Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes: A Lesson in Tolerance
When Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in April 1968, one teacher in a small town in Iowa decided to do something to help her students fathom the shocking event. She understood, more than most, the power of good teaching. Her lesson plan rocked the nation -- and what she taught her students that day would last them a lifetime.... posted on Jan 21 2010, 8,761 reads

Living Without Money For 13 Years
Twenty-two years ago Heidemarie Schwermer, a middle-aged secondary school teacher just emerging from a difficult marriage, moved with her two children to the city of Dortmund, Germany. Shocked and unsettled by the city's significant homeless population, Schwermer set up what in Germany is called a Tauschring-- a sort of "swap shop"-- a place where people can exchange their skills or possessions fo... posted on Jan 09 2010, 15,340 reads

Shop Class As Soulcraft
Matthew Crawford was on what most people would think was the "right track." Then he left his job as executive director at a think tank in Washington to open a motorcycle repair shop. In his new book, Shop Class as Soulcraft, he makes the case that our society has placed too great a value on white-collar work and not enough value on the trades.Crawford tells host Guy Raz that the mechanical arts ha... posted on Jan 05 2010, 3,267 reads

Proven Power of Giving
Volunteering in her local natal intensive care unit, Chris Haack doesn't need to see scientific evidence of the benefits of giving. For her, it is just about helping children. She says, "I get more out of it than I probably give." Nevertheless, a recent book documents several studies that show a correlation between giving and health benefits, like lower blood pressure and less depression. Read... posted on Jan 03 2010, 1,952 reads

A Miracle Cure
Richard Lueker, MD is a gentle giant with huge hands and a large heart. An encounter with a stranger and the unexpected healing of his son more that 35 years ago changed his life and laid the ground for his life's work. Recently, a magazine editor caught him in Berkeley for an insightful interview. ... posted on Jan 01 2010, 4,323 reads

Modest Needs: Small Gifts, Big Impact
Gary Ribble would not be able to read this story if not for people like you. Ribble, who has chronic lymphocytic leukemia in addition to severe diabetes and impaired hearing, needed new eyeglasses last spring but couldn't afford them after losing a job he'd held for more than 40 years. Then he found out about the Modest Needs Foundation. The grass-roots charity pools thousands of small donations t... posted on Dec 31 2009, 3,459 reads

Africa's Schindler
Today, Congo is still reeling from the fallout of the world's worst conflict since the second World War. Although the Congo combat officially ended in 2002, an estimated 1,500 people are still dying every day. While hope is often a scarce commodity in this poor African nation, people like Henri Bura Ladyi are working hard to find a way to peace. A modern-day African version of Oskar Schindler, t... posted on Dec 30 2009, 2,250 reads

Food Bank Robbery Triggers Generosity
First the bad news: Burglars stole about $2,000 worth of food from the Rainier Valley Food Bank in Seattle on November 18. Now for the good news: In the succeeding two days, local residents, organizations and corporations donated at least $100,000 worth of food and money. Responses were immediate and meant the Food Bank could meet the demand for the Thanksgiving weekend. Sam Osborne, executive dir... posted on Dec 29 2009, 2,209 reads

11 Myths of Decluttering
With the coming New Year, many people make a resolution to become more organized, and to tie up sundry loose ends in their lives. But taking on the task of decluttering your home or workplace can often be daunting. In this article, Gretchen Rubin offers some time-tested and helpful advice for figuring out what stays by pointing out what she calls, "the 11 myths of Decluttering"... posted on Dec 28 2009, 16,063 reads

Suja & Scott Thomas: Ultra-Frugal for A Cause
Suja Thomas, who wears socks with holes, isn't giving her husband anything for Christmas. Likewise, when Scott Bahr proposed to Thomas in spring 2008, he offered her a red plastic heart in place of an engagement ring. The Champaign couple's intense frugality is by design. Their idea is to save as much as possible in order to give more money to others in need. This Christmas, the pair raised the st... posted on Dec 27 2009, 2,434 reads