Power of Good

O PowerofGood.com | Elevate Alabama 1 On MOunt EvErEst, one misstep can be fatal. Its treacherous ice and snow, sub-freezing temperatures, howling winds, canyon-deep crevasses and extreme altitude challenge even world- class climbers. Yet, Eric Alexander helped his blind friend Eric Weihen- mayer to the top of the world's tallest peak. Alexander, the keynote speaker at this year's Elevate conference, sum- mited his very literal Mount Everest in 2002. But there are other, figurative Everests confronting the nonprofit world, he told the dinner audience. "What's your Everest?" asked Alexander, who has helped people with disabilities climb mountains all over the world. "I'm talking about … those things we might see as insur- mountable, as too high to climb, as impossible. Maybe for you it's fund- ing. Maybe it's programming. Maybe it's volunteers. Maybe it's education. I know that everybody in this room faces an Everest of one kind or an- other." Alexander's lessons learned climb- ing mountains have become his lessons for life. They are lessons all of us can apply to our daily lives and to working together to make Alabama a better place. Here is Alexander's list for success – for mountain climbing and for nonprofit organizations – and comments from his speech: • Courage to serve. "It's something I think each and every one of you has. That's the reason why you do what you do, because you want to serve others. You see the goal as something bigger than yourself." • Faith/trust. "To serve the needs of others, what does it take? It takes faith and trust in yourself and the team you've built around you." • Team spirit. "Team spirit is what elevates teamwork to the next level. It's like putting that engine, that car, in gear and that's what moves it down the road." • Innovation. "You have to be creative about how to reach someone, how to get ahold of new funds, how to make people see things your way." Leadership and integrity. "Are you building your organization around yourself? Or are you building it around the vision that you believe in, and the people and the team and the goals, because that's what matters." Perseverance. "If it's making a dif- ference in somebody's life, you have to be passionate about it and willing to take a risk for it because it's bigger than yourself. Once you do that, it's just about the mental stamina, the persistence." Alexander's words inspire. It is up to us – the Alabama Power Founda- tion working with nonprofit groups across the state – to put them to good use. We face Everest-sized challenges on so many issues in Alabama, particu- larly poverty and education. Those two are as tightly tied together as the ropes on one of Alexander's mountain climbs. Improve a poor child's school, and you improve his chances of escaping poverty. It is that simple. And hard. That is why the Alabama Power Foun- dation this summer announced the Brighter Minds education initiative that focuses on areas we believe can make a difference in K-12 schools: Early childhood education; classes that teach students about conservation and stewardship; and science, technol- ogy, engineering and math (STEM) courses and workforce development scholarships. With Brighter Minds, as well as all the good works nonprofit groups are doing, we know what it takes for success: the courage to serve, faith and trust, team spirit, the ability to innovate, leaders of integrity, and the will to persevere. Working together, we can climb our Everests and elevate this great state. John O. Hudson III Vice president, Public Relations and Chari- table Giving; president, Alabama Power Foundation; executive director, Alabama Business Charitable Trust Fund. the goodnews

• Cover