Academics have spent decades studying in great detail whether responsible companies are also more profitable companies, and three decades of evidence suggest that ‘betterness’ yields greater equity returns, asset returns, and profitability.
Researchers found that responsibility was significantly positively correlated with financial performance: “corporate virtue,” in their words, “is likely to pay off.”
In 1997, soon after Steve Jobs returned to the company, Apple officials contacted Stanford University and offered to donate a storehouse of materials Apple had been collecting to the school’s Silicon Valley Archives.
Two moving trucks full of documents, software, videotapes and marketing materials will help historians, entrepreneurs and policymakers understand how a tiny startup launched in a Silicon Valley garage became a global technology giant.
The Colombian city of Medellin has opened a giant outdoor escalator for residents of one of its poorest shanty towns. The escalator is divided into six sections that transform a 35 minute climb into a 6 minute ride.
Previously the residents had to walk the equivalent of a 30-story building to get to and from the city center.
Regular readers of the Good News Network know about these four major areas where global progress is heartening: War is on the decline, poverty is shrinking, women around the world find their lot improving and democracy is spreading.
Some might argue that the glass half-full perspective stretches credibility: “Only pessimists are regarded as intellectually serious,” lamented New York Times columnist David Brooks a few years ago. But in this cover story, the Christian Science Monitor follows the indicators where they lead — without opinion or predilection entering into the equation.
Regular readers of the Good News Network know about these four major areas where global progress is heartening: War is on the decline, poverty is shrinking, women around the world find their lot improving and democracy is spreading.
Some might argue that the glass half-full perspective stretches credibility: “Only pessimists are regarded as intellectually serious,” lamented New York Times columnist David Brooks a few years ago. But in this cover story, the Christian Science Monitor follows the indicators where they lead — without opinion or predilection entering into the equation.
Annette Dove had no idea that an NBC Nightly News segment would cause an avalanche of donations for her Pine Bluff program that feeds and tutors hundreds of Arkansas children after school.
It was Chelsea Clinton’s debut as a “Making A Difference” reporter, when she returned to her home state and found this inspiring story.
In an update 2 weeks later, Clinton reported that NBC viewers sent $200,000 in donations to the TOPPS program as a result of the broadcast.
Ms. Dove was able to provide holiday gifts and meals for 167 families beyond her normal clients, ensuring a happy Christmas for many more in the rural Arkansas town.
(WATCH the update below, from NBC)
Annette Dove had no idea that an NBC Nightly News segment would cause an avalanche of donations for her Pine Bluff program that feeds and tutors hundreds of Arkansas children after school.
It was Chelsea Clinton’s debut as a “Making A Difference” reporter, when she returned to her home state and found this inspiring story.
In an update 2 weeks later, Clinton reported that NBC viewers sent $200,000 in donations to the TOPPS program as a result of the broadcast.
Ms. Dove was able to provide holiday gifts and meals for 167 families beyond her normal clients, ensuring a happy Christmas for many more in the rural Arkansas town.
Americans are hopeful for what 2012 will bring for their families and the country, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.
Overall, 62 percent of those surveyed say they’re optimistic about what 2012 will bring for the country. And for themselves and their families, Americans are even more positive, with 78 percent telling pollsters they are personally hopeful about the year ahead.
On Christmas morning, conservationists in Malaysia airlifted a young Sumatran Rhinoceros — one of the world’s most endangered animals — from an area where she had no hope of ever seeing another rhinoceros.
After monitoring her isolation for years, the Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Rhino Alliance flew the female rhino, named Puntung, to a forested reserve where she would encounter a potential partner.
“This is a fantastic gift for our uphill battle in ensuring the survival of this truly unique species and wonderful timing with Christmas, a time to give thanks for our blessings,” said Laurentius Ambu the Director of the SWD.
On Christmas morning, conservationists in Malaysia airlifted a young Sumatran Rhinoceros — one of the world’s most endangered animals — from an area where she had no hope of ever seeing another rhinoceros.
After monitoring her isolation for years, the Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Rhino Alliance flew the female rhino, named Puntung, to a forested reserve where she would encounter a potential partner.
“This is a fantastic gift for our uphill battle in ensuring the survival of this truly unique species and wonderful timing with Christmas, a time to give thanks for our blessings,” said Laurentius Ambu the Director of the SWD.
When Santa showed up at an elementary school, he was able to give every child the gift they’d asked for, except for one. She only wanted her daddy back from his job in Iraq.
When the fake Santa took off his beard, there “wasn’t a box big enough” to hold the joy his daughter felt while hugging her newly-returned father.
She had only seen him for two weeks in the last two years.
DoSomething.org, an organizations that helps teens take action on causes they care about, released its fourth annual ‘Top 20 Celebs Gone Good’ list.
Lady Gaga continues her reign as the star who uses her celebrity to do the most good. Known for her support of gay rights, AIDS, and poverty, she focused primarily this year on bullying, even advocating for anti-bullying campaigns at the White House in December. She also announced the creation of her own charity, the Born this Way Foundation, which aims to empower youth and lead them to a brave new society where each individual is accepted and loved as the person they were born to be.
Rising to number two this year is Justin Bieber due to his prolific work with Pencils of Promise, an organization that builds schools in Laos and Guatemala. Justin is also a consistent supporter of Make-A-Wish, raised funds for charity with his fragrance and holiday album, and recently distributed $100,000 to Whitney Elementary School in Las Vegas.
When it comes to personal finance, there was a number of positive advancements for US consumers this year that should help people make better choices and avoid becoming a victims of fine print legalese.
One of the good things was the opening of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will promote financial education and write federal rules to combat unfair, deceptive, and abusive financial practices and products.
A family buried alive in snow while trapped in their SUV was rescued last week from a rural New Mexico snowdrift after two days.
Rescuers had to dig through 4 feet of ice and snow along the roadside to free the parents and their 5-year-old daughter, whose Yukon got stuck on U.S. 56 while in route to a ski holiday.
Even though the family had packed lots of water, food and sleeping bags, their core body temperatures had still dropped to 90 degrees, which marks the beginning of hypothermia.
An Irish man received a touching Christmas gift when a 100-year-old letter from his mother to Santa was printed in a newspaper. The scorched letter, dated Christmas Eve 1911, had been sitting on an upper shelf inside the chimney for more than 80 years until the home’s new owner discovered it while installing a heating system.
Victor Bartlem’s mother, Hannah Howard, had written her Christmas wish list — asking for gloves, toffee, and a doll, when she was 10 years old.
Toyota Motor Corp on Monday launched the world’s most fuel-efficient hybrid car, as the company looks to fight off competition from pure electric vehicles.
The compact car, dubbed ‘Aqua’ in Japan and the ‘Prius C’ overseas, has a listed fuel efficiency of 35.4 km/litre (83.3 mpg), beating the current top Prius, which gets 32 km/litre.
The Japanese car maker said it had received orders for 60,000 Aqua hybrid cars ahead of its launch.
Here it is, the annual Top 10 best good news stories of the year. From this list, you get the sense that 2011 has been an amazing year! Here’s hoping we have an even better one in 2012.
From the heartwarming embers of the #10 story to the world-changing heroics of #1, share this with your friends and provide an uplifting holiday-end boost.)
10) Bystanders Lift Burning Car to Save Trapped Biker – Caught on Video
A 21-year old motorcyclist who collided with a BMW on the campus of Utah State University was lying unconscious beneath the burning wreckage when bystanders rushed to help. Workers at a nearby construction site tried to lift the car along with students, while a professor shot the scene on his camera phone from an upper floor window.
Debra Meyerson was hiking 15 months ago when a stroke destroyed part of the left side of her brain, leaving her literally speechless. It happens to more than 150,000 Americans a year.
But now she is learning to talk again through an approach that trains the undamaged right side of the brain where even those who can’t speak can access the ability to sing with the help of singing speech therapy.
“Singing therapy” has for many decades helped stroke survivors to eventually speak again.
(READ the story or Listen to it at NPR)
A retired Navy mechanic has been refurbishing bicycles for needy children in Fayettesville, NC. for nearly 20 years.
His workshop has been especially busy preparing 1,100 bikes for kids who lined up to choose new wheels for Christmas.
They have Moses to thank, a man known locally simply as The Bicycle Man.
(WATCH the video below from NBC’s Making a Difference)
Christmas came early for a Boston music student who was reunited with the US$170,000 violin she forgot in the overhead compartment of a regional commuter bus she rode last week, while overcome with travel fatigue.
The 176-year-old instrument, on loan to Hsieh from a Taiwanese cultural foundation.
(READ the story in the National Post)
