Reid Hoffman, one of Silicon Valley’s most successful entrepreneurs, has pledged one million dollars in micro-loans on the Kiva website to help tiny businesses around the globe. The cool part is that you can take $25 of that fortune and direct it to the borrower you think most deserves it.
There are still 3,178 free trials available for you to funnel $25.00 of Hoffman’s money to the person of your choice. Just sign up on the Kiva website and grab the $25 credit, then search among the plethora of global citizens seeking loans, from Ethiopian farmers to Pakistani weavers to mothers who run a shop in Peru.
For the first time since the Second World War, a Jew has been elected as mayor of a major German city. The voters of Frankfurt (a city with a 1% Jewish population) this week elected Peter Feldmann its second Jewish mayor — the first since Ludwig Landmann was pushed out of office when Hitler rose to power in 1933.
Since Boston Magazine published an article one month ago naming Lawrence, Massachusetts the “City of the Dammed” and calling it “godforsaken”, outraged residents have been working to prove that there are more positive things in the city than the label “Nation’s Stolen Car Capital” would suggest.
On March 1st, community leaders, parents and teachers, met at Cafe Verde to discuss a strategy for turning around the public relations nightmare. They planned a rally, marching two weeks later under the banner “We are Lawrence”.
The “We are Lawrence” movement is building on what local high school students had already begun. Trying to reverse the town’s negative stereotype, the group of teens began printing a newsletter called “What’s Good In the Hood?”, hand-delivering the positive news stories around town.
Instead of a drumbeat of stories about drug arrests, robberies and murders, Good In the Hood aims to give the city of Lawrence an image makeover. The passionate multicultural teens are empowering their city using funding to print their publication by selling ads to local businesses and organizations.
Despite a tarnished reputation, the city of Lawrence, 25 miles outside of Boston, recently released its 2011 Economic Development Report, which reads as a counterpoint to the haranguing Boston Magazine piece — highlighting many success stories of local businesses. Meanwhile, with five editions distributed, the teenage editors have tried to generate city pride by highlighting volunteer and clean-up efforts and inspiring work done by local artists and students.
Last summer, Good In the Hood won the Storytellers For Good documentary contest which resulted in the filming of their own documentary in December. Watch the inspiring video below…
Since Boston Magazine published an article one month ago naming Lawrence, Massachusetts the “City of the Dammed” and calling it “godforsaken”, outraged residents have been working to prove that there are more positive things in the city than the label “Nation’s Stolen Car Capital” would suggest.
On March 1st, community leaders, parents and teachers, met at Cafe Verde to discuss a strategy for turning around the public relations nightmare. They planned a rally, marching two weeks later under the banner “We are Lawrence”.
The “We are Lawrence” movement is building on what local high school students had already begun. Trying to reverse the town’s negative stereotype, the group of teens began printing a newsletter called “What’s Good In the Hood?”, hand-delivering the positive news stories around town.
A California gray whale found tangled in a fishing net off the Orange County coast swam free after a lengthy rescue over the weekend.
Whale-watching boats spotted the young whale stranded outside of Dana Point Harbor about 5:30 p.m. Friday with about 50 feet of netting and rope wrapped around its tail.
Wake Up London is becoming well-known for organizing meditation flash mobs in Central London every month. The group of young practitioners follow Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Zen master, author, and human rights activist.
In celebration of the Vietnamese teacher’s return to London this week, hundreds will gather for a “Sit in Peace” meditation on the open grounds of Trafalgar Square on Saturday March 31.
Wake Up London is becoming well-known for organizing meditation flash mobs in Central London every month. The group of young practitioners follow Thich Nhat Hanh, the renowned Zen master, author, and human rights activist.
In celebration of the Vietnamese teacher’s return to London this week, hundreds will gather for a “Sit in Peace” meditation on the open grounds of Trafalgar Square on Saturday March 31.
With 2.3 million inmates behind bars in the US, the goal of volunteers in mentor programs for the 2.7 million children of prisoners is: No child left alone.
Since 2003, a federal faith-based initiative called Mentoring Children of Prisoners has paired more than 100,000 children of prisoners with volunteer mentors.
The McDonald’s in Crystal, Minnesota brings back golden memories to Steve Rydberg going clear back to the 1960s when he met his high school sweetheart while flipping burgers there.
Then Steve left for college, and as often happens, the sweethearts drifted apart.
This week he celebrated a reunion with the girl for whom he was so smitten as a teen — a reunion that led to love and marriage in his near-golden years.
Are you sure money can’t buy you happiness? New research suggests that the relationship between money and happiness and is far more complex. Two leading economists claim that the happiness levels of teens clearly determined the likelihood of whether they would go on to earn higher incomes later in life.
The results are striking. Their analysis shows, for example, that a one-point increase in life satisfaction (on a scale of five) at the age of 22 is associated with almost $2,000 of higher earnings per annum by the age of 29.
Today marks the 98th anniversary of the birth of Iowa’s greatest hero, Norman E. Borlaug, the farm boy who received the Nobel Peace Prize for starting the “Green Revolution” and known as “the man who saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived.”
There are several birthday tributes planned for Borlaug, who died in 2009, including a new museum and Youth Institute to promote efforts to alleviate starvation.
Today marks the 98th anniversary of the birth of Iowa’s greatest hero, Norman E. Borlaug, the farm boy who received the Nobel Peace Prize for starting the “Green Revolution” and known as “the man who saved more lives than any other person who has ever lived.”
There are several birthday tributes planned for Borlaug, who died in 2009, including a new museum and Youth Institute to promote efforts to alleviate starvation.
When a 17-year-old St. Petersburg, Fla., girl did a good deed by taking a shelter dog for a walk, she didn’t think the pup would return the favor.
But Mabeline, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix, did – and then some. On a recent Saturday afternoon, the volunteer took the then-homeless dog for a standard walk near Friends of Strays animal shelter.
A registered sexual predator attacked the girl, grabbing her by the hair and pinning her down on the ground.
Mitsubishi electric car owners in Japan will soon be able to use the family car as an emergency generator, using their EV’s batteries to power a home.
The MiEV Power Box is an adapter that plugs into the i-MiEV’s quick charging port. Instead of recharging the car’s drive battery, it does the exact opposite, pulling 1500 watts of electricity to keep the lights on when the power goes out.
For photographer Bob Carey and his wife Linda, a big hairy man in a pink tutu has taken on special meaning in their fight against breast cancer.
When Linda was recovering from surgery, he discovered something he could do to ease the stress. He took photos of himself in odd locations wearing a pink tutu.
“It makes us laugh,” Linda told Yahoo News.
Oddly enough, the cancer has taught the couple that life is good.
“Dealing with it can be hard,” they wrote on their website. “But, sometimes the very best thing—no, the only thing—we can do to face another day is to laugh at ourselves, and share a laugh with others.”
Almost 800 people came together in Islamabad yesterday to release floating lanterns into the night sky in front of Parliament to spread a message of peace for the country and the world.
“It’s Pakistan Day, and what better day to spread the message of peace,” the project’s founder told the International Herald Tribune. “In these trying times we need to do everything within our capability to create a positive image for our country.”
An 85-year-old South Carolina woman who was robbed of $400 in cash that she’d saved for eye surgery was given free medical care after a doctor saw her story on the news.
Dr. Budev of Carolina Cataract Center wasn’t the only one who saw the report and was moved to action. A one-time thief who’d stolen a woman’s purse, sent a $500 check to help atone for his crime.
“There’s so many good things that’s happened out of this that I never dreamed would happen and it makes a big difference,” Ida Sue Collins told Live 5 News.
An expansive survey from the job site CareerBliss.com revealed the top ten happiest professions in America.
Bosses, co-workers, daily tasks and the level of control they feel over their work all contributed to making Biotech careers the No. 1 happiest job. The No. 2 career on the list was customer service, with employees enjoying the ability to talk to people every day.
The fact that education employees rated No. 3, while legal professionals landed at the bottom, showed that “money can’t buy love–even for your job”.
An expansive survey from the job site CareerBliss.com revealed the top ten happiest professions in America.
Bosses, co-workers, daily tasks and the level of control they feel over their work all contributed to making Biotech careers the No. 1 happiest job. The No. 2 career on the list was customer service, with employees enjoying the ability to talk to people every day.
The fact that education employees rated No. 3, while legal professionals landed at the bottom, showed that “money can’t buy love–even for your job”.
A brightly painted old shipping container with solar panels on its roof and high-specification filtration devices inside looks out of place in the dusty Angolan village.
But it will soon be providing nearly 20,000 liters a day of clean, drinkable water to the area’s 500 residents who currently rely on the dirty nearby river.
Reid Hoffman, one of Silicon Valley’s most successful entrepreneurs, has pledged one million dollars in micro-loans on the Kiva website to help tiny businesses around the globe. The cool part is that you can take $25 of that fortune and direct it to the borrower you think most deserves it.
An expansive survey from the job site CareerBliss.com revealed the top ten happiest professions in America.