All People Making a Difference
- Difference MakerAn imaginative space that helps kids believe in stories – and themselves
The nonprofit Grimm & Co. boosts literacy skills at its store and in schools, serving close to 3,000 children a year in Rotherham, England.
- Village store revival? German towns opt for community over big-box retailers
Peter Böhmer reopened the village store in his German home of Farchant a few years ago, and it has been going gangbusters ever since.
- Difference MakerHow a Chicago photographer uses art to bridge racial divides
Sometimes art allows people to see in a fresh way. Tonika Johnson’s project has done that by connecting opposite sides of a long-segregated city.
- He’s a reader on the run – a 56-mile run
To support school libraries, Marukgwane Moremogolo combines his two passions – running and reading – at South Africa’s grueling Comrades Marathon.
- Difference Maker‘Radical hospitality’: Helping those on the streets get a shower
To address part of the homeless challenge, Doniece Sandoval started Lava Mae, a nonprofit that provides mobile showers.
- Difference MakerAt a Georgia day care center, older neighbors find purpose, connection
Little Steps Community Daycare in rural Georgia has transformed the lives of children, parents, and senior volunteers.
- Difference Maker‘You can’t unhurt a young person.’ But you can help them thrive.
At Hopeworks, Dan Rhoton helps at-risk youths find opportunity by coupling coding and computer training with life readiness coaching.
- Difference MakerCan Europe be saved? One couple’s mission to mend, not trash, the EU.
As nationalist and anti-Europe voices have gained strength, the Röders have organized pro-Europe rallies that encourage political participation.
- Difference MakerLegal fights and threats to his life: an environmental activist in self-exile
He left Liberia for his safety and won the Goldman Environmental Prize fighting for land rights – and against governments and big corporations.
- Difference MakerIndia has a big trash problem. TrashBot is trying to help.
In Bangalore, India, a startup called TrashCon made a machine that helps manage waste by sorting mixed trash.
- Four ways families can give back this summer
There are many ways to volunteer with family members. Try something different, maybe abroad or maybe in your own backyard.
- Difference MakerA different lens on people facing homelessness
Mark Horvath's videos help people understand homelessness. He's reached hundreds of thousands of viewers and sparked local volunteering efforts.
- Difference MakerThe Venezuelan who’s feeding thousands of youths in his hungry country
Roberto Patiño is a Harvard-educated Venezuelan who has established more than 100 free dining halls around his country in the past three years.
- Difference MakerFrom combat to cornfields: In farming, veterans find new purpose
Air Force veteran Sara Creech found new purpose on an Indiana farm. Now she’s showing other veterans how to find this path, too.
- Difference MakerWalking in their shoes: a Venezuelan expat’s humanitarian feat
Amid the Venezuela crisis, a grassroots effort to provide humanitarian aid has one woman in the Venezuelan diaspora shipping shoes to meet a need.
- Difference MakerShe brings generations together for networking
Charlotte Japp saw how both younger and older people could benefit from cross-generational networking initiatives. Her organization's parties and cultural events serve the greater purpose of ending age segregation.
- Difference MakerFinding their voices: Music feeds the soul for women facing homelessness
It’s easy to forget that vulnerable populations need more than food and shelter. As musician Kristo Kondakçi demonstrates, music provides respite, confidence, and joy for those in need – food for the soul.
- Difference MakerTo invite progress, change who’s in the room
Cohear, an organization in Ohio, sets up conversations between local officials and ‘everyday experts.’ And those talks can help resolve acrimonious divides, from arguments about new developments to bullying in schools.
- How to volunteer abroad: five points to consider
These days, many people looking to volunteer want to be sure it will truly make a difference. So in this piece, a philanthropy expert shares her insights.
- Difference MakerHer gift to neighbors: green space that’s both refuge and food source
In a Philadelphia neighborhood, Noelle Warford is protecting green space. That's allowing the community to get fresh food, become friendlier, and find leafy, peaceful places to relax.