All Change Agent
Food trucks bring jobs, flavors, and a friendly urban vibeIn Portland, Ore., immigrants and other restaurant workers open food trucks to build businesses. And residents get the best fast food they've ever had.
Art for Water helps people go deep in their thinking about waterArtist Christine Destrempes uses participatory art projects to raise awareness of a precious commodity – water.
A rice revolution?Rice demand is growing and climate change threatens this important food source. But a system of intensified cultivation may boost yields dramatically without the need for more expensive hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides.
Renee Farwell aids children in Ghana because the 'reason we are here [is] to love each other'Mawuvio's (God's Children) Outreach Programme in Ghana provides educational and developmental services to street children who can't afford the fees to attend government schools.
From human waste to fertilizer to fuel: rice yields green charcoal in SenegalGroups like AgriDjalo, a small company focused on growing rice, are looking to start projects in Senegal that use urban biomass (primarily human waste) to fertilize fields.
New land bank in Philadelphia could boost blighted areasPhiladelphia is home to more than 40,000 vacant properties. A new land bank could help get them back on the tax roles and improve neighborhoods.
Ziqitza ambulances make money while serving India's poorBuilt on a vision of providing high-quality ambulance services to the poor, Ziqitza operates more than 800 ambulances and is expanding rapidly, eying markets outside India.
Firewood donations stock the stoves of the needyIn northern New England nonprofit firewood banks rely on the generosity of volunteers to cut, split, and pile up wood that those in need use to warm their homes.
Maureen Forrest gives hope to 25,000 children in KolkataMaureen Forrest began The Hope Foundation to support the street children of Kolkata, India, sustaining more than 60 projects in health, education, and vocational training.
Ted and Joyce Kruse serve Neighbors Near & Far from their Baltimore row houseJoyce and Ted Kruse operate their nonprofit group Neighbors Near & Far from their Baltimore basement, aiding both a local food bank and orphanages in Haiti.
Buddhist charity aids storm-ravished PhilippinesDespite the Philippines' long Christian tradition, the Tzu Chi Foundation, a Taiwanese Buddhist charity, is winning many thank yous in devastated Tacloban.
'Pay for success' social-impact bonds help train ex-convictsSocial-impact bonds offer investors a more direct connection between the dollars they invest and the impact they have on a social problem.
M-Pesa helps world's poorest go to the bank using mobile phonesIn Kenya, 43 percent of the GDP flows through M-Pesa, which gives 'unbanked' poor people access to basic financial services via mobile phones, fundamentally improving their lives.
Biogas fuel for schools eases pressure on Kenya's forestsBiogas plants, in which bacteria convert animal dung into methane gas, produce fuel for cooking and lighting, saving trees from being cut for firewood.
Increase crop diversity to boost nutritionLesser-known plants such as enset and amaranth can play an important role in improving nutrition while providing an alternative to the annual grains that need artificial fertilizers and costly pesticides and herbicides.
Woodblock Chocolate puts farmers firstWorking with small-scale farmers who grow cacao on just a few acres makes sense for Woodblock. Both sides benefit from having a relationship that keeps quality high.
Andrew Coté roams the world to teach the sweet science of beekeepingAndrew Coté founded the nonprofit Beekeepers Without Borders to teach beekeeping as a way to fight poverty.
Teen Zach Bonner builds an impressive track record of helping othersAt the age of seven, Zach Bonner started a nonprofit group to aid poverty-stricken children. At age 13 he walked across the US to raise awareness of homelessness.
After Sister Lucy Kurien witnessed a woman’s murder, she saved thousands of othersAs India marks the first anniversary of the Delhi gang rape that rocked the nation, YES! talks with Sister Lucy Kurien — whose life was changed forever when she saw a young woman set on fire.
Poverty – and giving – are changingThe good news: Millions of people in developing countries have moved out of abject poverty. They'll need a different kind of aid, centering on education. But millions more are trapped at the bottom and need help just to survive.
