Second Chances on Rikers Island
"This place is about transformation. The students learn that if you can transform this environment, you can transform your life, yourself. We try to use the program at the gardens to help people build self-esteem," says James Jiler, who runs the GreenHouse program at Rikers Island in New York. Though a prison that holds nearly 16,000 short-term detainees is an unlikely site for a garden, the men a... posted on Jan 23 2013, 11,900 reads

Creativity Blossoms in Beijing
"Dandelion, what an appropriate word to name a school that serves the children of migrant workers! The dandelion's seeds, feathery and light, drift with the wind to wherever they land. The tenacity of the plant helps it endure, put down roots, and live on. It is a perfect symbol of the situation tolerated by many migrant families, driven to wherever they can find jobs. Unassuming but tenacious, th... posted on Jan 20 2013, 8,858 reads

Surfing For Change
It was around five years ago that Brazilian surfer Jairo Lumertz got the idea to join his two passions of surfing and protecting nature by creating surfboards made out of plastic bottles. The 39-year-old surfer is now traveling from beach to beach with his partner Carolina Scorsin promoting his invention to help children take up surfing and reduce waste at the same time. Lumertz's "eco surfboard... posted on Jan 19 2013, 6,350 reads

Instant Grants In The Park
A group of calling itself the Federation of Students and Nominally Employed or Unemployed Artists spent four hours giving away "instant grants" in a park in New York City. Photographers, knitters for the homeless and artists of all types lined up for small grants. The funds were raised or donated by the federation and the exercise went deeper than just dollars for some. As one recipient noted: "It... posted on Jan 17 2013, 3,074 reads

Are You Building Your Legacy?
"What are you going to be remembered for? Will people talk about the relationships you had with friends and family? The once-a-year dish everyone looked forward to? The impact you made on a company and its employees? How is a legacy created and cultivated, and what can you do to build your own legacy? These are all huge questions with small and critical answers. Here's the story of my legacy, and ... posted on Jan 16 2013, 37,356 reads

15 Serious Games Aiming to Change the World
Using games for purposes other than entertainment is nothing new. There are war games, educational games, throne games. But a new class of games has sprung up in recent years, designed to create awareness and raise support for a variety of global issues. Such serious games seek to harness the power of competition and/or novelty to attract players and get the word out for a good cause. Here are 15 ... posted on Jan 14 2013, 35,572 reads

The Generosity Paradox
Generosity is paradoxical. Those who give, receive back in turn. By spending ourselves for others' well-being, we enhance our own. In letting go of some of what we own, we better secure our own lives. By giving ourselves away, we ourselves move toward greater flourishing. This is not only a philosophical or religious teaching, it is a sociological fact.... posted on Jan 13 2013, 14,639 reads

Curry Without Worry: Food from the Heart
"The founder of Curry Without Worry, Shrawan Nepali, has shoulder length salt and pepper hair, brown eyes that sparkle like he's about to break into a smile, and a lightness to him, as if he seems to defy gravity...They feed approximately 250 people in San Francisco, and 300 in Katmandu, Nepal every Tuesday night. Kerry Adams, a man waiting in line, told me, "Not only is the food here healthy and ... posted on Jan 12 2013, 13,999 reads

The World Needs More Love Letters
Finding a letter of encouragement in the mail or tucked unexpectedly in the unlikeliest of places is sometimes all we need when in doubt or feeling down on our luck. And imagine receiving this note anonymously, as if some magical force out there knew just what you needed to hear and wanted you to know that you haven't been forgotten. In the fall of 2010, in the midst of her own depression and lon... posted on Jan 11 2013, 26,533 reads

Naomi Shihab Nye On Kindness
The poems of Naomi Shihab Nye have an uncanny way of showing up at exactly the right moment to summon you below the surface of your life. The child of a Palestinian father and an American mother, her poems speak a language deeper than culture, history or religion. Through the portal of the everyday -- a grocery store, an olive press, the headlines -- she draws us into the most profound questions a... posted on Jan 10 2013, 27,756 reads