DeNora Getachew, CEO of DoSomething.org, joins ChedHer to share how DoSomething.org is providing an opportunity for younger generations to make their voices heard by volunteering and advocating for social change.

chedHER

'Do Something' Inspiring a Youth-Led Movement For Good

joining us now is Dinora Gaita chou ceo of do something dot org, one of the largest organizations for young people advocating for social change. General, what is your mission as the ceo of this organization? Thanks so much. It's great to be with you this morning and you know really to speak about the important work that do something does every day. We have a bold mission. We are fueling young people to change the world. Young people today are really clear that they want to take collective action to address the issues that are most pressing to them and do something, wants to be the hub, the home for them to create that change. We want to make sure that we are helping young people who have always been at the forefront of leading change as a new generation comes of age and they navigate this global pandemic technology and social media, we really want to create and fuel this intersectional movement for a more inclusive and equitable future with young people at the center. So when you look at young people and the causes that are most important to them today, what are they? And more importantly, you know, what tools do they need to make their voices be heard such a great question. You know, young people are bearing the burden of some of the most pressing challenges facing our world today. Um the issues that they care most about what that we hear from our members in this moment are actually dovetail well with the segment just before this, when you talked about the importance of mental health as we approach mental health awareness month. They want accessible and diverse mental health support. They want a greener future and they want an equitable society that censors them and their push for diversity inclusion. You know, gen z and and coming of age soon Behind them is gen Alpha. They have lived through what will hopefully be the most disrupted time in there in our lives, which has caused them to really recognize but also push back on some of the systemic barriers that pushed them or block them, I should say, from having a society that reflects them and the needs they have and envision for themselves and their peers. What we're hearing young people say is that these top issues, mental health, climate change, social justice are important for businesses and organizations if they really want to say that they center young people in their work, young people are not only gaining the power to vote at the ballot box, but they're also clear that they can use the power of their dollars to really make a difference. And so when we hear our young people talk about what they can do to make a difference, 88% of our members say it's important for brands to really take action around purpose and to put make sure that they are make um centering young people and how they're moving their brand forward. If not our people are clear, they say they will boycott brands if it doesn't align with their values. And so we need to take this moment to really hear the voice of young people, that's what I'm doing and do something is lifting up the voice of a generation that is passionate and somewhat impatient for change. And sometimes you need to be impatient for that change to actually occur within you know, your lifetime in a respectable amount of time in the vein of at least one of those kind of top thoughts before for this generation, diversity and inclusion, you are the first black female ceo of this nearly 30 year old organization, congratulations to you on just the natural feet. That is to get to the position in which you're in right now. But what does this accomplish? You know, first mean to you and how do you hope to inspire other women such a great question and I appreciate you for asking it. You know, I'm I was a teenage mother from the Bronx and so to see myself now represented in one of the largest and oldest companies focusing on young people and social change. It's a, it's an inspiring moment for me and my family, but really what it means is that it can break more barriers for young people to really see themselves in this work. My representation at this table as the ceo of do something is only impactful if I'm using this platform to really create power and movement for young people to see themselves in every leadership role possible to make our society more equitable representative, but most importantly, centering the voices of young people by the way, I'm another girl from the boogie down Bronx, so appreciate kind of two girls from the Bronx on here right now. Um in terms of the impact that your organization has had do something dot org, let's talk about that. What has the impact been to date? That's a great question. You know, do something has been around for almost three decades, right? And I came of age candidly at the time to do something was itself being born and founded by Andrew Hsu and Michael Sanchez. At that time we were really focused on making volunteerism as coolest sports. I'm proud to say that we've accomplished that Over the years, we've had millions of young people taking action on causes important to themselves and their communities standing at the forefront and at the precipice of pushing for change. Our members have spent over the last year, over 57,000 hours volunteering, they collected over 288,000 period products for local homeless shelters. Almost 350,000 non perishable food items for food banks. They are working to feed americans to clothe americans to really also then go further and really talk about driving systems change. And so it's been exciting as I've stepped into my leadership and do something to know that in this moment, there's also a powerful opportunity to fuel young people to claim our democracy as their own, to really center them in what it means to have a more accessible, inclusive and representative democracy. And so we're also doing our part to register voters. We registered over 350,000 voters since 2018. And I'm excited in this midterm election year to do our part, to get more young people, not only to register to vote, but to become active and engaged citizens and to continue that journey to make this democracy, their own. you know, as you know, that there you've been in this role for about a year or so right now, and you mentioned some of the future plans kind of moving forward, but when you think about the future of do something dot org, what's the biggest component that kind of biggest future plan that you're focused on? You know, the biggest thing I'm focused on right now is transforming how we engage with young people do something has always been in the vanguard of fueling a generation to get engaged. Whether that was volunteerism at our start and now thinking about more holistic activism and advocacy, I want to build a collective of young people who are diverse and reflective of society and let them know that when they are a member of do something, they are literally doing something together to effect change, not just change that happens today, but systemic change in the vein of what they want to see for this democracy in this society that they're living in. And so I really want to make sure we're focusing on changing and really eliminating the economic and political conditions that block young people from using their power. I want to get young people to claim their democracy. So it's great that we've registered over 350,000 young people to vote. But do they take the next step? Do they know that time and time again? They have to participate in the full contact sport that is democracy, because if they don't know that, then we haven't done our part. And so I want to encourage all of your listeners today to visit do something dot org to learn more about our work. Make sure they're following us on instagram facetime face, facebook twitter and really get engaged in this movement. We're building, we need to fuel this generation to change the world. I love the way you said that there the full contact contact sport that is democracy to be fully engaged in that general. Really appreciate your time. General Taco the ceo of dosomething dot org