 2008 Social Capitalist Award.

Nike and Mercy Corps have been working together for the past five years on our Let Me Play community based programming. Mercy Corps’ continual innovative and entrepreneurial efforts were rated among the best by Fast Company and Monitor Group, which assess social entrepreneurial organizations based on five critical components: social impact, entrepreneurship, innovation, aspiration and growth, and sustainability.

As our global Let Me Play product donation partner, Mercy Corps distributes almost 300,000 units of Nike product every year in communities around the world to create a movement to unleash youth potential through sport. These communities in EMEA include countries such as Sudan, Zambia, Morocco, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, and more.

As part of Let Me Play, Nike and USAID’s Sports for Peace and Life Program is specifically aimed at decreasing young peoples’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. Mercy Corps helps distribute Nike football product to communities where this program is implemented, and by having access to sports like football, the potential for youth to learn about conflict resolution and positive life skills is maximized. At the 2007, Sports for Peace and Life Program Football finals in Sudan, teams from various regions of Sudan were able to play thanks to our partnership with Mercy Corps. The photo gallery above includes images from the Sudan finals.

You can check out Nike’s video of the program here, and learn more about Let Me Play, here.

Apply Mercy Corps practices into your everyday lives

To undertake the sweeping social change projects that Mercy Corps and Nike do together is impossible for just one person, but your individual efforts can still directly impact others, even if it is on a much smaller scale. Check out some of these mini-Mercy Corps model behaviors or try out your own ideas. Share your ideas.

  • Make saving a part of your monthly routine. You are probably already saving money for entertainment or miscellaneous expenses every month, so why not shave a little bit of that off and reserve it for charitable giving? If you donate that money annually you’ll probably be surprised at the amount that you raised.
  • Volunteer at a local food bank
  • Donate your clothes to a charity
  • Work to educate others. With programs like S.M.A.R.T. volunteers can work with children to improve their literacy.
  • Become an entrepreneur. Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman are great examples of what being an overachiever is all about. In your daily activities, try to design new ways of doing things that can cut your electrical usage, alleviate excessive consumption, and help out others who have greater needs than you.
  • Be a leader. Don’t just follow others. Ignite change within your community, your social network or your family. Be the first person to step up and help someone out, or offer to do more than what was expected of you. All of these things are ways of helping others.