Ryan Kerrigan takes youths in Washington State rafting and rock climbing to teach life lessons 鈥� such as realizing one鈥檚 own worth and not giving up.
Martina Droste鈥檚 theater project in Frankfurt features both local youths and young refugees. The wide-ranging themes they present have encouraged tens of thousands of theatergoers to think about the issues in new ways.
Clementina Ch茅ry鈥檚 son was killed in the crossfire of a gang-related shootout. Soon after in Boston, she founded the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute to address the roots of violence and support grieving families, regardless of circumstance.
Toody Maher is an urban visionary who helped residents in Richmond, Calif., collectively transform a deserted spot. She believes that the most beautiful and enlightened public spaces belong in the most disadvantaged communities.
L谩szl贸 Bogd谩n, the mayor of Cserdi, Hungary, has worked to instill a sense of self-worth in the villagers while also countering common prejudices about the Roma. And he鈥檚 led by example.
Richard Bienvenue founded Our House, which is now located on a farm in Maryland. There, male adolescents focus on learning trades that can become their careers, and they do it with a structure that has often been lacking for them.
Elizabeth White herself couldn鈥檛 find work later in her career. She鈥檚 now written a book in which she identifies issues that older workers face and suggests steps for restoring what she calls 鈥榓 richly textured life.鈥�
Esther Zeiher launched the endeavor after she came across an old map. She calls the trail an 鈥榓dventure in humanity鈥� that is enabling meaningful exchanges between people.
Patti Ragan founded the Center for Great Apes near Wauchula, Fla., which has become a model for ape sanctuaries across the US.
T铆mea Berki first visited B谩nffy Castle in 2005 and has since focused on saving the complex. Resources are often scarce for such projects in the region.
Medha Tadpatrikar helped design a machine in Pune, India, that heats up plastic to convert it to fuel. The process is eco-friendly in more ways than one.
Joseph Jones knows firsthand what it feels like as a kid to not have a father around. So he鈥檚 been helping other men be good parents for decades now.
G茅za Dely didn鈥檛 launch a foundation to help disabled people. He wanted to provide a setting for them to use their abilities to help others and give something to the world.
Jun Tachibana has talked with thousands of girls and young women in the past 10-plus years as they deal with problems ranging from poverty to drug addiction to abuse.
Elizabeth Handel and her daughter Jane have collected some 30,000 books that have then been distributed to prisons in the Boston area. When inmates share the books with their children, it can strengthen family bonds.
Roses in Concrete Community School, founded by Jeff Duncan-Andrade, offers its students the kind of art and music classes more often seen in wealthy suburbs 鈥� with a twist.
Bagor茅 Bathily opened Senegal鈥檚 only fresh milk production company in 2007, capitalizing on the fact that 30 percent of the population lives off cattle rearing. Hundreds of cowherds have earned more income.
After learning that many poor people lack basic furniture in their homes, Mark Bergel founded the nonprofit A Wider Circle in Maryland to tackle poverty.
Cora Bailey is the founder of an animal shelter in Johannesburg, South Africa. Many of its neighbors are undocumented migrants who rely on the shelter for services they cannot 鈥� or are too afraid to 鈥� seek out from the government.
Bogaletch Gebre cofounded an organization that鈥檚 credited with virtually eliminating female genital mutilation in the part of southern Ethiopia where she grew up. A key reason for the organization鈥檚 success has been its focus on 鈥榗ommunity conversations.鈥�
Tiffany Anderson, who arrived in Topeka, Kan., in July to be superintendent of the public schools, is making a name for herself as one of the best at standing up for the neediest students.
Rachel Brown headed to Kenya ahead of sensitive elections and an atmosphere of potential hate and violence. After a positive outcome there, she worked on a guidebook for the US Holocaust Memorial Museum called 鈥楧efusing Hate.鈥�
Jamila Afghani, who has battled discrimination since childhood, uses Islam to empower women in Afghanistan. She is committed to continuing the work despite threats and other obstacles.
When Shanti Raghavan鈥檚 brother started losing his sight, she began to learn about ways he could adjust. She then wanted to use that knowledge to assist others.
The reverberations are still being felt almost two years after April Reign created that hashtag, when Oscar nominations were announced. What will the new awards season bring?
