All People Making a Difference
Difference MakerFor Indian teen who launched village library, it鈥檚 about more than booksSadiya Shaikh realized her family鈥檚 ancestral village in Bihar, India, had no library. So the 18-year-old set one up herself: Maulana Azad Library.
Difference Maker鈥楲ow and slow鈥�: Latino lowriders cruise for communityCalifornia car culture includes Latino lowriders, who take pride in their cars as well as promote respect for family and community.
Difference MakerCoat as shelter: Designer Bas Timmer creates for people who have no homeA designer was motivated by the death of his friends鈥� father to make a garment for homeless people using excess fabric and workers who are refugees.
Lending an ear: 鈥楩ree listening鈥� is this guy鈥檚 businessIn this era of social distancing, Kip Clark offers human connection: From a perch on a street in Cambridge, he listens to anyone who wants to talk.聽
Difference MakerFirst Thanksgiving: How a Native woman is setting the record straightLinda Coombs鈥� lifework is to share a fuller picture of the Wampanoag Nation and its contact with some of the first English settlers.
Afghan refugees create a taste of home in MalaysiaMeaningful Meals, run by the Greater Action nonprofit, helps Afghan refugees in Malaysia earn an income catering meals from their homeland.
Difference MakerThe quiet powerhouse fighting racism in one of America鈥檚 whitest statesHow to tackle a problem as monumental as systemic racism? In Vermont, it starts with something radically simple: listening.聽
Difference MakerAn electrician鈥檚 good deed launches a movement of helpersA retiree鈥檚 home repair problems were a big deal for her, but an easy good deed for a network of volunteers that has expanded to help others, too.聽
Difference MakerRetired no more: A Texas octogenarian advocates for seniorsDoris Griffin, an advocate for older people 鈥� at nearly 90 years old 鈥� knows how to speak for, and about the needs of, Texas seniors in the pandemic.
Difference MakerAt Stan the Man鈥檚 bookmobile, kids buy books with acts of kindnessFormer kindergarten teacher Stan Tucker launched his Read 鈥檔鈥� Roll bookmobile to promote literacy. But it鈥檚 become a vehicle for kindness too.聽
Difference MakerFighting stigma with ice cream at Sikia CafeSikia Cafe in Jinja, Uganda, which is staffed by deaf waiters, aims to change attitudes toward the deaf community.聽
Difference MakerA Canadian First Nation reclaims the telling of its own storyIn Canada, one First Nations group is trying to reclaim their story by publishing their own children鈥檚 books and magazines.
Difference MakerHow one teacher equips students to stop trafficking before it startsYoung people are most vulnerable to human trafficking. Mona Al-Hayani鈥檚 curriculum has trained thousands to recognize it.聽
Difference MakerRussia鈥檚 peasant history, once submerged, is brought back into the lightWhen the Soviet Union industrialized, it destroyed much of Russia鈥檚 peasant life. Anor Tukaeva is helping to make sure that history isn鈥檛 lost.
Meet the woman behind Israel鈥檚 鈥榗ommunities of kindness鈥�Adi Altschuler鈥檚 Krembo Wings has become a global movement. But she didn鈥檛 stop there. She鈥檚 on a mission to create 鈥渃ommunities of kindness.鈥�
With Little Free Pantries, neighbors feed neighbors in needJessica McClard launched Little Free Pantries in 2016 as a way to anonymously help neighbors and strangers facing food insecurity.聽
Difference MakerWhy Jane Curtis is still fighting for justice at 102For Vermonter Jane Curtis, patriotism means protest. The centenarian activist has spent her life fighting for the causes and country she believes in.
Difference MakerHow one woman turned a small Vermont town into an arts destinationAt a time when many rural towns are fading, one small New England village is thriving thanks to a transformative arts center.
Difference MakerA different kind of care package: Concertgoers 鈥楤lanket the Homeless鈥�Blanket the Homeless volunteers are Ken Newman鈥檚 concertgoers, who hand out blankets and his packages of small essentials to people on the streets.
Difference MakerWhy a Muslim woman safeguards Jewish history for all MoroccansFor Zhor Rehihil, Muslim curator of the Museum of Moroccan Judaism in Casablanca, the shared past provides a path to a better future.
