At the end of Week 6, the Sustainable Business Directory holds 525 businesses. I am happy with the progress I have made this past week on the directory and am looking forward to the launch of the website. During our Summer Fellows learning session, Dani Robbins mentioned the difference between charity and social change. From my understanding, charity responds to immediate needs while social change sparks a shift in society. For an example with respect to Simply Living, consider the local economy. Once a year, there is a nationwide shopping holiday known as “Small Business Saturday” which is a response to the domination of big box retail and e-commerce stores during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This is an example of charity because it is an immediate response to the rise of the global economy through raising awareness for the local economy. The Sustainable Business Directory on the other hand, is an example of social change. The directory encourages society to shop locally year round because it acts as a resource that offers an alternative to shopping at big box retail and e-commerce stores. I am not saying that the Sustainable Business Directory is better than Small Business Saturday. But I believe this directory is a more effective way to change societal behaviors. 

Taking an even closer look at charity versus social change, Simply Living itself is a non-profit that focuses on social change. As I have referenced before, Simply Living’s mission is to “connect people with learning opportunities that promote sustainability, environmental justice, and our local economy. We provide community education for a more sustainable and equitable world. We envision a compassionate and sustainable world through personal, community and cultural transformation.” Simply Living wants to educate our community through learning opportunities, such as the Sustainable Business Directory, which will trigger societal change.