Adam Steele had received another letter from the group formed when his children went with him on a blue highways journey. Carlos Gonzalez was the entrepreneur in the group. He had created an app development company in one of the blue highway communities Adam had visited and wanted to help. Adam had provided some initial capital to get the business started and helped them with their business plan.
Dear Adam,
I want to give you an update on our company. As you requested, we set up the company as an L3C (Limited Profit LLC). We are developing socially responsible apps and then using the revenue from those apps to support causes we believe in.
Our initial app is called First Sounds. It’s an app where young children can click on a photo and hear the sound associated with that photo. We are working with adolescent audiologists to help reduce the trauma that young children face when they hear an unfamiliar sound.
Using the revenues from the app, we have now created a network of hearing aid providers who have initiated a hearing aid donation program for their customers. Think of it as the equivalent of an organ donation program but instead of organs being given at death to a person in need, it’s hearing aids. Our network identifies those in need and helps to repurpose the hearing aids for them. Our focus is on children. I’m very proud of the number of low income immigrant children we’ve been able to support.
The second app is still in development. It’s an app which lets a homeowner tryout different landscaping options for their homes. The app has ecological focus which provides eco-friendly choices. We’ve already received a lot of interest in the app.
What we want to do with this app is to spur the development of environmentally conscious landscape companies across the country. We will provide seed capital to help get these businesses established. Personally, I’m hoping that many of my Spanish speaking brothers can move from stoop labor to owning their own businesses.
I can’t begin to tell you how much your benevolence has meant to me. Now I’m hoping to be able to pass on that benevolence to others. Benevolence is a gift that should never be exhausted.
Carlos
Adam circulated the letter to all of his employees with this note:
“I’m fortunate that I had the financial means to help Carlos get started. Benevolence, however, doesn’t have to be financial. It can be given in many ways. I hope that each of you will find a way to provide benevolence to others and a gift of joy to yourself.”
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“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
– Mark Twain