Giving season: Business owner pays overdue utility bills for 114 families
In 2019, a Florida business owner by the name of Michael Esmond wanted to help out struggling members of his community, Gulf Breeze, by paying the utility bills of 36 households. This year, Esmond felt the need to up the ante with both Hurricane Sally and the Covid-19 pandemic causing economic Read More...
Chicago couple uses wedding deposits to feed their community
The pandemic has brought weddings to a screeching halt. When Chicago couple Emily Bugg and Billy Lewis canceled their big bash, they decided to use the catering and venue deposits to do some good in their community. The couple asked their caterer to take the $5,000 deposit and turn it into Read More...
This study gave homeless people $5,660 each. The results are beautiful
In 2018, a Vancouver-based charitable organization called Foundations for Social Change started a groundbreaking research project that gave cash payments of $7,500 CAD ($5,660 USD) to 50 homeless people. The idea was to check on recipients over the course of a year to see how they were faring. Read More...
Community fridges are thriving in the age of Covid
In June, we published a story about the emergence of community fridges around New York City. The premise is simple: community members store food in a publicly-accessible fridge, and anyone can come and take what they want and leave what they don’t. The people who came up with this grassroots Read More...
Landlord cancels rent for 3 months and tells tenants to spend money locally
Although the coronavirus pandemic threw most of us into more than thorny life situations, it’s was incredible to see the powerful acts of shared humanity coming from unlikely heroes. An example of this came from New Jersey, where landlord David Placek, cancelled his tenants rent for three months. Read More...
This social network for immigrants helps those with nowhere else to turn
Neel, a 24 year old from Gujarat, India, who is in the U.S. for school, got an internship in Silicon Valley this spring. He needed help finding a more affordable place to stay, and a friend suggested Homeis, a platform for immigrants that’s a bit like NextDoor. Homeis is organized by Read More...
This transformed camper brings the power of music to refugee children
Nothing brings people together quite like music. That’s why a nonprofit called Turning Tables has teamed up with Swedish studio Snask that brings music to refugee children to give them a chance to express themselves through sound. Together, the organizations have converted an old camper into a Read More...
This veterinarian walks the streets to treat the pets of homeless people
At the Optimist Daily, we love to spotlight people who go the extra mile to help out their communities. With that in mind, we bring you the story of Kwane Stewart, a veterinarian who walks around the streets of California treating animals owned by homeless people—for free. When Stewart first Read More...
This nonprofit is helping the homeless reunite with their families
A nonprofit by the name of Miracle Messages is helping the homeless reconnect with their family and loved ones. The way it works is volunteers for Miracle Messages canvass the streets, approaching people to let them know about the service they offer. Then, a person can create a message in the form Read More...
At this clinic in Nebraska, patients can pay for surgery by volunteering
Surgeon Demetrio Aguila saw a recurring problem at his clinic Healing Hands of Nebraska: patients who couldn’t afford the surgery. So, six months ago, the nerve specialist started a program that offers patients the option to pay for surgery by volunteering for local humanitarian groups. That’s Read More...