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28 June 2009
Posted in
Spring Into Action: Shed That Winter Cloak!
“Judy Wicks loves to build local living economies. She formed the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia as an outgrowth of her work building a sustainable local food economy around her restaurant, Philadelphia's White Dog Café. Laury Hammel is a man who loves to start socially responsible business organizations. He founded the New England Businesses for Social Responsibility in 1988 and co-founded the national organization Business for Social Responsibility in 1991.
After meeting through the Social Venture Network (SVN), a national community of company founders, investors, and social entrepreneurs, Judy and Laury realized that merging their interests in organizing businesses and building local economies could build a strong movement for grassroots economic change in North America and beyond.
Beginning first as a project of SVN, where Judy and Laury were serving on the board, the local living economies theme attracted interest of members in the summer of 2001 and was integrated into the SVN’s fall conference. On October 14, 2001, BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, was officially launched with Laury and Judy as founding co-chairs. Under Laury’s leadership, BALLE eventually spun off from SVN to become its own non-profit organization, and held its first national conference in Portland, Oregon, in 2003.
Over its 7-year history, BALLE has grown to include over 60 local business networks encompassing more than 20,000 entrepreneurs in the US and Canada.”1
Two people, Judy & Laury, made something from nothing. They had a vision that businesses could prosper, guided by sustainability principles. And through their active leadership, created a thriving alliance where like-minded companies come together to help keep sustainability at the heart of their business mandates.
What will you do to promote sustainability in your business and community?
Learn more about BALLE on their website at www.livingeconomies.org. And if you are interested in adopting the BALLE principles in your local business, check back regularly to www.ballens.ca to learn more about the newly forming BALLE Nova Scotia network, being championed by the The Wooden Monkey’s Lil MacPherson.
1- Summarized from the BALLE website (www.livingeconomies.org)
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