Social_impact
Dostoyevsky on What Makes a Good Person
We know good people when we encounter them, when they fall upon our lives like a sunbeam, like a song. But we don’t always know what makes them...
SOCIAL_IMPACT STORIES
15 Wrestlers, One State | Why Haryana Dominates Wrestling?
15 wrestlers. One state. All from Haryana. So, what makes Haryana India’s wrestling powerhouse? For generations, wrestling has been part of...
The Spark: The ‘Community Lighthouses’ Where Neighbors Help Neighbors
Welcome back to The Spark, our monthly celebration of how people just like you are creating positive change, one meaningful step at a time. The...
A Tiny Village in New York Spread Charity Far and Wide—And Became 2026’s Nicest Place in America
This year’s top honor goes to … Liverpool, New York! Find out how a mission to help strangers thousands of miles away has grown into a community...
Nonprofit Brings Free Music Education to More Than 20,000 Miami Students in 131 Schools
Down in Miami-Dade County, educators are seeing how school doesn’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing. Showing up, taking an interest in...
'Socktober' celebrates 15 years of local kindness
Brad Montague founded Socktober in 2011 thanks to a nudge from a few middle school students. After learning that a concerning number of neighbors...
Homeless Guy Got Famous Playing Amazing Piano in a Church–Now He’s Raised $50K for Charity
A homeless man who was recorded playing piano in a church on a cold January night says his whole life has turned around, in the two years since...
Clara knows what it’s like to grow up inside a hospital. Now, she’s helping other kids find comfort.
After years of treatment for scoliosis at Shriners Children’s™, Clara is using her experience to help make the hospital a little more comforting...
The Nicest Moments of 2026—So Far! (Warning: You Might Get a Little Emotional)
If kindness had a highlight reel, this would be it. The post The Nicest Moments of 2026—So Far! (Warning: You Might Get a Little Emotional)...
Prisoners Prove Unlikely Heroes to Monarch Butterflies Thanks to Wisconsin Correctional Program
Wisconsin prison inmates have been offered a unique way to give back to their community by raising monarch butterflies from the inside. Set up at...
Retired Volunteer Opportunities: How to Pick One That Fits
Retired volunteer opportunities are easy to find and easy to quit. Write a four-line ad about your week, then pick the role that fits it, not the cause.
Why a surprise player tops our rankings of the 25 best freshmen
After five weeks of the season we've seen some first-year players make a bigger impact than expected.
350 Volunteers | Thousands of Tonnes of Waste Removed.
“We are using our own hands to clean the poison people throw away.” What started as a few people cleaning their surroundings has grown into a...
Chang’e-6 lunar soil contains a surprising magnetic time capsule
Scientists studying Chang’e-6 lunar soil have discovered a previously unknown magnetic mineral in natural Moon samples: a form of metallic iron...
Hank and John Green's 'Pizzamas' holiday turns mustaches and merch into maternal healthcare
The story of Pizza John and a community of Nerdfighters making the world a better place... in the weirdest way possible.
North Carolina food bank gets microgrid backup for future storms
Two years ago this week, Hurricane Helene’s floods nearly wiped out the little downtown of Marshall, North Carolina, about 20 miles north of...
When SNAP Ended, Portland’s Heretic Coffee Co. Stepped Up to Feed Its Neighbors
At Heretic Coffee Co., everybody eats. Here's what makes this volunteer-run nonprofit one of 2026's Nicest Places in America. The post When SNAP...
Record El Niño threatens Great Barrier Reef with ecological shift
Researchers are worried about the impact the strongest-known El Niño will have on the Great Barrier Reef, and whether anything can be done to...
Neighbors Flock to Rescue a Wounded Owl Tangled Up in Barbed Wire
From the Cowboy State Daily comes the story of a rural community flocking to the side of an injured owl and rescuing it from a dreadful fate. The...
How to Criticize with Kindness: Philosopher Daniel Dennett on the Four Steps to Arguing Intelligently
"Just how charitable are you supposed to be when criticizing the views of an opponent?"
Bavaria's ancestral languages: Resisting linguistic genocide
My ancestral languages, Boarisch (Bavarian) and Schwäbisch (Swabian), are routinely described as German dialects. That might sound like a...
pedrali converts temporary wooden pavilion into permanent community hub
pedrali transforms its temporary wooden pavilion in bergamo, italy into a permanent venue for public events, exhibitions, and outdoor design. The...
A fight between Con Ed and developers is slowing NYC’s battery buildout
It’s already hard to build grid batteries in New York City. But now, an increasingly hostile dispute between the utility Con Edison and...