Every day the Good Good Good team collects the best good news in the world and shares it with our community. Here are the highlights for this week!
If you want to get good news in your inbox every day, join the Goodnewsletter — the free daily newsletter designed to leave you feeling hopeful.
The Best Positive News We’re Celebrating This Week —
A Latino-owned grocery chain in Charlotte offers free delivery to people afraid of leaving home due to ICE raids
Compare Foods has nine stores in the Charlotte, North Carolina area — growth that blossomed due to changing demographics in the area, with 45% growth in the state’s Latino population between 2010 and 2022.
It prides itself on offering international and Latin American products, often acting as the premier option for immigrant families in the U.S. South.
That consideration led to its latest initiative to support its customers: Providing free grocery delivery across Charlotte amid a new string of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the area. The agency has made 250 arrests, and thousands of students have been reported absent from school.
Why is this good news? People deserve to have enough food to eat, and to go to the store without fear that they’ll be taken from their families. With that safety threatened in Charlotte, Compare Foods is stepping up to help people meet their basic needs.
You may also like: This church in Charlotte is training parishioners to protect immigrants during ICE crackdown: 'Loving your neighbors is holy'
No, everything isn’t on fire. Here are 4 practical ways to calm your climate anxiety
→ Read more
A guerrilla gardener installed a temporary wetland in the LA River
Less a river and more a concrete expanse collecting tires and trash thrown from car windows, the Los Angeles River isn’t exactly a thriving ecosystem.
Until Doug Rosenberg stepped in. After seeing plants blooming around an overturned shopping cart, with “a great blue heron perched on the cart, hunting in this little spot,” he dreamt up his next project: a pop-up wetland in the middle of the LA River.
He pushed large rocks to trap sediment and water to support plants and animals. And over the course of 10 weeks, it created a 10-by-20-foot green island in the middle of the 100-foot-wide channel. It illustrates just how much good can be done in a low-tech, small-scale way.
17,000 acres of ancestral land were returned to a California tribe, the largest in the region’s history
California just returned 17,000 acres of ancestral land to the Tule River Indian Tribe in what Governor Gavin Newsom called “the largest ancestral land return in the history of the region and a major step in addressing historical wrongs against California Native American tribes.”
Now, a number of conservation projects will begin, including the reintroduction of Tule elk, which has already begun.
Newsom said that “the historical wrongs committed by the state against the Native people of this land echo through the natural worlds of California ecosystems that lost their first and best stewards.”
Why is this good news? Beyond the lands being wrongfully taken from the Native tribe, returning them to stewards who care about their protection, restoration, and long-term conservation is critical.
Scientists discover funky-nosed ‘Pinocchio chameleon’ is actually three species — and there’s a fun way to tell them apart
Charlotte volunteers deliver hundreds of free grocery boxes to immigrant families fearing ICE raids
In response to ICE raids, the Charlotte, North Carolina community has been rallying to take care of its immigrant neighbors.
OurBridge For Kids, a local nonprofit that provides afterschool programming and support for refugee and immigrant families, paused its daily operations after federal agents were seen on-site.
With students and families encouraged to stay safe at home, it shifted to help in other ways, hosting a food drive and a volunteer-run grocery delivery service. Within days, it raised thousands of dollars and delivered 263 food boxes — and was moving to a bigger space to serve even more people.
Hundreds of anti-ICE protesters brought their local Home Depot to a halt by buying and returning 17-cent ice scrapers
This weekend, Californians across Monrovia and Burbank formed long lines outside of their local Home Depots to participate in a unique protest: buying and immediately returning 17-cent ice scrapers, disrupting sales and leading to a chaos of mass returns at registers.
Organized by the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, the protest was in response to increased ICE presence at Home Depot stores, calling on the retailer’s management to keep federal officers off their property.
Why is this good news? As customers, it can feel near impossible to move the needle in getting massive corporations to change, but peaceful, creative, nonviolent protests like these speak volumes in getting people in power to listen and act.
To restore trust in government, this Belgian town created a lottery that elects 30 random citizens to power
A private chef uses restaurant food scraps to make gourmet meals for local food banks
Once a week, Maddy Goldberg posts up in the kitchen of the York Fort Food Bank in Toronto, Canada, where she makes gourmet meals with whatever she can find.
She started by using up whatever free and accessible ingredients were already available at the food pantry — then her friends in the culinary community began offering ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.
Thanks to those contributions, she’s made homemade hummus, curry cauliflower, a potato frittata with confit garlic, spinach fried rice, and other gourmet meals that people often don’t see in the distribution line at the food bank.
‘Dollar Tree Dinners’ creator invents and donates ‘Thanksgiving in a Box’ kits for families in need
Rebecca Chobat is the face of Dollar Tree Dinners, a social media channel dedicated to helping people make nutritious and tasty meals using ingredients from stores like Dollar Tree and Dollar General.
Building on her “meal in a bag” inventions for people affected by SNAP cuts, Chobat created “Thanksgiving in a Box” kits, which include printed recipe cards and all the ingredients for traditional Thanksgiving dishes like green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, and more.
Chobat herself donated 12 full dinner boxes, eight casserole kits, and eight single-serve holiday meals to people in her community — and her comments were filled with others “copying” her idea.
Why is this good news? Families across the United States are stretched financially, making Thanksgiving a heavier lift this year. Research shows that the average Thanksgiving meal is approximately 10% more expensive this year, and many Americans plan to cut back on festivities.
No, you can’t donate Thanksgiving leftovers — but there are other ways to keep that turkey and corn from ending up at the bottom of a trash can
→ Read more
Giant holiday ‘giving machines’ are in over 100 cities around the world — they’ve already raised $50 million
Even in times of uncertainty, the holidays are a season of giving. And Light the World Giving Machines, giant vending machine-style kiosks found in 126 cities across 21 countries and on six continents, are making giving back easy.
Users can pick a specific dollar amount or item to contribute to a specific charity, like spending $35 to give a solar lamp to a refugee family.
Since the project’s inception, nearly $50 million has been donated by people across the globe. In 2024 alone, 2 million meals were donated to feed people in need, 125,000 refugees received emergency food boxes, and much more.
Why is this good news? While most of us make our holiday wish lists this year, there are people around the world who need their basic needs met. These giving kiosks make donating easy and engaging, helping people make giving back part of their holiday, too.
This crafty Black-owned business is making the holidays more inclusive
More good news of the week —
County leaders in Charlotte passed a resolution affirming protections and support for its immigrant community. While more of a symbolic measure since local officials are limited in intervening in federal operations, the resolution calls for transparency regarding any operation in Mecklenburg County, which has been lacking since the ICE operation was announced.
Denver announced plans to transform its downtown area into the country’s largest “play” zone. The first major downtown plan since 2007, its goals are to improve public safety, affordability, downtown governance structures, fill local businesses and office spaces, and connections between downtown and the rest of the city.
Researchers announced groundbreaking results from a breast cancer vaccine trial that began over two decades ago. A small group of women with advanced breast cancer participated in a trial where they received a vaccine, and all are alive today, with robust, long-lasting immune cells that recognize their cancer.
Colombia announced a ban on all new oil and mining projects in its Amazon biome. It also called on other Amazonian nations to adopt similar protections, highlighting that Colombia controls just 7% of the Amazon biome.
Plastic wet wipes will be banned in England starting in Spring 2027. Flushed wet wipes cause severe environmental damage by creating fatbergs, which block sewer systems and clog up rivers and seas. The government passed a measure to ban them four years ago, and just set a date when it will come into force.
South Korea announced it would close 40 of its remaining coal plants by 2040. Part of a larger plan to phase out coal, South Korea also pledged not to build any new coal plants, and said it would consult the public on future plans for the remaining 21 coal plants.
Child care workers are building a network of resistance against ICE. Child care workers, a substantial portion of whom are immigrants, are setting up detailed protection plans with the families in their care in case parents or the workers themselves are detained, leaving the children behind.
Apple’s new MagSafe iPhone grip was “designed with accessibility in mind from the ground up.” Apple partnered with artist and designer Bailey Hikawa on the limited edition grip, which was designed with “direct input from individuals with disabilities affecting muscle strength, dexterity, and hand control.”
Portland’s mayor set an “unrealistic goal” for shelter beds — he’s now on track to hit it. (May require login) One of Mayor Keith Wilson’s primary campaign promises was to set up 1,500 new shelter beds by December 1, and with 890 already in place, and hundreds more are coming in the next eight days, and the effort could help end unsheltered homelessness.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez donated 1,600 Thanksgiving turkeys to hungry families in the Bronx. Ocasio-Cortez hosts a turkey distribution annually, feeding families and workers in need around the holiday. Last year, her team gave away over 1,000 turkeys, which was double that of the year before.
A groundbreaking study found a way to "reboot" the eye and restore impaired vision. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that temporarily anesthetising the retina could reverse the vision system to an early state, curing a condition known as amblyopia or “lazy eye.”
Roblox is blocking children from chatting with adult strangers as part of an expansion of its safety measures. Mandatory age checks will be introduced for accounts using chat features, starting in December for Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, then the rest of the globe from January.
U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez donated 1,600 Thanksgiving turkeys to hungry families in the Bronx. Ocasio-Cortez hosts a turkey distribution annually, feeding families and workers in need around the holiday. Last year, her team gave away over 1,000 turkeys, which was double that of the year before.
An award-winning chef is celebrating Native American cuisine in his new cookbook. James Beard-winning chef Sean Sherman’s cookbook “Turtle Island” pushes readers to view food systems through an Indigenous lens.
After SNAP benefits were cut off, livestreamers came together to ensure homeless families were fed this Thanksgiving. From November 1 through November 27, the Grateful Streams campaign aimed to raise $15,000 to support Union Station Homeless Services as they serve individuals experiencing homelessness this holiday season.
For the ninth year in a row, a Nashville cafe served 1,000 free Thanksgiving meals. Kathy Leslie, owner of Shugga Hi Bakery & Cafe, told the local news, “So listen, this is the truth: people are hurting. … So we just need to do the best that we can to be kind, loving, and generous to somebody.”
A first-of-its-kind “turkey tracker” outlines the environmental impact of your Thanksgiving feast, with tips to reduce emissions. In the U.S., 46 million turkeys are consumed on Thanksgiving alone, with the average turkey weighing over 30 pounds and shipped over 1,500 miles.
Animal sanctuaries are letting people adopt a turkey for Thanksgiving instead of eating them. This alternative version of Thanksgiving lets families “adopt” turkeys and donate money to their lifelong care and receive photos, certificates, and sometimes even one-on-one visits with the birds in return.
Two chefs left prestigious culinary jobs to cook at nursing homes and “make this industry better.” Wanting to “break the stereotype that aged care food is just a lump of food on a plate,” the chefs meet a variety of dietary needs and provide a continental breakfast, a hearty lunch, a generous dinner selection, and desserts.
To restore trust in government, a Belgian town opened a lottery that elects 30 random citizens to power. And it’s working, with the assembly helping introduce positive changes related to housing, education, and mental health — it even inspired a similar system in Paris.
At the world’s first “disabled dog park,” wheelchair-using pups get their “driver’s license.” The 7-acre park includes a race track and skate rink for dogs in wheelchairs — where dogs can also pass their “learner driver’s test” after being outfitted with their wheelchairs — a cafe, and fixtures like stables and small houses for shy friends to hide out.
A new tropical forest fund will pay countries, locals, and Native tribes to protect their trees. The fund was seeded with $5.5 billion at COP30 by Brazil, the conference host country, Norway, and the Netherlands, with guarantees for investors that will send its profits to countries with documented forest preservation.
Scientists discovered 13 new species of “stubble mushrooms” that are key to conservation efforts. They said every fungus signals “undiscovered biodiversity” and acts as an indication of a healthy environment, especially as they stumbled upon them growing on dead trees.
An “exceptionally rare” pink grasshopper, believed to be caused by a genetic mutation, was spotted in New Zealand. There are thought to be just 250-1,000 of the nationally endangered adult robust grasshoppers left, the department said, with the species at risk from habitat loss, climate warming, and predators.
London’s murder rate dropped to the lowest levels since monthly tracking began 22 years ago. Homicides in the first nine months of 2025 were down 58% compared to the same time period in 2023, when tracking first began.
