Hand-outs: Nice Try, But They Are Often a Temporary Solution For an Unresolved Problem
Soap Box Rants/A NEW WEEKLY COLUMN
By Pamela Bratcher-McMillan, President, Chair & CEO, PETAL et al.
“Give a man a fish, he eats for a day.
Teach a man to fish, he eats for a lifetime.”
Why are there so many organizations focused on giving out hand-outs – free dinners, free clothes, free cheese, etc.?  Why not a FREE education? While many organizations on the South Side offer temporary solutions, which when necessary are okay, but should they be temporary? There are few, if any, that offer free employment education. I’m not talking about the typical clerical, MS office or other training that turns out workers as opposed to managers, entrepreneurs and leaders. I’m talking about accounting, IT certifications, project management, entrepreneurial-ships, marketing, product management, mobile app development, social networking tools and web, etc. – professions that allow for standalone opportunities, like having your own business. Why must we be in a constant state of having our hand out?  Why are we teaching our children to hold their hands out when times are hard?
Why does Panera Bread Restaurant have a location on the North Side that allows customers to pay whatever they want or can afford for anything on the menu and FREE WiFi and not one on the South Side? Why does State Farm Insurance only want to share its Next Door Cafe/coffee shop conference rooms, workshops, mentoring, guidance, FREE WiFi, training, etc. only on the North side of Chicago? South Siders have purchased a lot from Panera Bread Restaurants and they certainly use State Farm Insurance.
While the North Side scrambles to brainstorm about businesses, startups, pooling their resources to stay ahead of a failing economy, survival programs (i.e. building shelters, growing food, recognizing safe plants to eat in the wild, making clothing, etc.), networking between careers, etc., it appears that the South Side seems to be falling behind.
A few days ago, I decided to check out BJ restaurant on the South Side that provides Karaoke and Free WiFi. It was a great idea to pull the community together like that, I thought, as I watched how great it would be to use the technology provided there for training people. Maybe something in the way of a presentation on setting up and selling on Ebay or how to get a business started and set up a website. There are people with a wealth of talent on the South Side. Why aren’t they sharing this wealth?
