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Signature Moments for Partnerships For Change®

2016

2016 was a great year for Partnerships for Change, and thanks to donors like you, we were able to have some amazing moments and help create great things through our organization. Some of our signature moments include:

  • Launched several new documentary projects, including Peddled Bodies (an investigation of forced prostitution among the Dalit in India), Changing the Game (a documentary on mass incarceration, justice violation, and police brutality in Baltimore), Meet the Ungers (a story of 150 convicted criminals that were given a second chance), and Shame by Richard Yeadley (an intimate and shocking look at conversion therapy).
  • Joined other producers to help create the sequel to Desert Hearts by Donna Deitch, and Strange Piece of Paradise by Terri Jentz.
  • Coordinated with NASA to plan the Raw Science Film Festival Venue to promote important movies about historical and modern science, including Hidden Figures and Journey.
  • Partnerships for Change board member Will Nix presented the Peter Samuelson Starcatcher Award to Hidden Figures for its celebration of scientists and mathematics.
  • Hosted The Venerable Thupten Ngodup, the chief state oracle of Tibet, along with eight Nechung monks through their nine city tour, including visits at Google and Salesforce.
  • Esteemed Partnerships for Change Board Member Lama Tenzin was honored with the Ranjit Gandhi Award in 2016 for outstanding humanitarian service. We are very proud.
  • Co-hosted a private screening of Oscar nominated film producer Mark Kitchell’s Evolution of Organic at Angela Alioto’s home. Celebrity Chef Michael Chiarello and his wife Eileen Gorden hosted the gathering. Partnerships for Change is the executive producer of the documentary, which is about the history of the organic movement.
  • Connected with Italian Filmmaker Costanza Guerrini, who offered Partnerships for Change an opportunity to sponsor a film on Padre Pio, a Saint of the Catholic Church that showed signs ofS Stigmata.
  • Attended the 800th anniversary of the Pardon of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, joined by the Knights of St. Francis and several members of the United States congress, including Nancy Pelosi and Anna Eshoo.
  • Several Partnerships for Change board members met and shook hands with Pope Francis, including Andrew Michael and Tom Eddington, the latter of whom made the front page of the Vatican Newspaper.
  • Met with the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, Friar Michael Perry, to continue to plan a renewables project for the Vatican.
  • Produced a “sizzle reel” with Harry Moses of 60 Minutes fame for a PBS Series on Race in America.
  • Awarded a Google Grant for helping reach a wider audience thanks to new board member and Google Star Yogesh Kalley.

Special thanks to Anette Marweld, Angela Alioto, Marc Benioff, and Arjun Gupta for their generosity, and to all of the donors, board members, and supporters that have helped make 2016 one of the best years yet here at Partnerships for Change.

2015

  • Developing clinics with local partners to empower health for women in remote Himalayan villages in Upper Dolpo, Nepal, Northern India and proud to announce that PFC is recognized as an official NGO by the Republic of Liberia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop a clinic near Monroivia.
  • Established partnership with the United Nations’ Academic Impact program to globally spread knowledge on best practices for building eco-resilient buildings, community development, and sustainable disaster recovery. Designed and delivered symposium on September 11, 2015
  • Support programs to help battered women, develop a women’s economic cooperative to sell products made of recycled materials. Support an innovative resilient building technique based on recycled plastic and fish nets for housing and health clinics throughout India with the Samarpan Foundation.

2014

  • Advanced the education of the rescued girls by the C.E.D. Society by raising the tuition for the first members of the Upper Dolpo region to go to college. Welcomed a member of the 2013 C.E.D. rescue mission and social entrepreneur, Joyce Chang to the Board of Directors.
  • Met to further develop program against human trafficking and child labor in Siem Reap, Cambodia with Cause Vision and Debra Quigley
  • As a fiscal sponsor and advisor worked to reform the military to prosecute sexual assault and rape in civilian courts. Continued a social action campaign for this reform with the aide of the Oscar nominated documentary TheInvisible War. Incubated a recovery program for victims of military sexual trauma.

2013

  • Accelerate change to end violence to women. Acted as fiscal sponsor to “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary that tells the story of campus sexual assaults in U.S. colleges and donated $150,000 in-kind services. Also served as fiscal sponsor and networker for the film Missrepresentation– regarding the lack of women in leadership. In concert with the release of these films, PFC supported a social action campaign to help abolish this conduct and empower change in leadership and policy.
  • Developed the concept of a “ a global game with winners” based on stories with empowering archetypal super heroes. These characters shall host games to empower change by educating and motivating people from key countries to beat global warming.
  • Complete The Soul PAL®e-book series on the technology of conscience and consciousness. Powerfulstories, strategies and exercises are used to build self-esteem and reawaken social, corporate and environmental responsibility.

2012

  • Partnerships For Change® is honored to announce the appointment of Susan Cartsonis to its Board of Advisors. Ms. Cartsonis, a highly acclaimed Producer of well-known films as What Women Want and Where The Heart Is, brings her commitment and innumerable talents to the advancement of women in the entertainment media.  She leads the charge to empower women and positively impact the representation of women in all aspects of media.  Susan is a Producer and President of Storefront Pictures and Chairs the Foundation Board of Trustees of Women in Film. Ms. Cartsonis has recently been appointed to the Independent Producer’s Committee at the Producer’s Guild of America.  PFC is fortunate to receive the benefits of Susan’s extensive background in the media and look forward to expanding and empowering the community of women, globally.
  • Reaching out to PFC on behalf of Tibetan Buddhist Monk, Lama Tenzin, Marcia Cross, well-known actress of Desperate Housewives, has generously donated to his ‘Himalayan Kids’. Her ongoing dedication and support is appreciated.
  • Miss Representation received the prestigious 2012 Gracie Award for Best Documentary.
  • Partnerships For Change® is delighted to welcome to its Board of Advisors, Ingrid Jordt, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin – Madison, spoke at Nobel Peace Prize Forum and offered commentary and insight on the new changes in Burma.  Dr. Jordt met with Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi while in Burma.  (Note:  Aung San Suu Kyi was victorious in the April 1, 2012 elections to the Burmese Parliament, her party won 43 out of 45 vacant seats in the lower house.)
  • Ingrid Jordt, along with Bharat Rana of the Royal Thimphu College – Bhutan’s first private college, developed the Bhutan National Heritage Foundation, which promotes the preservation and restoration of the Bhutanese culture, architecture and parks.
  • Raised funds in support of Lama Tenzin’s orphanage, C.E.D. (Children’s Educational  Development) Society & G.I.F.T. (Girls’ Institute For Technology)
  • Proceeds from the sale of  The New Heart at Work book on self – esteem in the workplace by Partnerships For Change Board of Directors, Jacqueline Miller and Heidi Alber will support projects of underserved communities.

2011

  • January – Sundance Festival – PFC sponsored critically acclaimed film Miss Representation, a documentary Co-Produced by Jennifer Seibel Newsom and Regina Kulik Scully,  received accolades for the film’s exploration of women’s under-representation in positions of power as well as their disparaging portrayals in the media. Oprah Winfrey Network acquired the Sundance Film Festival favorite documentary to further the dialogue among the ever-increasing OWN audience.
  • Miss Representation aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) followed by an interview with Co-Producer, Jennifer Seibel Newsom, on the OWN’s Documentary Club program hosted by Rosie O’Donnell.

2010

  • Copies of documentary Boyhoods Shadows – I Swore I’d Never Tell, sponsored by PFC and originally aired in 2007, was distributed to the studio audience and special guests of the Oprah Winfrey Show November 5 and 12, 2010. The documentary follows the journey of a boy who was sexually abused. Oprah’s show aired a two part series entitled “200 Males Who Were Molested Come Forward.” The show featured actor and director,  Tyler Perry, and men from across America who were sexually abused during childhood.

2009

  • PFC along with the city of San Francisco and AT&T Park sponsored a feasibility study for a concert to raise awareness for Burma. PFC invited potential sponsors interested in Burma along with artists and other musical producers, academics and advocates to form the basics for the concert.
  • The PFC Board of Directors welcomed to the Partnerships For Change Board of Advisors, Angela Alioto, Esq. and founder of the Knights of Saint Francis and the Nuova Porziuncola, a Holy site, in San Francisco and one of only five sites in the world to be declared Holy by the Vatican.
  • U Kovida, a Theravadic Buddhist monk and leader of the Saffron Revolution in Burma, was welcomed as the latest member to the PFC Board of Advisors. Christiane Amanpour on CNN recently profiled the monk.
  • PFC supported “The Compassion Project” (TCP) which was founded by the Tibetan monk, the Venerable Phagyab Rinpoche, who survived imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Chinese in Tibet. “The Compassion Project” seeks to support Tibetan refugees and offer vocation training and cultural assimilation into the Indian communities.
  • PFC along with TCP continues to explore projects and programs together. TCP was founded to bring the wisdom of Tibet’s Buddhist mind-sciences to the West to promote conflict resolution, non-violent communication, self-healing and universal compassion.
  • PFC continues to support the Universal Yoga Center in the San Francisco, California and the Dig Darshan School in Patna in the state of Bihar, India; Sri Swami Satya Brahamananda founded both groups.

2008

  • PFC designed, developed, coordinated and led a service trip for 16 individuals to India in January 2008 to inspect the impact of past donations. The trip included visits to schools, orphanages, Women’s Empowerment Centers, basilicas, churches, and monasteries in the cities of New Delhi, Agra, Varanasi, Dehradun, Rishikish, Hardwar, Hubli, Mundgod, Chennai and Sendivakkam. The delegation was able to see, first hand, how their donations had affected many underserved communities.
  • PFC members and supporters were special guests of the Kuten La and Medium of the Oracle of Tibet at a two day gathering with His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the opening of the Deyang Drepang Monastery. Sponsored by PFC in 2007, all funds raised during the visit and tour by Kuten La and were used to complete the monastery for its opening. PFC also provided funds to support the newly arrived children of the monastery and equipment upon which the children could play. Computer communications facilities also were provided to the monastery by funders introduced by PFC.
  • The completion of the Franciscan Women’s Empowerment Center in Sendivakkam, India was celebrated with PFC and the Bon Secours Convent. Funds raised by PFC over a 2-year period enabled the buildings to be completed and the equipment of sewing and embroidery machines to be installed. Trainers and counselors are able to teach life altering skills to 50 women every 6 months.
  • PFC identified funders to install a water purification system at a residential facility and school for 150 girls orphaned by the Tsunami in 2004. In partnership with the Bon Secours Convent, which operates the school, funds were delivered and the water system was later upgraded in 2008.
  • PFC attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. A partnership was formed with The Dilenschneider Group, a leading PR and strategic development group, to further the work of PFC.
  • PFC visited Assisi, Italy and the Porziuncola built by St. Francis. This visit led to the involvement with the Nuova Porziuncola built in San Francisco and the formation of the Knights of Saint Francis at the National Shrine of Saint Francis in San Francisco.
  • PFC Board of Directors, Diane Patton Federico, and Jacqueline Miller, visited Egypt on a humanitarian and animal rescue mission. PFC provided support to the Brooke Animal Hospital and impoverished families in Luxor, Egypt.
  • PFC’s Jacqueline Miller and Andrew Michael officially became Knights of St. Francis (along with Robert Kennedy, Jr.). The Board of Supervisors honored Jacqueline Miller and Andrew Michael at City Hall. St. Francis is the patron saint of the city of San Francisco and protector of animals and the environment. St. Francis fought for social change, social justice and peace.
  • Partnerships For Change’s, Andrew Michael, was honored to carry the Olympic Torch for the 2008 Beijing Olympics during the torch relay in San Francisco, CA. Andrew Michael was featured on the homepage of AOL, front-page of London Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Marin Independent Journal, and several international television broadcasts.
  • Cyclone “Nardis” devastated the country of Myanmar, formerly Burma. Despite the resistance of the Union of Myanmar military generals to accept aid from outside their country, PFC’s previously established relationship with the monastery in 2001, allowed quick funding to be dispatched to the monk in charge thus enabling repairs to be made to the damaged facility in addition to the dispersion of food, rice, and money.
  • PFC was invited to celebrate the 150th anniversary jubilee of the founding of the Franciscan order of nuns in India known as the Bon Secours Convent. The visit to India provided an opportunity to explore partnerships between the Tibetans in India and the Bon Secours Convent and to forward the “Technology in Service to Humanity Project”.
  • PFC sponsored a clean tech company, Natural Systems Utilities headquartered in New Jersey, which provides an innovative holistic water filtration system to urban and rural settlements worldwide.

2007

  • Partnerships For Change® organized and sponsored a service mission for seven individuals including the initiation of the Students For Change Project by Kathy Shade and student, Garrett Hooper. Money, supplies and clothing were distributed to schools, orphanages. The additional funds allowed for the further development of the Women’s Empowerment Center in Sendivakkam, India. En route to India, Andrew Michael, PFC Board of Directors member, and Kathy and Garrett Hooper of Students for Change met in Dubai, United Arab Emirates with the leading recycling and environmental organization to discuss opportunities for collaboration.
  • Animal rescue became another PFC project in the first quarter of 2007. Following visits to Animal Aid, a hospital and support center for injured animals in Udaipur, PFC Board of Directors, Diane Federico, and Jacqueline Miller contributed financial aid to further the efforts already begun. Diane and Jacqueline identified and rescued an injured street dog in Udaipur requiring complicated and unavailable surgery in India. Jacqueline and Diane successfully carried the injured dog to the United States from India. Happily, the dog was completely healed and continues to thrive in his new US home.
  • Lama Tenzin Choegyal, PFC Board of Advisors member and founder of the Children’s Education and Development Institute (CED) was grateful for the support of PFC and the Medium of the Oracle of Tibet, Kuten La, to continue the rescuing of the Himalayan children. The C.E.D Institute is an educational home for the rescued Tibetan children. Lama Tenzin was inducted into the prestigious Humanitarian Hall of Fame for his fearless rescue of children stranded in the most remote areas of the Himalayas.  Other inductees include His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa.
  • Since 2005 PFC has sponsored fundraising and support events for the C.E.D. Institute, which provided financial sponsors for the children and their education. PFC expanded their support to both coasts of the United States identifying new key benefactors in San Francisco, California, Miami, Florida, Washington, D.C. and also in New York, NY. PFC’s Andrew Michael, Jacqueline Miller, Richard Diefenbach, Dr. Mary Thomas Weiss and Lama Tenzin met with Kuten La, the Deputy Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile and the Medium of the Oracle of Tibet in Goa, India and traveled with him to the site of the proposed monastery in Mundgod, India.
  • For his first public trip to the U.S. in March, the Medium of the Oracle of Tibet, Kuten La, invited Partnerships For Change to host him and his spiritual entourage, which included the chant master, spiritual attendant, personal secretary and the Rinpoche leading the Mundgod Monastery project. The purpose of his trip was to raise awareness of the Tibetan struggle to preserve its culture and to seek financial support for the completion of the new monastery in Mundgod, India. The monastery serves a Tibetan refugee population of over 15,000 in southern India. PFC raised the funds to sponsor Kuten La’s trip as well as the subsequent 16+city summer tour, including the organization of public venues, concert and media. The trip highlighted Kuten La and the Tibetan perspective on global warming and its impact. Kuten La was able to meet and greet with over 20,000 people. The kickoff tour began with a reception in San Francisco at the grand rotunda City Hall.  In conjunction with the San Francisco Department of the Environment and Library, Jared Blumenfeld, Director of the Department of the Environment hosted an evening of stimulating discussions with the Medium of the Oracle of Tibet and Deputy Minister of the Tibetan Government in Exile. The tour included Portland, OR, Berkeley, CA, Sausalito, CA, Los Angeles, CA, Aspen, CO, Boulder, CO, Denver, CO, Minneapolis, MN, Chicago, IL, Louisville, KY, Baltimore, MD, Washington, D.C., New York, NY, Miami, FL, and Mt. Shasta, CA and ended in San Francisco, CA in August. PFC was successful in raising awareness and the necessary funds to complete the building of the monastery to be opened by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in January 2008. PFC’s longstanding relations with the media netted successful media placements resulting in coverage in the Chicago Tribune, CBS Evening News, Miami Herald, Miami’s CBS and NBC affiliates, radio broadcast from the Voice of America and various Buddhist publications. The producer of An Inconvenient Truth, Lawrence Bender, personally showed and reviewed his film with Kuten La in Los Angeles. The Honorable Diane Feinstein, US Senator, and her husband Richard Blum hosted PFC and Kuten La at their home in Aspen, CO, creating a beautiful luncheon and reception in his honor. PFC organized a rare and sacred ceremony led by Kuten La on the beautiful Aspen Mountain top. Landmark meetings were held with Kuten La and the Office of the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Congressman Kucinich, and other dignitaries. Concluding Kuten La’s multi city tour, a special concert and Tibetan chant performance was organized for Washington, D.C. dignitaries as well as the public at the beautiful National Cathedral. A tribute in the form of a special welcoming proclamation was paid by each of the mayors whom Kuten La had visited during his 16+city tour.
  • A project later to be called “Technology in Service to Humanity” was launched to improve the health and well being of people in Sendivakkam, India. A strategy was employed to create a product with low frequency magnetic waves, which could be included in toys to protect children from the effects of a harmful environment. The underserved communities including those involved in the Women’s Empowerment Center would produce the toys. A business plan draft and structure were developed to raise capital for the venture. PFC participated in an Energy Medicine Conference in Washington, D.C. and invited the creators of several devices to explore miniaturizing them to be part of the “Technology in Service to Humanity Project”.
  • PFC’s Jacqueline Miller and Andrew Michael spoke at the United Nations Headquarters in New York at a Sustainability Summit regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
  • PFC catalyzed and sponsored the film called, I Met A Man Who Had No Feet…The story of the Jaipur Foot.
  • PFC sponsored a documentary on the crisis of the sexual molestation of boys called Boyhood Shadows – I Swore I’d Never Tell. The premier for the film occurred in November.  PFC has continued to publicize the film to expand its distribution throughout the United States and abroad at film festivals and other outlets.
  • PFC sponsored a film documentary on Women and Power, which was later titled Miss Representation which was highly received at the 2011 Sundance Festival. Sold out screenings created a buzz about the message of empowering women. The film is co-executive produced by Regina Kulik Scully and Jennifer Seibel Newsom, first lady of San Francisco.
  • PFC’s Jacqueline Miller was invited to be an associate producer on a film executive produced by Sir Richard Branson. The film entitled, Global Warming 101 Expedition, Baffin Island ’07: “Bear Witness” exploring the impact of global warming on the indigenous people around the world. The feature-length film was premiered in December 2009 in Copenhagen at the COP15 Environmental Summit. The Toronto Film Festival included the film in its 2010 festival.

2006

  • Hilary Duff, singer and actress, and her management team invited Partnerships For Change to attend a concert series in Vancouver, Canada to review Direct Action Support including concert representation and the role of Joel Madden and Good Charlotte. PFC’s projects in India were premiered on the big-screen behind Duff’s concert performances.
  • New York City – A United Nations meeting was facilitated by Partnerships For Change co-founder, Jacqueline Miller, and Under-Secretary, Shashi Tharoor, along with key division heads from Department for Public Information (DPI) with Hillary Duff and Susan Duff. Hillary Duff was invited to be an honorary UN Goodwill Ambassador. PFC discussed how to accelerate the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
  • New York Stock Exchange – Partnerships For Change Board of Directors were invited to join the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, as he rang the opening bell and dedicated the commitment of 4 trillion dollars of investment funds to be assigned to the Principles of Responsible Investing, (PRI) a historic, highly innovative and groundbreaking initiative.
  • A return group mission was organized by PFC to provide clothing and scholarships for the orphans housed at the Bon Secours Convent in India late 2005 through New Year 2006.
  • The foundation stones for the Women’s Empowerment Center in India were placed in the ground in the Sendivakkam Village as the large community water well was completed. PFC’s fundraising efforts had already resulted in the building of the water well, a protective fence, and 13 sewing and embroidery machines that were being used to train women. The Women’s Empowerment Center as described by Sister Antoniammal of Bon Secours Convent was launched to achieve its aims of reducing poverty, preventing prostitution, human trafficking, slavery, crime, violence, drug abuse and the spread of water borne illness.
  • Partnerships For Change was introduced to D. R. Mehta in Jaipur, India in the state of Rajasthan. Mr. Mehta runs the Bhadwan Mahaveer Vilang Sahayata Samit (BMVSS), is the world’s largest provider of the Jaipur Foot, a prosthetic device.  PFC learned of their mobility and empowerment project. In one year, Jaipur Foot provided prosthetics and mobility devices to over 19,000 people in India. PFC has promoted the work of Jaipur Foot, introducing D.R. Mehta and the Jaipur Foot to leaders at the United Nations and to the Silicon Valley Social Entrepreneurs Award for which D.R. Mehta would become a recipient in 2007. PFC brought together the funders and filmmakers for a documentary on the Jaipur Foot, which was completed in 2007.
  • San Francisco Examiner’s editor featured Jacqueline Miller to showcase and acknowledge her global humanitarian work.
  • PFC’s Jacqueline Miller is honored for her work with a feature story about the role Partnerships For Change played to secure wheelchairs from the Wheel Chair Foundation founded by Kenneth E. Behring and delivered them to the elderly and young underserved people in Chennai, India. PFC personally identified a Tsunami victim along Marina Beach in Chennai who had lost her wheelchair due to damage from the Tsunami and provided a workable wheelchair to her on the same day in partnership with the Bon Secours nuns.
  • In support of the refurbishment of an Elderly Home and an orphanage in Chennai, India, PFC visited the newly re-painted home and assisted to finance the roof repair, which was funded months earlier by PFC. Additionally, PFC provided the funding which donated new clothes and bedding for the elderly.
  • Partnerships For Change hosted a party welcoming the United Nations Global Compact dignitary and PFC Board of Advisor, Gavin Power, to San Francisco, where he established an office in San Francisco. Partnerships For Change secured the opening of the United Nations Global Compact office in San Francisco in coordination with the creation of the Business Council on Climate Change with the city of San Francisco, the Bay Area Council and the United Nations Global Compact. PFC Board of Director, Linda Alber was in attendance.
  • PFC sponsored and organized a musical concert at the United Nations Headquarters in honor of the International Day of Non-Violence with Inner Voice, featuring former performers from the group Menudo. PFC hosted a lunch in the delegate’s dining room and thanked corporate sponsors, which included presentations by PFC Board of Director, Diane Patton Federico and Board of Advisor member, Richard Diefenbach. Funds were raised for the Women’s Empowerment Center in Sendivakkam, India and for continued support of Jaipur Foot.

2005

  • PFC formed a partnership with celebrity, Hilary Duff, and young Disney stars to raise funds for victims of the Tsunami. The funding provided educational and humanitarian aid. Numerous concerts were held and funds were raised to complete the building of the new “Free School” in front of St. Thomas Basilica, Chennai, India.
  • PFC provided new clothing for 100 female students at the Bon Secours Convent, a primary school, in Chennai, India who were victims of the December 2004 Tsunami. This was the first time the girls had received clothing individually tailored for them rather than second hand clothes.
  • Partnerships For Change gave scholarships to the teachers of the Bon Secours Convent in Chennai, India to advance their training.
  • Partnerships For Change established a long-term relationship with the Bon Secours Convent – Franciscan Nuns to promote and build a Women’s Empowerment Center in the village of Sendivakkam, India. PFC took several trips to identify the location for building the new Women’s Empowerment Center. Monies received from fundraising procured a water well, new sewing and embroidery machines, as well as the facilities to provide classes and services.
  • World Environment Day, San Francisco – Partnerships For Change in conjunction with Bay Area Council sponsored a reception for worldwide mayors, business leaders, Consular Generals and the UN Global Compact Symposium on Corporate Social Responsibility. PFC secured the Japanese Chairman of Mitsubishi, Tachi Kiuchi, as well as the former Secretary General for the United Nations Earth Summit, Maurice Strong, as keynote speakers for the symposium. PFC Board of Directors members, Linda and Heidi Alber were in attendance. PFC also brought the Haas Business School at Berkeley into the Symposium.
  • Chennai, India, PFC delivered financial support of over $100,000 to complete construction of a new school for December 2004 Tsunami survivors. PFC hosted twenty people from the United States, including several Disney stars who learned philanthropy by visiting and providing clothing, book bags, new desks and other supplies to the schools, orphanages, and senior centers in the Chennai area.
  • Partnerships For Change opened a new office in Varanasi, India dedicated to sustainable development programs, humanitarian aid, and direct action.
  • PFC’s founders, Jacqueline Miller, Andrew Michael, Linda Alber and Heidi Alber attended a special reception at the United Nations Headquarters in New York for the Ambassador to Russia and the Russian delegation to the United Nations.

2004

  • Partnerships For Change® assisted the Bay Area Council with organizational and strategic merger issues. PFC led initiatives on confidential succession, scenario and strategic business planning.
  • Partnerships For Change® was invited to visit India and various humanitarian programs by Swami Satyananda, an Oxford educated spiritual entrepreneur and teacher at Stanford University and former UN representative. PFC created partnerships throughout its travels from northern to southern India. During this trip, PFC supplied food to feed hundreds of Saht gurus (Holy men) at the mouth of the Ganges River in Rishikesh, India.
  • PFC’s first hand experience of the Tsunami on December 26th 2004 deeply affected it’s desire to support those people impacted in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia as well as the western coast of Africa. Partnerships For Change’s decision to form a partnership with Father Raj Lawrence, entrepreneur and spiritual leader, and St. Thomas Basilica resulted in building a “Free School” for many of the children who were devastated by the Tsunami. Numerous humanitarian projects resulted from this visit. PFC acknowledged the efforts of Father Raj Lawrence and Barbara Urban for their work in reviving and renovating the St. Thomas Basilica in Chennai, India. While there, PFC noted the deplorable condition of the school, which sat in the shadows of the newly renovated St. Thomas Basilica.
  • With the approval of the UN, PFC created “World Voice” to celebrate the United Nations 60th anniversary. This event was to celebrate the UN contributions as well as advancing the UN Millennium Development Goals. In addition to lining up a world-class concert producer, PFC negotiated the prestigious advertising agency of Burson Marstellar of NY, to create the advertising campaign for “World Voice.” An office located at UN Plaza was secured to promote the event. Political issues beyond PFC’s control prevented the event from being realized.

2003

  • Partnerships For Change® supported the development of San Francisco Bay Area educational projects and the development of corporate social responsibility with the United Nations Global Compact.
  • PFC assisted the Bay Area Council with strategic development and membership issues.
  • Partnerships For Change partnered with the Bay Area Council to secure a U.S. Department of Labor grant of $3 million to increase the work skills of U.S. residents. In preparation for the grant, PFC produced a report on the disparate technology skills of the Bay Area residents, which could be improved with a grant being offered from the U.S. Department of Labor to counter the increasing need for H1-B visas.

2002

  • PFC initiated the “Monk Mobilization” project to engage Buddhist monks in the overall betterment of the society beyond the walls of the monastery.
  • Raised additional funds for the completion of monastery in Pagan.
  • PFC assisted in the rebuilding of a Sisters of Charity home for mentally and physically disabled in the Inle Lake region of Burma.
  • Delivered and distributed 52 tons of rice throughout Burma to underserved communities.
  • PFC supported Theravadic Buddhists monks, U Sandima and U Seneka, in two Yangon (Rangoon) monasteries.
  • In a visit by PFC, funds were dispersed to a southern Burmese monastery in Zen Chai as well as to village schools.
  • Organized and sponsored a trip with His Holiness Cealo to Japan, Burma, Thailand and Cambodia. Introduced Cealo to the royal family in Cambodia.
  • Produced a musical CD of sacred and healing musicians from Japan; the recording was conducted live in a cave in Sedona, Arizona.
  • Produced a healing concert in a New York Cathedral for the souls impacted by September 11, 2001 tragedies.
  • Introduced His Holiness Cealo to the Esalen Institute in California and the Omega Institute in New York, and coordinated immensely effective speaking programs. Gayuna Cealo, a native of Japan, is a Burmese Buddhist monk who became highly revered in monastic orders throughout Asia and sought after by healers worldwide. Many report transformative experiences, physical healings, and spiritual awakenings in his presence.
  • His charitable activities were the hallmark of his spiritual path. Partnerships For Change (PFC) was first to support Cealo and recognized the current “historic pivot point” in our civilization and seized opportunities to make a difference. PFC considered itself a “co-author” in creating new stories and ideas that resulted in positive change – a shift from the experience of fear to love, and from scarcity to abundance. Effective tools, media programming, direct action and forums with advanced multimedia and databases, and visual maps to display the unique resources, skills, and gifts of those it served were designed by PFC.
  • Jacqueline Miller edited a book by H.H. Cealo entitled, 108 Healing Messages for Finding Your True Nature.
  • Jacqueline Miller edited and contributed to the best selling book published by Harper Collins entitled, Power Healing, by Chinese medical doctor, Zhi Gang Sha.
  • PFC organized and sponsored a series of lectures, presentations and an awareness campaign about Burma. These lectures were presented at venues throughout the U.S. cities including in San Francisco, Berkeley, Mt. Shasta, Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ojai California, Albuquerque, Sante Fe and Galisteo, New Mexico, Sedona, The Grand Canyon, Phoenix and Tucson Arizona Boulder and Denver Colorado, Chicago, Illinois, Fairfield, Iowa, Baltimore, Maryland, Washington, DC. New York, New York.
  • Organized and led a trip of 30 Americans and 65 Japanese on a direct humanitarian action mission to Burma.
  • Designed, cultivated and delivered sustainable environmental development plans for villages and cities throughout Cambodia. The Ecological Trade Waste System to Alleviate Waste (ETSAW, reversed waste) would generate a sustainable village with commercial products derived from sustainably harvested trees and foods grown in the areas surrounding trees. The plan was delivered and presented personally by PFC’s Jacqueline Miller and Andrew Michael to the Vice President of Cambodia as well as the President of the Cambodian Senate. Cambodia later adopted the plan.
  • PFC met with the United Nations representative in Cambodia.
  • Baby bottles, mosquito nets, and formula were purchased and delivered to a nursery and orphanage for HIV infected babies outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
  • Supported the development of a school outside of Phnom Penh as well as a vocational school run by the Palm Tree Foundation. Provided computers and resources to learn the English language and helped build an expansion for the orphanage and school.
  • Supported and worked with the Orphanage and Adoption Program in Cambodia that provided Oscar-winning actress and director, Angelina Jolie, with her son, Maddox, born on August 5th 2001.
  • Organized special meditations at the United Nations headquarters in New York and hosted a luncheon in the delegates’ dining room to provide funding and support for on-going projects in Burma and Cambodia.
  • Together with the monk, Cealo, PFC was able to provide medical supplies, educational materials to the orphans of Cambodia and Burma donating 63 tons of rice, clothing, blankets and vitamins.
  • Andrew Michael, PFC’s Board of Director, Bay Area Council member and leader of the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Development, assisted to establish a triple-bottom line of $170 million to Bay Area Family of Funds for the San Francisco Bay Area.
  • Partnerships For Change® created and launched “Kyoto For The People” in Kyoto, Japan to stimulate and expand public support, particularly in the United States, for the Kyoto Protocol to help address and PFC Board of Advisor, Conrad Hilton III, honored Andrew Michael for being the most creative social entrepreneur of our time.
  • PFC was awarded an unsolicited and significant multi-year grant from the Arie Kurtzig Memorial Fund through the Community Foundation of Silicon Valley. Co-founder of ASK, Arie Kurtzig, was a well known physicist and inventor of the touch screen computer. Arie Kurtzig, an avid environmentalist, made numerous contributions to improve ecological awareness and promote innovative solutions to environmental problems. He was a founding board member of Sustainable North Bay and supported many early organic farming techniques. Arie Kurtzig was known for Silicon Valley start-ups. He strongly agreed with PFC that psychosocial issues are pre-eminent in field of sustainability.

2001

  • PFC made its first humanitarian mission to Burma (changed to the Union of Myanmar in 1989) in September. Through direct action, PFC provided funds to renovate and build schools, orphanages, monasteries and bridges in and outside of Yangon and Chiatio. PFC co-founder, Jacqueline Miller, directly engaged with the military of the Union of Myanmar, (also referred to as the Junta, a military lead governance) after misinterpreted telephonic interactions with the US Embassy and the United Nations Office in Yangon occurred regarding an interview and copy of a speech she was asked to give. The story was to appear in The New Light of Myanmar.
  • Funds raised by PFC were given to refurbish the Ananda Temple in Pagan (Bhagan).
  • PFC hosted, organized and led a trip to Burma for 12 individuals; five Americans ceremoniously became monks. The focus was on effective direct action, distribution of humanitarian aid and catalyzing social justice.
  • In San Francisco, PFC developed and produced weekly television shows on humanitarian actions in Burma to raise awareness and funds in support of Monasteries, orphanages, and school upgrades.
  • PFC raised money from selling copies of weekly television shows, sales of photographs, and personal healing sessions with renowned monks to fund humanitarian aid programs and direct action efforts in Burma.
  • Jacqueline Miller spoke to numerous groups in Asia and the US regarding the situation in Burma in an effort to garner support and increase awareness. Focus was on changing the continual degradation and rape of the human spirit due the total lack of social justice.

2000

  • PFC’s Jacqueline Miller, committed to producing healing programs in support of cancer survivors, developed and organized global healing methodologies to include spiritual, energy and hands-on healing. Leaders on health met at San Francisco’s Presidio Alliance to share various disciplines of healing. For the next year, programs were developed, designed and implemented for those with health challenges.
  • A Symposium on Sustainable Development, Over Consumption and Decay of the Human Spirit was created by PFC and co-sponsored with Excite and Office Depot. The event was held at the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco. Robert Kennedy, Jr. kindly stepped in as the keynote speaker for his recently deceased cousin, John F. Kennedy, Jr., who had planned to support Partnerships For Change before his untimely and tragic death.
  • Jacqueline Miller represented PFC in Washington, D.C. for the official five-year culmination of the State of the World Forum, which attracted global leaders. Mikhail Gorbachev, former President of the Soviet Union, founded the State of the World Forum. 50 individuals from civil society, the World Bank and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International convened on April 23 to discuss the Commission. The intent of the meeting was to solicit feedback and suggestions as how the Commission could best contribute bridging the divide between the many voices in the globalization debate, and to proceed with establishing a common agenda that would foster a constructive spirit of dialogue and inquiry. Co-Chair Mikhail Gorbachev addressed the meeting along with John Sweeney, President of the AFL-CIO, and Co-Chair Lori Wallach, Director of Public Citizen Trade Watch.

1999

  • PFC sponsored and executive produced PBS series called, Healthy Living hosted by Jane Seymour.
  • PFC created and organized a humanitarian relief effort to Kosovo, bringing joy to young refugees through the arrival of 35 doctors dressed as clowns including PFC’s board member, the infamous Dr. Patch Adams. Along with over $500,000 in medical supplies and services, the clown doctors were flown in to the refugee camps to promote healing through art programs. Traumatized children were encouraged to paint pictures of what a peaceful future could look like, thus providing an alternate view of the future rather than continuing the cycle of violence in the Balkans.

1998

  • Board of Director Jacqueline Miller was invited address to the State of the World Forum for the second time. PFC’s presentation on sustainable development and human restoration was well received and highly acclaimed.

1997

  • Partnerships For Change® was invited to make a presentation at the State of the World Forum on sustainable development and human restoration.
  • Jacqueline Miller, co-founder of Partnerships For Change and author of Heart At Work, was profiled and spotlighted on CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, Business Week, Nightly Business Report, PBS, The San Francisco Examiner, Orange County Register as well as numerous radio stations and newspapers. Jacqueline Miller was featured on The CBS Evening News in an unsolicited and in depth cover story of Jacqueline Miller and her transformative work in the world of work. CBS approached Jacqueline requesting the opportunity to spend several days to observe, document and showcase her humanitarian work.
  • PFC was invited in 1997 by the National Security Agency to consult, present and review Jacqueline Miller’s ground breaking empowerment work on emotional literacy.
  • The NBC nightly news reached out to Jacqueline Miller for an interview regarding her thoughts on labor and employment trends.
  • At an international conference on “Creativity and Innovation in the Workplace”, Jacqueline Miller was promoted as co-keynote speaker along with Tom Peters and Peter Senge.
  • Jacqueline Miller headlined a speaker’s series and was awarded best speaker at the University of Oklahoma along with the late Honorable Patricia Shroeder, the late Eldrige Clever and Michael Moore.

1996

  • Partnerships For Change® was asked to design, organize, and facilitate a National Summit for the communities that suffered during the Cold War in the United States and Russia. The National Summit brought together businesses, environmentalists, government agencies, and advocates who sought ways to clean up and re-use the closed military bases. Nobel laureates Mikhail Gorbachev and Oscar Arias keynoted the event. The event was organized in the Presidio in San Francisco, CA, during its transitioning from an Army base to a National Park.
  • A 30 – minute NBC primetime television special was aired and organized by PFC in association with the National Summit, further emphasizing the shift from swords to ploughshares.
  • PFC’s Andrew Michael secured a significant grant from the San Francisco Foundation to increase the capacity of the San Francisco Bay Area via an online REB, Resource Exchange Bank, for individuals, organizations and communities through out the San Francisco Bay Area to link in, exchange products, services and resources.
  • United Nations held the Urban Habitat II Summit for 20,000 thought leaders around the globe on development of urban environments; Andrew Michael represented PFC at the event. While in Istanbul for the conference, he also represented the book Heart At Work for its Turkish distribution.

1995

  • PFC’s Jacqueline Miller, successfully sold the book concept of Heart at Work to McGraw Hill publisher for six-figure advance. The book, entitled Heart at Work focused on the economics of emotional literacy, which later became an international best seller and was published in 9 languages. Heart at Work sold 85,000 copies the first week it was released.

1994

  • PFC organized a Community Summit to catalyze the efforts of the United Nations 50th Anniversary commemorative celebration.
  • Partnerships For Change was selected as a champion in making a difference in the world along with Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and P.E.T.A. (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The Cause Collection recognized PFC as a leader in innovative human development projects.

1993

  • PFC selected a delegation of top self-esteem experts, including Jacqueline Miller, Andrew Michael, Dr. Roger Mills and the late Dr. Rashmi Mayur to address the International Ecological and Urban Planning Conference on Sustainability in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 1500 Mayors from the largest cities on Earth were present.
  • PFC was invited to be an American based producer for the World Cup Soccer games by Globo TV in Rio de Janeiro, producing segments in LA about LA celebrity life.
  • After continuous and committed efforts to create awareness for the prevention of sociopathic television programming, PFC was proud to sponsor an NBC prime-time broadcast entitled, The Mystery of the Sphinx, starring the infamous Charlton Heston. For the first time, a non-dramatic, non-violent documentary successfully aired on a national, commercial network.

1992

  • Partnerships For Change® privately sponsored a visit to the Earth Summit in Brazil where PFC showcased the efforts of the State of California and a movement to acknowledge the importance of self-worth in building healthy communities. PFC raised the funds, developed the programming, and made presentations at a series of forums: “Human Restoration: the Key to Sustainable Development.” The purpose of the trip was to introduce a more inclusive approach for sustainable development. PFC emphasized the environmental movement has, for the most part, excluded the role and value of humans as part of a sustainable world. Change must start within the individual and happen in a systemic fashion from within all living systems.
  • PFC’s Jacqueline Miller and Andrew Michael presented to the White House, including First Lady, Barbara Bush’s Chief of Staff, Susan Green, and James Pinkerton, Domestic policy advisor for President George Bush, the importance of a national program to promote self-worth, self-esteem and personal responsibility as a social vaccine and “conservative” approach to prevent problems in education, drug abuse, and violence prior to their occurrence.

1991

  • California’s Governor and the Alcohol and Drug Department retained Partnerships For Change to integrate self-esteem and personal responsibility programs to improve the workplace. PFC designed and delivered a program in Silicon Valley for 250 CEO’s and business leaders exploring the relationship between self-esteem, productivity, creativity and innovation.
  • PFC and co-founder, Jacqueline Miller, conceptualized and developed the original theme and model for Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books now associated with Jack Canfield.
  • The Honorable Pete Domenici from New Mexico and the legislative advisor to the Honorable Sam Nunn (D) Georgia, Rob Hall, invited PFC to develop national legislation to introduce self-esteem and promote personal and social responsibility.  Jacqueline Miller and board member, Andrew Michael, presented the proposal at a United States Senate briefing sponsored by Senator Alan Cranston in partnership with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the late Honorable Jack Kemp.

1990

  • Partnerships For Change® (PFC) CEO and co-founder, Jacqueline Miller, received an appointment from the Governor of Maryland, William Donald Shaefer, to serve on a Self Esteem task force promoting personal and social responsibility. The primary focus of this task force was on community empowerment and productivity as well as the alleviation of crime, violence, poverty and substance abuse. The Chair of the Task Force, Susan White, appointed Jacqueline Miller as the liaison to the Center for Strategic and International Studies CSIS.
  • In Washington D.C., worked on the US economic reform committee to strengthen America, co-chaired by Senator Pete Domenici and Senator Sam Nunn.
  • Partnerships For Change® was co-founded by Jacqueline Miller and Linda Alber.

Projects

Project Sidebar 2

Decarbonized.org

Empowering Social and Spiritual Entrepreneurs

pipe

Women's Empowerment and Health Promotion

Lama Tenzin and Himalayan Kids

Accelerating Environmental, Economic and Personal Transformation

Jaipur Foot

Learning Journeys

Catalyzing Media as a Change Agent