Charles Paul

Charles Paul is the co-founder and CEO of Worldwise Education, a socially-conscious company that promotes youth empowerment through the arts while providing resources to struggling teachers and schools.

Charles worked as a high school teacher in the early 80’s, but at that time, his teacher's salary couldn't support his young family. He moved into mergers and acquisitions and successfully closed nearly $1 billion in transactions. So with the sale of his Charles Paul & Company in 2001, he took an early retirement and set sail with his wife Kathy to explore the South Pacific on their 60-foot schooner, The Bird of Paradise. The Pauls were not typical tourists; they often spent many months at each of their tropical destinations. Their lifestyle brought them in close contact with indigenous populations where they frequently saw the struggles faced by local schools. “Basic school supplies - chalk, paper, pens, pencils, and books - were virtually non-existent,” explained Mr. Paul. “These people had become our friends and we wanted to help.” The Pauls made it their mission to deliver donated school supplies from the U.S. to needy island schools.

At a chance meeting at the Puataukanave Café, the couple met another entrepreneur and philanthropist, Edgar Crocker, who shared their determination to bring supplies to the poverty-stricken local schools outside the tourists’ areas. The idea for Worldwise Education was born that day with a mission to take their initiative globally, but start locally in the US.

Instead of competing with limited nonprofit funds, they were eager to build a sustainable business that would deliver extra income to struggling schools. Their simple, innovative idea was to transform student artwork into greeting cards that are sold through retail partnerships, such as Whole Foods, or school fundraisers. A portion of the proceeds is given directly to the artists' schools. This is a welcome source of revenue since each school year, teachers spend an average of $500 out of their own pocket to buy classroom supplies and fund activities. Worldwise Education has already paid over $1M to schools! The profits from the company will fund WExchange, an online marketplace that will deliver supplies that teachers need most, such as paper, pens, pencils, crayons and books to schools around the world. This is a market-based approach to improve the quality of education for children locally and around the world.

Charles believes the greatest market opportunities are social causes. His vision is to utilize the power of capitalism to solve social challenges with sustainable solutions.

The company’s model is a win-win, proving that businesses can be socially responsible and profitable.