Joseph P. Cool (fourth from left) meets with a sewing club in Detroit. He
 helped the club form a bond with a similar club in Ghana. (Photo/Rick
 Weaver).

This is part of the series, Top business resolutions for 2010. Click here to return to the main page.

Becoming a better member of the community by being socially responsible is the tenth most common resolution or goal for the year.  This is the result of a recent survey of small business owners and entrepreneurs conducted by Max Impact, a strategy and leadership development company. 

In spite of the emphasis on global warming, only Nic Soto of Public Relations Depot answered the survey with a response directly tied to global warming. According to Soto, the company will “focus is on being more GREEN, from recycling to water and electricity usage.”

Other types of social responsibility resolutions and goals involved giving back to the community.

Joseph P. Cool of Waterford, Michigan, Cool & Associates regularly gives back to his community. After successfully working in 54 countries throughout the world Cool has returned to the area of his birth to make a difference. Cool’s givebacks include presentations of “Winter Festivals around the World” in which he presents to schools and other organizations an interactive view of many cultural celebrations and observances.

An engineer by trade, Cool also works with schools and organizations judging various engineering projects. Using his global experience he spends time with organizations participating in global trade events.

Another company investing in community givebacks is WyzAnt. They are creating a charitable arm to connect clubs and non-profit organizations with volunteer children’s tutors. Tutors can give in-home lessons in academics, test preparation, foreign languages, musical instruments, computers, special needs, and more.  Their system will offer student tracking and feedback mechanisms to support the learning process.

Andrew Geant, WyzAnt’s CEO, says the idea came out of a recent study. “It showed 87 that percent of our tutors are interested in providing volunteer tutoring to underprivileged students in their communities,” says Geant.  “With this volunteer manpower at hand in addition to a private donation from a WyzAnt investor, we have the essential foundation in place for a program called “WyzAid,” that we plan to implement in 2010.”

Jim Dailakis, an actor, writer, comedian, and voiceover artist, will be giving back through a movie called, “Not until She Sings”.

“My goal is to have a percentage of the box office go to charity,” says Dailakis.

He has lined up people in the movie industry willing to help with the project which has already been featured on the local Fox television station.

Community involvement is a powerful way to increase your success as you help out others along the way.

This is part of the series, Top business resolutions for 2010. Click here to return to the main page.