Changing Missions, Changing Lives

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE THE WORLD, OR AT LEAST THE PIECE OF IT YOU’RE STANDING ON? Over the past twenty years, we’ve seen a paradigmatic shift in the view of corporate engagement in social change. More corporations are looking beyond their core business to find ways to engage with consumers and stakeholders as change agents, whether it’s to promote economic development in historically underserved communities or to promote human rights and social justice. Every day, more individuals and corporations are stepping up to say, “Asking the questions isn’t enough; we need to be part of the answer.” Organizations across varied industries are choosing to engage with challenges presented in their communities, because consumers and communities have heightened expectations that businesses will lean in to fill gaps in societal needs that government and independent individual efforts either cannot or have not addressed. This book is for you, social change agents, forward-thinking institutions, and disruptors, no matter who you are or where you work. Yes, your organization can make a powerful difference—and in this book Barry Ostrowsky and Michellene Davis share the insights, successes and failures, and strategies that RWJBarnabas Health has adopted through its ongoing process of turning its corporate ship toward its expanded mission.