With everyone in position and a bit of backstage scrambling, the producer gave his go ahead and spoke, “We’re live in 3-2-1.” And for the first time, Charity Charge TV was live on Facebook. This premier episode featured Chelsea Collier, one of five co-founders of Impact Hub- Austin. Chelsea was quick to introduce her work and claimed that it had been a year and a half since Impact Hub- Austin was a mere concept and only six months since their official launch in March. The goal for Impact Hub- Austin, when it partnered with Vuka event space and joined 82 global sister locations, was to create a coworking space or “big-tent” for social entrepreneurs and nonprofits or as Chelsea remarked, “For anybody who wants to create positive change in the world.”

Chelsea chatted with our founder, Stephen Garten, about the dynamic definition of social entrepreneurship which she believes is broadening to encompass any business that is dedicated to creating positive change and goes beyond traditional forms where the social impact is apparent. Stephen embraced her widening definition and reminded the viewers that Charity Charge and CCTV is seeking to “elevate awareness” of socially responsible businesses and individuals alike and that now, “Any company can figure out an innovative way to give back.”

While laughing about the free form of CCTV, Stephen invited an intern, Abby Hull, on screen to speak about the drive behind our various social responsibility platforms like CCTV. She reflected on a particularly inspiring in-flight magazine article that highlighted one socials entrepreneur’s winning idea to place refrigerated vaccines between soda bottles being shipped to low socioeconomic countries. This idea ignited the conversation with Chelsea and Stephen, both praising the entrepreneurial method of using existing infrastructure to simply extend creativity and innovation. She told viewers how in China, there is a ton of energy and resources being poured into the physical and digital infrastructure and that leaders stand by the idea that, “The only way forward is to invest in innovation.”

Part of Chelsea’s role in the world of social entrepreneurship is through a recent Eisenhower Fellowship where she and a select group of nine other American thought leaders traveled to China to study “smart cities.” She foresees that her focus for the new year will be centered on smart cities which “marry the different areas [she] has operated in like technology, policy, social impact, and civic engagement.” This emerging idea of smart cities is in Chelsea’s words, “How connected technology can create a more efficient and connected world.” During her fellowship, she visited Hangzhou, China where only 38 years ago free enterprise was non-existent. Now, tech incubators and coworking spaces have saturated the entrepreneurship field. One goal of smart cities that mirrors our “Charge it Forward” attitude and aligns with our “every day giving” model was uniquely phrased by Chelsea as, “Liberating citizens to be more active and engaged.”

Charity Charge TV is still a baby- one that we will nurture with great care. Our hope is that this channel will give social entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and socially responsible corporations alike a platform for telling the world about their push for positive change. Gandhi told us to, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world” and we find that people everywhere are doing this already. With the birth of Charity Charge TV behind us, we are actively pursuing the social thought leaders among us so we can bring them to light and share how they “Charge it Forward” every day in their own unique ways.

You can watch episode 1 with Chelsea Collier here. Also, subscribe to our YouTube channel and like us on Facebook to catch future episodes.