All People Making a Difference
Katey Sagal: More than the matriarch of 'Sons of Anarchy'Katey Sagal joined Kurt Sutter and other 'Sons of Anarchy' cast members to raise $70,000 for hurricane Sandy relief organizations. Katey Sagal also released a new album.
How to help with Typhoon Haiyan relief in the PhilippinesMake cash donations to groups that have experience with disaster relief and an existing presence in the Philippines, recommends an expert. And remember that long-term help will be needed too.
Mobile banking without a phone: Here comes the bank vanIn Uganda, Rwanda, and the Philippines mobile banking vans reach out to the rural poor as an alternative to cell phone banking schemes.聽
Nonprofit legal aid helps sort the tangles of superstorm SandyThe New York Legal Assistance Group has worked hand-in-hand with Sandy victims to try to make the arduous road to recovery a little easier.
Difference MakerSister Mary Sean Hodges gives ex-convicts a second chanceAfter visiting prisons to pray with inmates, she began to offer former convicts a place to live and a program to deal with their social, practical, and spiritual needs.
Cash cows: Why bank accounts that work like livestock help the poorIf a savings account worked more like owning a cow, poor people might be more willing to put their money in a bank.
Lessons from a pay-it-forward restaurant: the importance of gratitudeAt the Karma Kitchen, people enjoy a meal that鈥檚 already paid for 鈥� and are invited to continue the chain of generosity. In the process, organizers and participants alike learn the transforming power of gratitude.
Pamela Anderson NYC marathon run raises $76,000 for Haiti charityPamela Anderson took on the NYC marathon, all 26.2 miles, and raised nearly $76,000 for a Haiti charity. Pamela Anderson was just one of many celebrities fundraising at the marathon.
Environmentalists work to save a precious patch of Texas blackland prairieA tiny 10-acre parcel of native blackland prairie is an important piece of Texas history that supports endangered and rare species.
Difference MakerWhen Tom McNichol saw swirling trash he launched his Clean Up BoatTom McNichol is the unofficial garbageman of the Charles River, beautifying Boston's iconic strip of water.
Judy Wicks makes 'food, fun, and social activism' her businessPhiladelphia restauranteur Judy Wicks says a business transaction can be 'one of the most satisfying, meaningful, and loving of human interactions.'
Volunteers give a 'potential paradise' in Puerto Rico a 'mega cleanup'A volunteer effort collects thousands of pounds of garbage 鈥� refrigerators, tires, shopping carts, toys, and countless plastic bottles 鈥� from San Juan, Puerto Rico, estuaries.
Zeer pots: a simple way to reduce food wasteThe nonprofit group Practical Action encourages the use of earthenware storage coolers called zeer pots to help prevent food waste.
Saudi women say they will keep pushing for the right to driveActivists are asking Saudi women to go on driving in public and posting online photographs or films of themselves doing so.
Pakistan's women police fight criminals, militants, and scornShazadi Gillani battles bandits, earthquakes, and militants but must wear a burka outside the police station.
Difference MakerHoward Buffett seeks lasting solutions to the world's food and water crisesThe philanthropist and farmer travels the world looking for how his Howard G. Buffett Foundation can help solve the biggest challenges.
Arthur Morgan founded Gather Baltimore to bring unsold produce to hungry familiesGather Baltimore uses volunteers to collect fruit and vegetables donated by local farmers and food distributors, then transports this healthy food to low-income families.
Online mapping aims to stop harassment of women in EgyptTech startup HarassMap is taking a stand against sexual harassment in Egypt by allowing victims to text, tweet, or email reports of assaults and map them online.
Wayne Kursh and Races2Run give a leg up to charitiesRaces2Run has organized more than 3,000 running and walking events that benefit a wide range of charitable causes.
Dallas mosque feeds the hungry at a 'Day of Dignity'Through its Beacon of Light community center, Masjid al Islam mosque in southeast Dallas serves more than 15,000 free meals per year, mostly to non-Muslims.