All People Making a Difference
A school for child brides delays marriage and provides educationThe Veerni Institute is a boarding school in India that provides health care, daily meals, uniforms, books, and computer training.
Difference MakerJay and Nii Quartey found music, then their calling 鈥� helping street childrenJayNii Streetwise Foundation is an orphanage, primary school, and arts center that thrives in a struggling neighborhood of Accra, Ghana鈥檚 capital city.
To save a rare forest, farmers try a new crop 鈥� butterfliesPeople living in Zanzibar's Jozani forest are being trained to raise butterflies as a way to prevent deforestation by giving people a financial stake in keeping the forest intact.
Iconic New York City hotels promise to go greenThe Waldorf Astoria, The Peninsula New York, and The Pierre are among 16 posh hotels pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2025.
A World War II aircraft carrier's new mission: promote science educationNew York's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum preserves history while inspiring young Americans to become bold, innovative, and daring explorers themselves.
Forget 'Fairtrade' 鈥� just give cash to the poorest, philosopher saysWill MacAskill promotes 'effective altruism,' which advises people to give large chunks of their income to effective charities while downplaying 'Fairtrade' products.
Salvation Army's top bell ringer charms donors with voiceHarold Pierce is聽among the top fundraisers for the regional聽Salvation聽Army聽Red Kettle Christmas campaign聽with a voice of an angel.
Difference MakerRoman Sklotskiy spreads a new idea in Russia: Be a 'big brother' or 'big sister'Volunteering to mentor youths wasn't a familiar concept. So Mr. Sklotskiy became director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Russia to promote it.
A small New England college goes 100 percent solarHampshire College in Amherst, Mass., will soon be home to a 'living building' and become the only residential college generating 100 percent of its electricity from solar panels.
Difference MakerMarina Naprushkina helps refugees and locals meet as equals at her gatherings in BerlinA transplant herself, she opened Neue Nachbarschaft or 'new neighborhood,' a community center where newcomers can learn German and get to know locals.
Soccer star goes home to build schoolsKei Kamara escaped civil war in Sierra Leone to become a top professional soccer player in England and the US. Now he's helping his home country through the nonprofit group Schools for Salone.
She's paddling a kayak to help dump dwellers in GuatemalaDeb Walters is on a 2,500-mile odyssey to promote the nonprofit group Safe Passage.
African nations aim to restore 386,000 square miles of land by 2030The new land restoration program builds on commitments made by African countries as part of a UN deal to tackle climate change agreed on in Paris.
Difference MakerSindhutai Sapkal was begging at train stations when she found her calling 鈥� helping street childrenToday she runs four homes for orphans and others in need across India's state of Maharashtra, caring for more than 400 children and 150 abandoned women.
To store renewable electricity, utilities turn to pumped waterUtilities from Spain to China are increasingly relying on pumped storage hydroelectricity 鈥� first used in the 1890s 鈥� to overcome the intermittent nature of wind and solar power.
A forgotten burying ground becomes a park that honors and remembersVernis Jackson led a coalition to create the Portsmouth African Burying Ground memorial park, which honors those buried there and educates visitors about the site's history.
In a dry region, crowd-funding comes to a lake's rescueAn innovative citizen-led action in India has become a model for what's possible to protect water supplies, backers say.
From hairdresser to hero, a Syrian woman forges a new path for womenOm Khaled has emerged as an inspirational leader, running five centers in northern Syria that provide education and hope to thousands of women.
A lawyer leads a life on the wild side 鈥� rescuing those sold into slaveryVan Ngoc Ta rescues Vietnamese women and girls trafficked to China for the sex trade as well as victims of forced labor.
A Better Chance gives city kids a suburban educationStudents from New York City live at the ABC House and attend Glastonbury (Conn.) High School. It's a learning experience for both the students and their host families.