All People Making a Difference
Marine veteran Tina Thomas: her mission continuesTina Thomas spent her childhood moving between 13 foster homes and five group homes. But when she began mentoring other abused girls, her life gained a focus and purpose.
A chocolate factory with a higher purposeShawn Askinosie works directly with developing-world growers to sweeten their lives, too.
Difference MakerKrithi Karanth's quest: help people and wildlife to coexist in IndiaKrithi Karanth has witnessed threats, poachers, and forest fires as she tries to learn how people and wildlife can live in harmony in a crowded India.
Hector Manley: paddling for a purposeA young double amputee paddles down the 2,500 miles of the Mississippi River to bring wheelchairs to his native El Salvador.
One woman's battle to help Kenyan girls who trade sex for foodBrittanie Richardson is one of a growing number of activists running grass-roots campaigns to stop children in the slums from entering the sex trade.
Two US veterans walked thousands of miles to heal 鈥� and raise moneyTwo Iraq veterans trekked across America to leave behind the trauma of war and raise funds to help fellow vets. Now they want to offer the same healing experience to others.
Innovations in storage boost renewable energyBecause utilities can't control when the sun shines or the wind blows, it has been hard to incorporate solar and wind power into the electricity grid. But new storage technologies could soon change that.
Difference MakerChelsea and Rob McFarland lure people into a sweet science: urban beekeepingHoneybee populations are under attack but the founders of nonprofit HoneyLove believe bees' best future is in cities.
How to best help refugees: Hand 'em cashHanding out goods such as tents and blankets may not be the most effective way to help those displaced by war or disasters. Refugees may know their own needs best.
Corinne Hindes helps those in need enjoy Warm WintersAs a teen she founded Warm Winters, which has worked with ski resorts, Girl Scouts, and high school ski teams to donate more than 5,000 items of warm clothing to 2,500 homeless people.
Public art in Detroit builds safer, stronger neighborhoodsDetroit artists Gina Reichert and Mitch Cope bought vacant homes and converted them into a multi-faceted artistic community, including a performing arts center and recording studio.
Goats take on a notorious invasive speciesHungry goat herds could replace toxic herbicides, controlled burns, and even bulldozers to eliminate invasive phragmites that choke off native vegetation.
Animals from around the world find a sanctuary in central MaineBob Miner's DEW Animal Kingdom & Sanctuary cares for more than 200 animals, many of which once were in zoos or kept as exotic pets.
Nonprofit pays off education debts for US veteransLeave No Veteran Behind helps pay for veterans' student debts not covered by other military programs, like the G.I. Bill.
Difference MakerLeila Janah helps people in the developing world find work 鈥� near homeSamasource breaks down complicated data-processing projects into small steps that can be done remotely on PCs in countries like Ghana, Uganda, and Haiti.
Why gangs are making sandwiches in New ZealandThe Tribal Huks gang have been聽making approximately 500 sandwiches daily and dropping them off at New Zealand schools. American gangs have responded similarly in the past.聽
Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi: an engineer of freedomKailash Satyarthi has taken effective steps toward ending the worldwide exploitation of children, says the head of one of his efforts, Goodweave International.
Farmers in Burkina Faso outsmart climate changeFarmers in one of the world's least-developed countries are restoring degraded land using innovative techniques to conserve water and soil.
Difference MakerTerumasa Akio saw poverty firsthand. Now his charity helps 400,000 children.A visit to a poor Thai village alarmed Mr. Akio. Now his Japan-based charity EDF-International helps thousands of children across Southeast Asia.
Difference MakerLibby Weir turned her 'passion' for Africa into a life of serviceOver the past decade Libby Weir has adopted a struggling family in South Africa and built them a new home, established vegetable gardens, created a school library, run school vacation activities, and sponsored educational programs for adults.