Conscious Capitalism

Transcript

Now let’s hit over to meet Andrea Northup. She’s at GCU alumni, graduating with a degree in Business Management and a minor in Entrepreneurial Studies. She is now working for Habitat for Humanity, and she has a great message to share about what conscious capitalism means at GCU. Andrea, please take it away.

– Hi, everybody. My name’s Andrea, and I graduated from GCU a couple of years ago, and now I work for Habitat for Humanity here in Phoenix. When you’re a business student, one of the main values taught to you is this idea of conscious capitalism. And what in the world is that? At GCU, business is meant to have a higher purpose. Instead of just looking to earn a profit, business is meant to care for and serve its local community. As a student and now Habitat, I’ve been able to witness this idea of conscious capitalism firsthand. Every year, I see staff and students coming out to volunteer, and staff give financially towards these different prepare projects. The beautiful part about this relationship is that it’s a hand up, not a handout. Families actually contribute roughly one-third of the repair costs, and they also contribute a certain amount of sweat equity hours towards the completion of the repair. Every single year, GCUs staff and students come out to volunteer, and it’s such a blessing to see them interact with the different families onsite. There’ve been multiple times families have said, I can’t believe complete strangers would come and help me build on my own home, or seeing these students out here reminds me that God is still here, and that they’re still good in the world. There is even one time that GCU staff came out, and this family brought out a frying pan and made burritos for everybody that had showed up to volunteer that day. It’s these small moments that make me realize, the value just isn’t in the repair, it’s in the bringing people together to help make it happen. In these past six years of partnership, GCU has been able to serve over 300 unique families, completing over 800 repairs, contributing over 26,000 volunteer hours, and allocating over $3.8 million towards neighborhood repairs. And this idea of conscious capitalism isn’t something that just stops at the college of business. It’s embodied from the top down. Multiple times, I’ve witnessed President Brian Mueller come to volunteer on site unannounced. When he comes, he just grabs a paintbrush or a shovel and begins working alongside the next volunteer. Now, before Habitat in GCU, I participated in several different community service projects around the world. By seeing GCU and Habitat partner together, I’ve been able to learn that to love your neighbor, you don’t need to cross the border, you just need to take a drive. As business students continue to graduate from GCU, you’re going to see more businesses care for and serve their surrounding community. It’s a movement that has impact, and it’s a movement that I’m proud to be a part of. Alex, that is conscious capitalism. I’ll pass it back over to you.

– Andrea, the purpose-driven work you’re doing with Habitat for Humanity and GCU is so uplifting. That is beautiful. Thanks again for sharing your story. See you later, Andrea.