All People Making a Difference
Discipline with dignity: Oakland schools try talk circles聽As executive director of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, Fania Davis sees programs like hers helping to shut down the school-to-prison pipeline.
Small sources could yield an energy windfall'Energy scavenging' draws on a wide array of untapped energy sources颅 鈥� radio waves, vibrations created by moving objects, waste heat from computers or car exhaust systems 鈥� to generate electricity.
Jacob Lief uses an 'old recipe' to help South Africa's poorHis Ubuntu Education Fund provides intensive, long-term help to 2,000 impoverished children and their families in South Africa.
Audrey Forshey gives the gift of education in KenyaThe Gift of Education event supports the St. Monica's Children's Home outside Nairobi, Kenya, and covers most of the education costs for the 44 girls who live there.
Difference MakerBarbara Harrell-Bond gives refugees what they say they need most 鈥� legal aidThe tiny Fahamu Refugee Programme has an ambitious goal: provide lawyers and advocates around the world with the legal resources they need to win a refugee's case.
Tiny houses for the homeless: an affordable solution catches onGovernments and nonprofits are working together on a practical solution to homelessness through the construction of tiny-house villages.
Who'll fund journalism? Meet the new MedicisWith newspaper revenues falling billionaires are stepping in to fund reporting, either by buying existing media outlets or starting new ones.
A credit card that steers consumers out of debtThe Trust Card, or 'un-credit card,' helps low-income borrowers shed unhealthy debt and stay out of debt while accessing affordable credit.
MacArthur recepients show 'what's working best'The MacArthur Foundation has given a financial boost to seven 'highly creative' nonprofit groups that have 'outsized impact in bringing about social change.'
Money pools: a centuries-old savings tool reinventedeMoneyPool updates and improves on the 1,000-year-old practice of poor people pooling their savings as an informal banking system.
Difference MakerDenise Dunning unlocks girl power through Let Girls LeadLet Girls Lead has provided training and services to more than 40,000 adolescent girls to foster a movement of global girl power.
Darfur cookstove project brings economic, health benefitsTen thousand efficient cookstoves are being delivered to communities in Darfur, saving more than 300,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions over 10 years and bringing other benefits, such as a lower cost for fuel and less smoky homes.聽
'The Sockman' Tom McNamara is all about feet and greetRetired teacher Tom McNamara travels the US handing out socks to the homeless while listening to their stories.
Valerie Weisler takes on bullying with the Validation ProjectThe Validation Project aims to put a worldwide end to bullying. The project, founded by 15-year-old Valerie Weisler, helps youths 13 to 25 change the world one person at a time.
Bill Gross helps farm families in need through Farm RescueNonprofit Farm Rescue plants and harvests crops free of charge for farmers who have been touched by illness, injury, or a natural disaster.
Difference MakerLisa Fitzpatrick dropped everything and started a New Orleans youth centerShe quit her job, sold her possessions, including her home, and dedicated her resources, energy, and time to New Orleans' most neglected youths.
A 'pay-it-forward' approach to funding solar projectsDonations to the California nonprofit RE-Volv don't just fund one solar installation, but circulate from one project to the next.
Irene Santiago: women are vital peacemakersBuilding on her role in negotiating a ceasefire between Muslim insurgents and the Philippines government, Irene Santiago has become an advocate for women as a vital part of any peace talks.
To rise out of poverty Asian women head to the libraryFor more than 2 million rural villagers across South Asia, libraries provide powerful ways to learn skills, network with other women, and become agents of change.
Their goal: find a million science and technology mentors for girls and young womenMillion Women Mentors, launched Jan. 8, will reach out to at least a million girls and young women in the next four years and support them in pursuing STEM careers and education.
