Giving Tuesday might be seen as the selfless antidote to Cyber Monday.

Nearly $180 million in charitable donations were made online during Giving Tuesday last year, with an average donation of $107.

If you’re trying to decide where to give, consider GiveWell, a nonprofit that assesses charities based on how much good is done (lives saved or improved) per dollar spent. Among the 2017 top GiveWell charities are the Against Malaria Foundation, which distributes $4 mosquito nets, and Evidence Action’s No Lean Season, which gives no-interest loans to poor rural families during food shortages (often between harvests).

Of course, generosity is often spontaneous – and doesn’t necessarily follow a calendar. Take Johnny Bobbitt Jr., a homeless Marine Corps vet who used his last $20 to buy gas for a stranded motorist on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. Out of gratitude, Kate McClure started a GoFundMe page for Mr. Bobbitt. In just over two weeks, more than $385,000 has been donated by 13,700 people. Ms. McClure is working with a lawyer to buy Bobbitt a house, his dream car (a 1999 Ford Ranger), and set up two trust funds.

What prompted Bobbitt to help McClure?  “I can't constantly take and not give back," he told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Here are our five stories selected for today’s edition, illustrating various paths to progress, as well as compassion and resilience at work.