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From Lipstick on a Pig to Lipstick That Makes the World a Better Place

September 13 - Thank goodness, the news week is ending better than it started. The presidential campaigns have moved from squabbling about “lipstick on a pig” to the importance of service.

This weekend’s Financial Times features Poppy King, a young Australian entrepreneur who runs the Lipstick Queen brand, and recently authored "Lessons of a Lipstick Queen: Finding and Developing the Great Idea That Can Change Your Life" (Simon and Schuster). Since King believes in giving and service, a percentage of the proceeds of King’s book will be donated to K.I.D.S.: Kids in Distressed Situations, where King serves on the board of directors. It happens that K.I.D.S. is one of my all time favorite, high-impact nonprofits, led by CEO Janice Weinman.

King has great advice about investigating charities where you will contribute, helping a charity market itself in addition to providing funding support, and raising awareness for good causes. “Most important to me,” she says, “is the feeling that I’m helping, rather than being useless. I think most of us need to feel that.”