All People Making a Difference
Obamas gave 22 percent of their 2011 income to charityThe biggest Obama charitable gift went to the Fisher House Foundation, a group that provides free or low-cost housing to military personnel or their families while they receive medical treatment.
Difference MakerMa Jun helps Chinese find out who's polluting and shame corporations into cleaning up2012 Goldman Environmental Prize winner Ma Jun enlists ordinary Chinese to help clean up China's pollution.
Shakira advocates for children at the Summit of the AmericasShakira will meet with heads of state, including President Obama, at the Summit of the Americas in Colombia. Shakira is already working to provide better education to children.
'Harry Potter' and 'The Hunger Games' fans urged to do goodMovies can inspire social action, says Andrew Slack, head of the Harry Potter Alliance. He challenges fans to 'fight injustices in our world the way [Harry Potter] fought injustices in his world.'
Three ways Africans are making cheap do-it-yourself electricityIn countries like Kenya and Tanzania, most people lack access to electricity. Wind turbines made from local scrap and a 'Netflix' model for distributing batteries may be solutions.
Young entrepreneurs do good - and make a profitYoung entrepreneurs find new ways to drive social change through founding businesses.
GoodGuide and others use technology to help turn consumers greenA host of companies and nonprofits are using technology 鈥� from smartphones to social networking 鈥� to make it easier for consumers to choose environmentally friendly products.
Difference MakerSeventh grader steers bus to safety in WashingtonWhen his school bus driver collapsed, 13-year-old Jeremy Wuitschick grabbed the steering wheel and pulled the keys from the ignition.- Difference MakerJon Wilson helps victims talk with perpetrators - and find closureWhen victims go behind bars to talk with those who did them harm, they receive something the legal system doesn't provide: a chance to find real closure, maybe even forgiveness.
Nonviolent Peaceforce helps protect women, children in South SudanBrewing conflict with Sudan in the north, and Joseph Kony's LRA in the south, are just two of South Sudan's challenges. Nonviolent Peaceforce is working to protect the population, especially women and children, from these and other threats.
Unconventional Charity: Water aims to raise $2 billion for clean waterScott Harrison, the founder of Charity: Water, takes an unconventional approach to bringing clean water to millions of people. Among his ideas: Put 100 percent of donations directly into projects 鈥� and look to entrepreneurs, not other charities, for great ideas.
A growing answer to rising seas: floating homesHomes, hospitals, even prisons and golf courses may be built over the water as architects cope with rising sea levels that will affect coastal cities around the world.
Liz Squibb knows how to help foster children - she was one herselfWorking at the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative she helps foster children make the transition to adulthood.
Cooperative businesses provide a new-old model for job growthCo-ops worldwide represent much more than hippie grocery stores: They're a fast-growing way to do business better in fields from finance to agriculture to industry.
Difference MakerOsama Abu Ayyash tells his story to Israelis who've never met a PalestinianOsama Abu Ayyash visits Israeli classrooms, telling his story of loss and forbearance to humanize Palestinians to Israelis who may have never met one.
Barefoot College and Microformers shine as innovative power solutionsInstitutions like India's Barefoot College, which teaches women how to run and repair solar installations, and projects like Microformers, which converts old microwave ovens into transformers, show ways to generate cheap electricity in poor regions.
Why Boulder, Colo., took charge of its electric companyRunning its own electric utility will allow Boulder to use more sun and wind energy instead of coal 鈥� at the same or lower cost.
Five ways to make aquaculture more sustainableCombining rice paddles and fish ponds, and using locally caught fish as feed, are just two of the ways that fish farming, or aquaculture, can be made more environmentally friendly.
New York Mayor Bloomberg donates $220 million to anti-smoking efforts worldwideThe charitable foundation of Michael Bloomberg, the New York mayor and anti-smoking activist, is giving $220 million to aid anti-tobacco efforts in low- and middle-income countries, where nearly 80 percent of the world鈥檚 smokers live.
Betty Oderwald helps save a memory in stone of a 200-year-old forgotten US warBetty Oderwald has led an effort to restore the Powder House, one of Connecticut's few buildings connected to the War of 1812, now celebrating its bicentennial.