From Mansion to Mud Hut
Most of us would dig deep in our pockets to donate to a good cause, but how many of us would sacrifice everything? Wealthy businessman Jon Pedley is about to do just that. The 41 year-old is selling his comfortable home, successful consulting business, and top-of-the-line car to kick-off a service-immersion program in rural Uganda. The hope is to improve the community's health, water, and educatio... posted on Mar 24 2010, 4,606 reads

Free Farm Stand
"I'm a simple person," says a man who goes by the name Tree. "We're going to grow food here, and then we're going to give it away to people who need it." On a 1/3 acre lot in San Francisco, known unofficially as the Free Farm, volunteers cultivate the land and its given freely to anyone who wants it. Since 2008, Tree has donated more than 6,000 pounds of food on Sunday mornings.... posted on Mar 23 2010, 4,103 reads

Journey of a Kindness Checkbook
How would you use $20 to bring more kindness in your community? A Bank employee, with a generous heart and an adventurous spirit, created a checkbook cover containing $20 and the following note: "Congratulations! You are currently the bearer of the Smile Transaction Register. This kindness checkbook began its journey with $20. Your only job is to keep it going."... posted on Mar 19 2010, 9,004 reads

The Man Who Carved Statues
As children, we naturally make art out of our lives. We paint with our fingers, color fantasies with crayons, build living room pillow forts, and dance and hum as we walk. Jim Barton, though, has continued his art-making through his adult life -- transforming decaying tree stumps, junkyard wooden doors, and scrap wood into mystical carvings, giant buddhas, and elegant salmon soaring into the sky... posted on Mar 17 2010, 3,872 reads

Global Oneness Project
Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee discovered the power of "oneness" in jazz music. An accomplished bass player who was performing and teaching jazz by his mid-20s, he recalls with reverence those rare moments when an ensemble melds into something special that transcends the skills of the individual players. For the past five years, Mr. Vaughan-Lee has put that concept of "oneness" into practice on a larger sc... posted on Mar 08 2010, 2,366 reads

Palestinian Translating an Israeli Book
Six years ago, Elias Khoury's 20-year-old son, George, was killed in a Palestinian terrorist attack. The Khourys are Palestinian, so the murder of George -- who was out for a jog and shot from behind by gunmen in a car -- produced an apology. Sorry, the killers said, we assumed the jogger was a Jew. Now, in memory of his son, Mr. Khoury did something that shocked many in his community. He paid fo... posted on Mar 07 2010, 1,734 reads

48 States in 48 Weeks
Some of us get our best ideas in the shower, but they don't usually change the course of a year of our lives. Not so for Idaho resident Drew Johnson who "had an epiphany one morning in the shower." The epiphany? To travel around the country volunteering -- one state per week for 48 weeks. Since his journey began in South Dakota, he's done everything from building houses for Habitat for Humanity t... posted on Mar 01 2010, 3,042 reads

The Bus Ride That Changed My Life
"A few years ago I was an employee of an international company that sold computer devices. I had to travel a lot as part of my work. I remember that I was at a stage of my life where I only cared about how to make more money and how to solve technical problems. I was locked in my own world living as a robot that only worked in a mechanical way. On one particular business trip, I encountered a 20 ... posted on Feb 24 2010, 6,770 reads

Kidney For a Grocery Store Clerk
Dan Coyne had the surprise all planned: near the end of Myra dela Vega's Friday night shift as a Jewel-Osco cashier in Evanston, IL, his children would buy groceries and hand her a card. Inside would be the unexpected news that Coyne could donate one of his kidneys to dela Vega, who is suffering from renal failure. But dela Vega, 49, who looked puzzled by the card, didn't open it. Instead, Coyne e... posted on Feb 22 2010, 2,121 reads

Fortune That Made Him Miserable
Mr. Rabeder is in the process of selling his luxury 3,455 sq ft villa with lake, sauna and spectacular mountain views over the Alps, valued over $2 million. Also for sale is his beautiful old stone farmhouse in Provence. Already gone is his collection of six gliders, a luxury Audi A8a and the interior furnishings and accessories business that made his fortune. "My idea is to have nothing left. A... posted on Feb 11 2010, 6,135 reads