El Salvador-based NGO to Strengthen Community Development Via B4B

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador, April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --  Glasswing International's engagement with private-sector partners has led to community development in El Salvador and Central American, including rebuilding more than 300 schools, mobilizing over 50,000 volunteers and benefitting hundreds of thousands of citizens. The nonprofit will join over 200 other nonprofit organizations tomorrow and Thursday at the Business4Better Conference and Exhibition (B4B), which will bring together more than 2,000 business executives and nonprofit leaders to create partnerships that impact the community.

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As B4B participants gather this week to share best practices about ways to engage their employees more directly with nonprofits beyond "checkbook philanthropy," Glasswing is planning to expand its successful track record and develop partnerships with companies looking to strengthen and expand their corporate social responsibility programs.

"Glasswing International is the first local organization in Central America to partner with the U.S. government to implement a program on a regional scale," said Ken Baker, Glasswing's co-founder and executive director. "Our success is due in large part to the commitment of the companies and employees that support us."

Beyond financial contributions, Glasswing's private-sector partners – ranging from Salvadoran companies to U.S.-based multinational corporations – are supporting youth and community development programs by making long-term investments in communities through volunteerism and mentoring to ensure sustainability and success.

These alliances span industries and sectors and could be of interest to many of the mid-sized businesses attending B4B – whether it's through sponsoring an underprivileged school through an "Extreme School Makeover" or supporting the development of El Salvador's emergency response system.

To date, Glasswing International has helped over 25,000 youth develop life skills through after-school programs; trained and equipped over 5,000 first-responders; and benefitted over 25 public-health facilities focused on community and maternal-child health.

"The Glasswing model – leveraging resources, both financial and human, across the public and private sectors and civil society – not only benefits students, schools and communities, but companies themselves," Baker said. "Corporate participation in social responsibility projects strengthens the countries and communities in which many of these businesses operate and provides the additional benefit of positively impacting employees by fostering a culture of teamwork and leadership outside the workplace."

In Central America, public schools in particular are an area most susceptible to violence; they're also the site of one of the most promising solutions. Honduras and El Salvador have the highest and second-highest homicide rates in the world, respectively, due mostly to gang-related violence. Students are in school for only an average of four hours per day.

By engaging the private sector through financial commitments and long-term interventions based on volunteerism and mentoring, Glasswing's model has been successful in contributing to a reduction in vulnerable and at-risk youth.

"We're excited to join the movement to activate corporate community engagement and businesses' impact on societal causes at the Business4Better Conference," Baker said. "We hope our successes serve as a catalyst for other NGOs and companies to develop their own alliances all over the world."

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Glasswing International is a nonprofit organization based in San Salvador, El Salvador that partners with the public and private sectors and civil society to transform communities in the areas of education and health.

SOURCE Glasswing International