Building Community
Our Theme in November 2019
Despite pandemic, Americans donated a record sum to charity in 2020
Despite the immense health and economic challenges the world faced in 2020, the latest annual report from the Giving USA Foundation finds that Americans did not cease supporting their communities and fellow citizens. According to the report, Americans donated a record $471 billion to charity in Read More...
Optimist View: "Pain pushes until ...Vision pulls" a conversation with Rev. D.
June has been a powerful month. Pride Month honors the fight for inclusion and celebration for the LGBTQ+ community. Juneteenth finally became a national holiday the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans. And, the Optimist Daily completes a week focused on ancient wisdom featured at the World Read More...
North Carolina is turning old industrial buildings into new community spaces
As many industries shift to meet modern market demands, regions that used to be bustling centers for coal, oil, steel, and other raw materials are now falling into economic despair. Many experts have cited new renewable energy jobs as a solution to this problem, but in some North Carolina towns, Read More...
Onondaga Nation’s fire station brings sustainability and community together
As you probably have noticed by now, here at The Optimist Daily, we are major advocates of sustainable architecture as well as community-building, and we are elated whenever we come across an initiative that combines both. The most recent example that we’ve uncovered involves eco-friendly Read More...
This startup is transforming front lawns into neighborhood farms
American households use more than 7 billion gallons of water per day just to tend to their lawns. Some experts estimate that up to 50 percent of that water is wasted due to evaporation, wind, or runoff. But what if we could use those lawn spaces for something more meaningful, such as growing local Read More...
Pasturs Voluntaris program uses shepherding to bridge a cultural gap
Back in March, we shared a story about a Spanish village keeping its tradition of shepherding alive with a school for female shepherds. Now, a Swiss program is taking a similar approach to preserve its cultural history and protect its remaining flocks. The newly-established Pasturs Voluntaris, Read More...
Cooperative Extension programs could better prepare us for the next pandemic
The pandemic has highlighted the need to improve medical and public health systems around the world, but in addition to infrastructure shortcomings, Covid-19 has also illuminated the fact that many families are not prepared to manage an emergency. Some academics believe a long-standing extension Read More...
Philadelphia is using a mediation program to prevent evictions
Back in August, with Covid-19 cases on the rise and tenants across the city struggling financially, the city of Philadelphia decided to take an unconventional approach to solve a housing crisis with their Eviction Diversion Program. With the new program, landlords are required to attend a Read More...
The Optimist View: Trauma and healing in the first responder community
“Trauma creates change you don’t choose. Healing is about creating change you do choose.” –Michelle Rosenthal By Amelia Buckley and Kristy Jansen As we move in to a second spring colored by coronavirus, we all feel the toll. For those of us who have been working from home and living Read More...
The Optimist View: Knocking down the negative news bias
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” - Victor Frankel The old news mantra, “If it bleeds, it leads” has long steered traditional media outlets towards the violent, the Read More...