Responding to an emergency requires much more than will, and for those who undertake projects aimed at helping their communities, the challenge also lies in organizing resources, sustaining their initiatives and finding allies that allow them to move forward. And from that need, SOS Bootcamp was born, an educational program that connects entrepreneurship with response to crisis situations.
“The great global challenges only find real solutions when we are able to translate them into concrete actions at the local level. And that is exactly what our entrepreneurs in Miami and Venezuela did after the earthquake tragedy,” said Elena Dolinski during the event, which in its first edition brought together eight entrepreneurs.
“Accompanying and educating those who are already creating answers for others through mentoring, knowledge and connections is what SOS Bootcamp offers through tools that allow projects to be sustained beyond the initial urgency for which they were created,” added the businesswoman and philanthropist.
A network that begins to cross borders
After the success of the sessions with the first group of Venezuelan entrepreneurs, and after the earthquake that affected communities in Colombia, the way was opened to a hybrid format to incorporate initiatives from both countries, expanding the scope of the program and whose next step aims to build a regional platform where entrepreneurs from different territories can access the same support network.
“Solidarity has no passport or borders, and neither does the SOS Bootcamp,” point out the spokespersons for the initiative in their aspiration to connect efforts beyond the location of its participants.
And Founder Institute, a development platform for emerging ventures created in Silicon Valley, participates in this process, whose contribution to the program consists of bringing the experience of its network of mentors and business leaders to social entrepreneurs who work directly with communities in emergency situations.
From individual initiatives to a collective impact
The meeting between entrepreneurs from both cohorts demonstrated that, by uniting capabilities, resources and will, it is possible to go further.
From that collaboration, La Backpack Happy was born, a solidarity day held in Tanaguarena, La Guaira, to support affected families by delivering 300 items in donations for children and adults.
This experience strengthened a network of entrepreneurs committed to continuing to create solutions for their communities..
A path between business and purpose
For Elena Dolinski, SOS Bootcamp continues a trajectory that combines business activity and social impact.
His journey began at McDonald’s, when the brand arrived in Venezuela in the eighties, and with more than 30 years of experience he has advised companies and organizations on strategy, governance and growth.
She has also dedicated more than a decade to strengthening entrepreneurial initiatives and non-profit organizations in Florida and Latin America, and as founder of Ukandoit Global and Field of Good, Dolinski has established herself as a philanthropic entrepreneur, a concept that integrates business with a social purpose.
That vision finds concrete expression in SOS Bootcamp: opening doors to those who help others and offering them tools so that their ability to transform a community can be sustained over time.
For more information and contact to be part of the SOS Bootcamp follow Elena Dolinski’s Instagram account @elenadolinski or through the LinkedIn account https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenadolinski/
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