All People Making a Difference
- Difference MakerSue DiCicco helps children make and share peace cranes
The Peace Crane Project is an invitation to kids everywhere to write a poem or message – or draw or paint a picture – of peace. Then they fold it into an origami crane and fly it to the world.
- Mariam Raqib brings the gift of trees to Afghanistan
She launched Afghanistan Samsortya, a nonprofit designed to reverse decades of deforestation by planting fruit trees and teaching forestry skills.
- In post-tsunami Japan, rebuilding a town begins with a child-care center
The center has become a place where mothers and children, many of whom still live in temporary homes, can reconnect, share their experiences, and support one another.
- Former corporate shark now feeds the hungry
David Gerson left his lucrative law practice to head Loaves and Fishes of Contra Costa, a nonprofit effort that provides free meals and other service to those in need.
- Sarah Gardner raises money to aid children through Yoga Reaches Out
Her Yoga Reaches Out charity has held Yogathons on both coasts and collected more than $1 million to help children and their families.
- Rhino horn is the same stuff as human nails. Still want some?
Conservation groups are mounting public service campaigns to persuade Vietnamese that buying rhino horn is decidedly uncool.
- Francis Slakey moves from scaling heights to greening cities
The physicist heads a new $5 million Georgetown Energy Prize that encourages midsize cities to develop innovative ways to slash energy use.
- U.S. Tech Vets links military veterans with civilian jobs
The effort, through its online portal at www.ustechvets.org, matches national and regional companies with veterans who have technical skills.
- Adam Braun hands out pencils – and hope
His nonprofit Pencils of Promise has built more than 170 schools in Ghana, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Laos.
- Difference MakerAfter the Boston Marathon bombings, Danny Bent took on a cross-country challenge
The athlete-adventurer co-founded a relay run called One Run for Boston that started in Los Angeles and ended at the marathon finish line to raise funds for victims.
- Heather Fleming wants to solve poverty through better design
Frustrated by the inequality she experienced as a Navajo, Fleming founded Catapult Design to create new products and services for impoverished communities.
- New source of jobs for India's rural women (hint: it's in your shampoo)
Growing seaweed rich in valuable chemicals — predicted to be worth $7 billion by 2018 — is emerging as a source of employment for rural women in India.
- Jeff Kirschner uses social media to fight littering
Participants on Instagram photograph, geotag, label, and then dispose of litter. By identifying litter, he hopes to drive companies to reevaluate the kind of packaging they use.
- Could you live below the line?
The Live Below the Line project April 28-May 2 aims to help people understand extreme poverty more personally by spending only $1.50 a day on food.
- Difference MakerLinda Rottenberg helps people pursue dreams – and create thousands of jobs
She's chief executive of Endeavor Global, a nonprofit group that gives a leg up to budding entrepreneurs.
- Providing a safe haven for street kids in Congo
A shelter in Kinshasa, Congo, provides aid, and sometimes a home, to children abandoned to the streets.
- Sun King wants to brighten life for rural poor
Designing and distributing technically sophisticated yet durable solar lights has been a nifty accomplishment for Greenlight Planet, whose aim is to replace dangerous kerosene lamps.
- Skoll World Forum – watch live
The annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship April 9 to 11 brings together top thinkers from Malala Yousafzai to Richard Branson. Watch sessions live here.
- Agnes Vertes tells her story as a Holocaust survivor
Agnes Vertes, who survived the Nazi Holocaust in Europe as a child, is one of many Americans sharing their stories now, while they still can.
- Difference MakerBob Hansman's inner-city art program became so much more
City Faces, started as an arts activity for St. Louis kids, now includes help with homework, library skills, basic cooking, and other classes.