People Doing Good

Stories of people making a difference in the world

A college student with long, brown curly hair stands in front of an elephant habitat at Zoo Atlanta

College students invent 'enrichment wall' for zoo elephants that plays music only they can hear

Four elephants at Zoo Atlanta have been eager to play with the new wall, which includes treat puzzles and sounds designed to stimulate their brains.

A baby Indian elephant runs around an enclosure.

British 'Knitting Nannas' sent mini sweaters to penguins, toys to monkeys, and baby blankets to a rhino. Now they're knitting for elephants

The Knitting Nannas have been saving animals around the world one stitch at a time.

National park volunteers stand guard between humans and tigers, preventing wildlife conflict

The Bardiya National Park region experiences frequent human-wildlife conflict incidents, mostly involving elephants and tigers, leading to fatalities and injuries among both communities and wildlife.

A white picket fence with panels painted in rainbow colors

A lesbian couple in Florida was ordered to remove a rainbow fence on their property. So they sued the city

A lawsuit by the ACLU of Florida argues that the city “selectively enforced” its ordinances against an LGBTQ+ couple.

On the left, young, blonde activist Erin Brockovich speaks at an event in the early 2000s. On the right, the movie poster for the 2000 film "Erin Brockovich" in which Julia Roberts is holding an infant.

Erin Brockovich is still fighting for clean drinking water 26 years later: 'The hope is when people know better, they do better'

In 2000, Brockovich’s story was adapted for film, with Julia Roberts leading the cast.

A tortoise is treated at the hands of a veterinary team in the Philippines

Vet constructs custom contraption to save tortoise run over by a car

The right side of the tortoise's carapace, or shell, was completely shattered.

Two photos side by side. On the left is two men in Gaza, standing in rubble. On the right is a newly opened library in Gaza

Built with books found in the rubble, these two men have opened Gaza's first new library

Israel has destroyed 90% of Gaza’s schools, all of its universities, numerous archives, museums, and historical sites, and at least 13 libraries.

A woman looks to her side as she claps, an aerial view of grazing cattles under solar panels, actress Mariska Hargitay poses for the camera, a turtle perched on a log, and two people working in a field

Good News This Week: May 9, 2026 - Whales, Fountains, & Livestreams

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A person holds a frog inside a plastic container

One night a year, volunteer crossing guards save the lives of Maine's wild frogs

The first warm, wet spring night sends frogs and salamanders from the forest, bearing fresh evidence of threats from warming winters, drying pools, and traffic.

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni play Detective Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit"

Mariska Hargitay has helped pass laws to end rape kit backlogs for years. She just reached her 50th state

The “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star says the milestone is a “watershed moment.”

Two photos side-by-side. On the left are two female college students crouching next to a garden, smiling. On the right is a wide shot of a pollinator garden on campus at UCLA

Two college students led a crusade to end herbicide use on their campus. Now they're doing the same at schools nationwide

Re:Wild Your Campus is on a mission to eliminate synthetic pesticides from all college campuses in the U.S. by 2030.

A Black man and a Black woman smile in wedding attire as they stand in a church at the end of the aisle. The groom is wiping tears away from his eyes

Strangers across the wedding industry have donated their services to nearly 300 couples with terminal illnesses

A nonprofit is helping couples who are facing terminal illness say “I do.”