How local heroes shape disaster response
BY THE OPTIMIST DAILY EDITORIAL TEAM As wildfires tore through Los Angeles in January 2025, social media lit up with stories of neighborly kindness and selflessness. Hollywood celebrities clearing roads and fundraising for victims grabbed headlines, but the real heart of the response lay in the Read More...
Why you should practice community-based tourism on your next vacation
Have a vacation coming up soon? Consider investing in community-based tourism (CBT). This form of sustainable tourism emphasizes the well-being of the communities we visit by traveling in a respectful and ethical manner. What is community-based tourism? CBT doesn’t focus specifically on Read More...
Oakland to launch alternative response program for nonviolent 911 calls
Following successful alternative policing programs in Denver and Newark, Oakland, California is the latest city to adopt such a program with an initiative to redirect nonviolent, noncriminal calls to mobile teams of civilians. Projected to launch this fall, the program is called Mobile Read More...
Communities are filling little free libraries with critical supplies during COVID-19
Little free libraries gained popularity around 2010 as local sources for book sharing. Now, these mini-libraries that are tucked into many neighborhoods are getting new life as sources for supplies during COVID-19. The official Little Free Libraries program started in 2009, and now, in Read More...
Five ways to support your community during COVID-19
Social distancing is one of the best tools we have for slowing the spread of COVID-19, but isolating at home can leave you feeling helpless in a time of community need. So how can you help your community during the outbreak? Here are five ways to help your community while practicing social Read More...