Passion, commitment and elegance own qualities of Gerardo, who at nineteen years old, motivated by love for philanthropy, has not only saved lives but also inspired and changed the minds of many people, including me.
Growing up in an environment full of support and stimulation allowed him to develop leadership skills, inspired in the work of his parents, has transformed philanthropy in a fun and fresh activity. Furthermore, he has shown that social innovation is not against profit. By the way he raised over $ 1,000,000 pesos to benefit different foundations and has given more than 100 lectures on the importance of early prevention of breast cancer, creating also various partnerships with nonprofit organizations, he organized two marathons where more than two thousand people participated, Pink Life team, Green Life, YM4GE, six offices around the world, five foundations … these are just some of the achievements that Gerardo along with his team has reached, involving people from the smallest to the oldest, every school, every university and every community.
It’s been three years since the first time we heard about Pink Life, now the organization has expanded, generating more and more success, helping thousands of women and what was the key? Love, ” you must love what you do and live for what you love”.
When we talk about helping we must understand that helping others is helping ourselves, it is not a question of who gives more or who makes it possible… when it comes to philanthropy everything is directed towards a common good.
This is exactly what described Gerardo, when I was interviewing him I saw the brightness of his eyes while talking about his projects: pure satisfaction and enthusiasm are the things that allowed him to start and follow, he loves what he does and feel “full” through his work. So this is where we find the primary quality of an entrepreneur: work is not considered a sacrifice but pleasure … a gift to the soul.
Thus young men ask how did he do it? How is it possible? , Many activities, engagements, school, personal life … Gerardo understands that everything must be in tune. If you don´t balance things, they will start to fail. You have to prioritize, giving enough time to everything, dedicate time and appreciate the family support. It is important to recognize the experience of elderly people, create learning bonds and especially knowing that your successes are nothing if you have no one to share them with.
Gerardo likewise is aware of the era where he lives full of “labels” and stereotypes and ensures that it is necessary to break these to live better. In his talk at TEDx he says that when he started with his organization, he understood that there is no shortcut to success and hard work was responsible for breaking many stereotypes, he heard many times, “you’re too young”, “you need a lot of money to turn dreams into realities”,” breast cancer is a women’s issue”, ” you´re helping because something bad has happened to you”.
From his inception in these ideas, he was labeling with the classic ” you’re too young ” nevertheless he showed the opposite, that maturity has nothing to do with age but with commitment, “many have dreams and few enough commitment”.
Another label: resources. He began with dreams and two hundred pesos, with the understanding that is was not an easy way “asking for money” to friends of his parents or his own parents, but had to design a plan to raise money and that’s how he started selling sweatshirts in many schools, raising amazing amounts that were going to be directed to organizations that are responsible for helping women with this disease.
A stereotype faced: pink is for girls, breast cancer is a disease in ‘women’, but pink sweatshirts began to be used by everyone (teachers, students, schools : small or big, women and men) to the new project Young Men For Gender Equality a platform that provides an opportunity for male youth to be part of this problem, being active members because at last as Gerardo says ” men are the main allies of women,” cancer is everywhere and we are all affected one way or another .
Finally: “help because something bad happened to you”, backwards, it´s not necessary to have a painful story as a reason to help! Helping others just because it comes from within!
Gerardo Porteny, an inspiring young man, social entrepreneur, Jewish and with nineteen years old, I sincerely believe that we can reach what we want, because at the end of the day we are the youth generation and it is our commitment to make changes in our lives (however small) and it´s necessary to forget all distractions and focus on what we want to the end so we can reach our dreams.
In our country there are thousands of entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas and it would be a waste if they don´t carry out for lack of resources, laws or community support, here we are to support these dreams and help them become a reality, believe it: YES YOU CAN.
Gerardo and his team invites you to be part of this great movement, join in social networks.. Participate and provide ideas… together we can make philanthropy a lifestyle, at last saving one life is saving the whole world.
- For more information:
http://gerardoportenybackal.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbRM4Q6OI8A
Twitter: @GerardoPorteny
Original Link: http://diariojudio.com/opinion/entrevista-gerardo-porteny-emprendedor-la-voz-de-la-juventud/71055/
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