People Doing Good

Helping the world is the most productive when it’s part of healthy habit-building. When you treat volunteering like you treat brushing your teeth for a full two minutes or eating your vegetables, you set yourself up for success. 

Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore knew that technology was playing a role in the problem but wasn’t yet part of the solution. They pioneered a technology-led approach, called Thorn, to end online child sexual abuse by identifying victims.

Corey Fleischer was working at a graffiti removal company when he happened to notice a swastika spray-painted on a cinder block. Initially, he drove away, but he later returned and removed it in a matter of seconds. Now he locates and removes hateful graffiti free of charge.

Craftivism is for everyone who wants to make a difference: skilled artists, weary activists, introverts, people with anxiety, all who desire a better world but perhaps don’t know where to start or where and how to best prioritize their energy and time.

The group is not uncommon in its mission to inspire people with opposing views to sit down together. But they did it in a unique way: First, they found two people who disagreed on hot-button topics such as refugees, abortion, feminism, and homelessness. Then...

Over the last six years, Crisis Text Line has collected and analyzed the anonymized data which allows them to identify how to best help people in crisis. Here's what they've found...

In 1989, Phil McCrory, a hair stylist in Huntsville, Alabama, was watching CNN coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska while washing a client’s hair in his salon. He wondered... what if human hair could be used to clean up oil spills?

One weekend in 2017, Amy Wolff and her family anonymously staked uplifting "Don't Give Up" signs in yards in their small town. They had just learned of suicide rates in their town and wanted to find a way to encourage community members. Quickly, the signs started making a buzz.

Transgender people are at higher risk of experiencing violence, homelessness, and abuse, attributable to transmisogyny and transphobia in their communities. These risks increase exponentially at the intersection of race and gender.

Her mother, grandma, and sister-in-law all fight fires, and she expects her baby daughter will become a firefighter, too.

Alana Smith’s teenage years were not the stuff of Olympic dreams, growing up with a backdrop of family issues and struggles with mental health. Yet the 20-year-old skateboarder overcame it all to become one of the most talked-about stars of the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The shock of the chaos in Kabul has Afghans in New York mobilizing to help their families back home and any compatriots who may soon find themselves in the city. A 24-year-old volunteer has been busy furiously fielding messages asking: “How can we help?”