The Power of A Grandmother's Heart
Amid rampant gang violence in a Chicago South Side neighborhood, a grandmother has an open door policy. Diane Latiker, 54, started a nonprofit community with 10 kids in her living room in 2003. The program, Kids Off The Block, has grown to become a successful mentoring site and haven for Chicago's youth, serving 300 kids last year. ... posted on Aug 29 2012, 10,734 reads

The 'Greener Grass on This Side' Farm
"Both were high-flying professionals in Silicon Valley (Ragu a marketing whiz, Nisha a hardcore software engineer). They had their son Aum and promptly sold everything off and moved to rural Tamil Nadu. They wanted to farm, but had no experience in it. They jumped in with the intention of living and being in a way better aligned with their inner voices, and learning what they needed along the way.... posted on Aug 23 2012, 25,921 reads

The Spirit of Gift
A gift. It is a simple gesture of care. Like an open palm, it is an invitation to connect ... But can it be more than that? Can gifts restructure our monetary system? In a recent interview, teacher and writer Charles Eisenstein shared insights from his own journey with a gift-economy. His unique journey includes the raising of three kids, the writing of three books, going broke, facing his fears a... posted on Aug 18 2012, 17,896 reads

The Man Who Planted A Forest
The year was 1979 in Assam, India. Floods had washed a great number of snakes onto a barren sandbar. When Jadav "Molai" Payeng -- then only 16 -- found them, they had all died. "The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover. I sat down and wept over their lifeless forms." Then he dried his tears and asked forest officials if they could plant trees in that area. When they told him nothing wou... posted on Aug 16 2012, 79,724 reads

The Measure of Meaning: Visiting Wendell Berry
"One of my favorite moments was when Wendell said that he is a member of two organizations: 1) The Slow Communication Movement and 2) The Preservation of Tangibility. He noted that anyone can join these and added with a grin, 'Actually, I think I founded them.'" In this beguiling article, a young singer-songwriter, describes the pilgrimage she took with three friends and a baby to visit Wendell B... posted on Aug 15 2012, 14,536 reads

Little Ellie & the Olympian: The Kindest Race Ever
He's a world record holding sprinter from South Africa who is known as "The Fastest Man on No Legs." She's a spunky little girl from Essex, England. In an inspiring series of images that have recently gone viral, the two strangers, united only by a stubborn refusal to let double amputations stop them, race each other in a friendly bionic foot race. The following article shares more about Olympian ... posted on Aug 10 2012, 71,103 reads

Guerilla Gardener Plants Joy in Potholes
They're the bane of cyclists and motorists alike, but one urban gardener has grown a fondness for potholes after deciding to spruce up cities around Europe by filling them up with miniature flower arrangements. Australian Steve Wheen, 34, who lives in London, has been using flowers and small-scale objects to transform urban potholes for the last three years. The self-styled 'guerrilla gardener' ha... posted on Aug 08 2012, 11,485 reads

Giving Wings to Little Prisoners
2012 CNN Hero Pushpa Basnet found her calling when she was still a student in social work in Nepal. While visiting a women's prison as an assignment for one of her classes, she felt a tug on her shawl and a little girl smiled at her from behind bars -- a child living with her mother in prison. That image haunted Pushpa until she graduated, and she started a daycare in the morning for children aged... posted on Jul 30 2012, 3,314 reads

9-yr-old Helps Disabled Brother Finish Triathlons
Over the weekend, brothers Cayden and Connor Long joined hundreds of other children as they competed in the first annual New England Kids Triathlon in Cambridge. The boys did not win the event -- they didn't even come close. But that didn't stop them from winning hearts across the Internet. The Long brothers are not your typical triathletes. Six-year-old Cayden has cerebral palsy and can neither w... posted on Jul 29 2012, 25,194 reads

A Bicycle Nomad Prepares for Re-entry
In 2010, Manjula Martin and her partner set out to see the world the old-fashioned way: by bicycle. With little money, no itinerary, gadgets or training, they traversed five countries and 3,500 miles and discovered a world filled with generosity. In this article, Manjula Martin describes the transition from bike to home with four rules for re-entry that are strikingly authentic, grounded, and univ... posted on Jul 26 2012, 13,211 reads