The era of the twenty-first century has redefined the idea of “world peace.” Despite being in the midst of geostrategic uncertainties, international governments face challenges of satisfying basic needs which should be addressed with grave attention.
“True peace can only be achieved when people have enough to eat and live decently,” as per the World Affairs report. For eliminating human deprivation and poverty, the issue must go hand-in-hand with attempts to improve health, seek economic growth, and reduce inequality.
In alignment with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation (GGAF), a non-profit humanitarian organization strives to change the lives of people globally and attain world peace. With the support of its global humanitarians, GGAF addresses real-life problems, serving several disadvantaged parts of the world.
Lisa Jones, the CEO, President, Co-founder, and Board of Directors 501(c3) at GGAF, redirects its operations in accordance with attaining world peace.
Below are the highlights of the interview.
Lisa, kindly brief us about yourself and your professional milestones so far.
As the CEO & Co-Founder of Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation, a non-profit 501(c3) humanitarian organization with over 19,000 people in over 215 nations and territories, I have been advocating solidarity and growth for a better world for all.
My belief is strongly uprooted in education for all, to help with sustainable careers, end gender bias, and help end domestic violence. At present, I have been volunteering at domestic violence shelters, mentoring students, and helping to feed the homeless. In addition, as part of my humanitarian work, I’m also a member of UN Women and UN-USA, working on the most pressing issues our world is faced with.
What has been your source of motivation in climbing the ladder of success?
Being a self-motivated leader, getting my job done is what motivates me. Working with and training others is also an inspiration, as I believe in learning something new every day and passing my knowledge onto others.
Through my non-profit role, helping people in need is one of the strongest motivations for me. In times of challenges when one has to walk away from things and/or set boundaries, I have learnt to never quit. With this mindset, I’m able to lead the organization towards success each day.
Please tell us about the Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation. What were the ideas and developments that led to its inception?
Global Goodwill Ambassadors were originally founded by Richard DiPilla as a means for people to meet others with the same humanitarian cause and hopefully find a way to work together. When I joined there, I became the first USA Chair and quickly rose to become a President.
In 2019, Richard and I felt the need to register for nonprofit status so we could help people with funding. Hence, I decided to register us in the state of Minnesota, USA, where I am currently residing. At this point, I became co-founder of GGAF, CEO, COO, Publisher, and Co-Founder of our learning institute.
From helping people meet others with similar causes, GGAF as a non-profit can help others collaborate and we do. But we now have the ability to make a bigger impact by funding orphanages, menstrual campaigns, printing for Chrissy Sykes’ child abuse prevention program —My Body is My Body — and more.
What are its core values? How are you driving it to achieve its mission and vision statement?
Our mission is to utilize our family of global humanitarians to solve real-life problems in the most disadvantaged parts of the world. We are hands-on at the grassroots level to assist women, children, the hungry, the homeless, and disadvantaged people.
Our vision is that, through our programs, we can help to reduce disparities in access to education, alleviate hunger and poverty, end homelessness, and increase sustainability in many areas, such as preventing child abuse, climate change, taking care of our environment, helping those in need to find a way to make a sustainable living, all while addressing the entire 17 United Nations SDGs.
What are its key offerings? How are you driving it towards the organization’s success?
Our key offerings include funding; free education; collaboration on projects around the world; and the Ambassador magazine, which is open to GGAs to showcase their work. We also work with Chrissy Sykes’ child abuse prevention program, which has been taught to more than a million children around the world.
Right now, the world is going through a hunger crisis or food insecurity. This is a worldwide issue, and we are helping keep food on the shelves at foodbanks and shelters. We drive this to success by actively listening to one another and through teamwork.
Could you elaborate on the GGAF Learning Institute and how it is empowering the youth.
In many countries, either college is an expensive involvement that is cost-prohibitive or there is no school nearby. We offer a way for individuals to take courses through our GGAF Learning Institute that are vital to any of the work they do, including critical thinking, business ethics, and more.
This empowers everyone by showing their ‘continued education’ on their resume while they learn new material or freshen up in areas, they may be educated in. It also lifts the person’s spirits when taking our classes and gives them a sense of self-worth.
What strived you towards creating a global impact and changing the lives of many others?
The outcome we hope for is “world peace.” We feel that teaching others about different cultures helps them understand and accept others for who they are. We are one world, and it’s something we try to teach in GGAF. We believe in “being the change we want to see.”
We believe in human rights and work toward the UN SDGs on a daily basis. Education is the key to spreading our arms around the world and taking in the beauty that every country has to offer.
We also have a “Youth Leadership” program running where students have taken three classes and are now working on projects of their choice in the areas of community, children, and the environment. This is a long program, and we want this to be one of the first that gets youth excited and involved, and they will pass what they have learned to other youth in their community.
What are the future goals for your foundation? How do you envision upscaling its operations and reach in 2022 and beyond?
The GGAF Learning Institute will continue to grow as more classes are added. The Ambassador helps with funding as we allow advertising for a donation rate. I see both of these areas being the keys to our growth in 2023.
Our goal is to keep helping as many people as possible. We will be extending our reach for donations beyond LinkedIn and using other methods for fundraising. We have set new goals for fundraising and now that the COVID-19 concerns are settling, GGAF will be planning more in-person fundraisers.
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