Media CenterCRS President Carolyn Woo on "Business as a Force for Good"

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On March 27, Dr. Carolyn Woo, president & CEO of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), addressed the students and faculty of the University of Mary. During her talk, Dr. Woo opposed the sometimes negative reputation businesses have, stating instead that "business is a necessary good." She went on to demonstrate how a humanitarian organization like CRS uses business principles to empower others. An article on The Bismarck Tribune quotes Dr. Woo as she described how CRS supported local businesses after the 2010 Haiti earthquake:

"There was no equipment to remove the rubble, or roads for the equipment," she said. "That was the beginning of the problem."

The organization brought in rubble crushers — drum-like objects with blades inside that operated when someone moved a crank.

Local entrepreneurs formed crews of seven people to get to work rebuilding their neighborhoods. Between three crews, people worked around the click at a given location.

"That's 21 people employed," Woo said. "They now have a business, they have capital equipment and they sell the rubble back to us."

The concrete rubble was then used to build new shelters to house displaced residents.

Read the full article, "Catholic Relief Services President Talks About Business as a Force for Good," on The Bismarck Tribune's website.

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Ben Backe
March 31, 2015

Ben Backe is a former communications intern at Catholic Relief Services. He was based in Baltimore, Maryland.More