Please respond to the following DB post in no less than 100 words following thes
Please respond to the following DB post in no less than 100 words following these requirements: Respond to the posts from two of your group members. Answer the following:
What are your concerns regarding the statement of the problem? The statement of the beneficiaries?
How would you expect the organization to generate revenues and/or remain sustainable?
1. DC-Warby Parker is a lifestyle brand that designs and sells stylish, high-quality prescriiption eyeglasses, sunglasses, and other vision care products at affordable prices.
The social impact effort is led by Warby Parker themselves, though they do partner with non-profit organizations like VisionSpring to facilitate their “buy one, give one” initiative.
The founders identified that glasses were overpriced and difficult to access for many people around the world, both in developed and developing countries. This lack of access to affordable eyewear was leading to uncorrected poor vision and impacting education, work, and quality of life.
Warby Parker’s mission is to offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses. They aim to demonstrate that companies can scale, be profitable, and do well in the world, all without charging a premium for it.
What makes Warby Parker unique and valuable is their vertically integrated business model that cuts out the middlemen to offer high-quality prescriiption glasses and sunglasses at much lower prices than traditional retailers. Additionally, their “buy a pair, give a pair” program distributes a pair of glasses to someone in need for every pair purchased.
This model makes a positive difference for Warby Parker’s customers by providing affordable, fashionable eyewear options. It also helps provide vision care and free glasses to over 5 million people in need around the world, impacting education, employment, and quality of life.
I selected Warby Parker because I’m impressed by how they’ve created a mission-driven lifestyle brand that tackles an important global issue through a sustainable for-profit model. They demonstrate that social entrepreneurship can create both business and social value.
2. Homelessness is a complex issue in the United States, and there are many different organizations tailored specific needs of the unhoused – whether it be providing food and resources, sponsoring education and job training, or securing housing. Today, I discuss a leading organization that focuses on efficiently housing people in America, which has provided services to over 100,000 individuals and received multi-million dollar grants. (2023) This is the non-profit Community Solutions, led and founded in 2011 by Roseanne Haggerty. It has defined a goal of ‘Functional Zero’ – meaning homelessness is rare and brief, with a system for swiftly providing unhoused Americans with dignified housing.
What makes Community Solutions so remarkable is the work that it does to tackle homelessness at its roots, rather than just addressing its characteristics. In Brian Trelsad’s discussion with Brian Kenney, he noted that they provide a holistic approach to the issue, in the way that they stage early intervention for at-risk individuals, and sponsor tailored support services. (Kenney, 2022) CS is a collaborative enterprise that empowers communities all over the country to tackle the issue by helping them acquire real-time data from specific sources such as the VA Medical Center, as well as ensuring departments such as the Homeless Management Information System (HIMS) provide frequent and accurate reports on homelessness statistics. Additionally, they lobby on a federal level, advocating for cities, states, and Congress to revise zoning laws that restrict affordable housing development, making tax incentives for developers more effective, and decoupling Section 521 Rural Rental Assistance from USDA mortgages to ensure controlled rental assistance. (2023)
Community Solutions helps to shift the narrative from saying that people are homeless to saying that people experience homelessness. By doing this, they rehumanize those currently unhoused and propose the idea that homelessness is not a societal norm, but a problem that can be fixed. While CS strives to find a solution for all unhoused individuals, they recognize the unique prevalence of veterans, victims of domestic violence, and Black/Native Americans facing homelessness, even when the data is adjusted for poverty disparities. With this acknowledgment, CS works to ensure equitable and affordable housing for all, increasing social mobility, and decreasing the risk of homelessness. (2023)
Being involved in the fight against poverty and serving the unhoused is a lifetime goal of mine, so I knew that for this discussion, I wanted to seek out social entrepreneurship that aims to tackle this systemic issue. Community Solutions aligns with my aspiration to join the fight against class disparity, and researching it has provided me with much inspiration. In the future, I hope to emulate CS to make a meaningful impact and advocate an equitable world for all.