All People Making a Difference
Gates, Zuckerberg champion computer programming in a new nonprofit videoBill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey lobby for the teaching of computer coding in a new video produced by the nonprofit group Code.org.
Arts program for the homeless hopes to gain from Oscar success of 'Innocente'San Diego-based ARTS (A Reason to Survive) helped 15-year-old Inocente Izucar survive when she was homeless. An Oscar-winning film about her life, called 'Innocente,' helps show how the arts can benefit those in need.
Heroes to Heroes helps wounded US vets recoverHeroes to Heroes takes groups of traumatized US veterans on a journey to Israel meant to restore their sense of humanity and civility.
Karen Olson taps religious groups to help the homelessFamily Promise now has 182 affiliates in 41 states helping families in need achieve independence and self-sufficiency.
'Sand dams' store water for dry season in semi-arid KenyaSimple dams that can be constructed in a day by unskilled laborers may revolutionize Kenyan agriculture by storing millions of liters of water, providing once-parched communities with water for domestic use and irrigation throughout the year.
Difference MakerAnshu Gupta brings 'clothing for dignity' to IndiaHis nonprofit group, called GOONJ, collects and gives away used clothing. The twist: The needy 'pay' for their clothes by doing service work in their communities.
Creative Connections links kids worldwide through artUS students partner with children from one of nearly 50 other countries to exchange their artworks and then share ideas face-to-face via a videoconference.
Time Bank helps neighbors put skills to use, swap servicesThe Care and Share Time Bank puts a universal twist on being neighborly: Members call on their neighbors for help with anything from a drive to the airport to a Spanish lesson 鈥� and then offer help in return.
In Detroit, a nonprofit fights urban blightThe nonprofit Detroit Blight Authority is helping to pay to tear down abandoned buildings and clear away debris to make the city cleaner and safer.
Cut food waste to help feed the world, experts sayAround the world 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted every year. A more efficient food supply is a key to feeding an expected world population of 9 billion by 2050.
Nonprofit 'Sesame Street' nears 1 billion views on YouTubeKids urged to unlock a 'top secret video' when 1 billion views is reached. For 'Sesame聽Street,' the milestone 鈥� a first on YouTube for a nonprofit聽 鈥� reflects the multimedia nature of kids entertainment.
Difference MakerWyatt Smith makes a deal with his students: Learn Chinese. Go to China.Birmingham to Beijing sends inner-city high school students in Birmingham, Ala., on a study abroad in Beijing 鈥� if they first learn Chinese.
Expat Syrian doctors help bind up the wounds of warDoctors in Syria describe being targeted in bombing campaigns and risking death, detention, and torture to treat the wounded, whether civilians or fighters.
Matt Damon's humorous video spotlights sanitation crisisActor Matt Damon vows to go on a 'toilet strike' to publicize the need to bring clean water and better sanitation to millions of people around the world.
Yale graduate takes low-paying job as a village official in ChinaQin Yufei forgoes a high-paying career in New York or Beijing to lead a rural Chinese village, setting an example for corruption-free local government.
Caliber Collection fashions jewelry to take guns off the streetsJessica Mindich designs jewelry made from guns confiscated by the Newark, N.J. police. In turn she donates money to back to the police department to get more guns off the street.
How to keep youths down on the farm? Offer incentives.The average age of farmers is rising. Nonprofits are at work on ways to show youths in developing nations how farming can be entrepreneurial, profitable, and desirable.
Difference MakerThang Dinh Tran loves maps and Vietnam. That may put him in the eye of a storm.His passion for all things Vietnamese has combined with his passion for old maps, placing him at the center of a territorial dispute between Vietnam and China.
Can biogas spark a revolution on India's farms?One farmer in India shows how turning the gases emitted by cow dung can become a clean, renewable fuel that saves him money, increases his productivity, and boosts his profits.
In Haiti, laws of physics meet a culture of magicPost-earthquake construction in Haiti must address the dichotomy of American efficiency versus Haitian tradition.
