"Good Actions" are stories of and from people and non-profits who are changing their corners of our world.
Animals
Good Dog Karma
from goodletter #21
What goes around, comes around. It's an ancient idea, and if you throw your dog into the mix, well, then, it becomes a pretty important idea. And isn't that especially true when you're on a never-ending quest to build a community? Susie Hillman's true canine caper suggests that giving a little of yourself may very well guarantee that everybody's looking out for you. [more]
The Horse Knows the Way
from goodletter #17
What's the best medicine? With increasingly positive results, more and more people are using creative remedies -- outdoor activities, art, music, laughter -- to cure the things that ail them. A Boston writer sends a goodletter about animal therapy, and the animals that are silently, gracefully helping people with illnesses feel better. [more]
It's Shining Cats and Dogs
from goodletter #11
We're all abuzz about Utah's Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the largest no-kill refuge for abused and abandoned animals in the United States.
[more]
Arts and Culture
Can A Song Make A Difference?
from goodletter #93
Sometimes, when we need a clearer picture of the world around us, it works best to rely to music for both information and inspiration. [more]
Making Music Matter
from goodletter #51
A true citizen of the world, on a rambling global quest for meaningful work, finds a unique non-profit that makes her soul sing and her heart dance. [more]
The Gift of Film
from goodletter #51
At a groundbreaking school nurturing creative and technical skills, a budding young filmmaker learns that discovering what it is that you love to do is really just a metaphor for life. [more]
Music to the Ears
from goodletter #40
Their budgets crumbling, schools are eliminating what's often deemed "non-essential," their music and arts programs. But with the challenges of educating people with different needs and talents, can we really afford to throw them away? [more]
Community
Hurdling Great Divides
from goodletter #27
This isn't just another story about the digital divide, that gap between the technology haves and have-nots (most of whom tend to be minorities, women, the elderly, the disabled, and the poor). Sure, the point in bridging the gap is to bring technology to more people, but the heart and soul of the matter may be in the offline connections between folks who need each other. [more]
Environment & Sustainability
Once, Twice, Three Times Better
from goodletter #52
Good coffee -- it's an obsession for some, a passion for many. But for many species of migratory birds, it represents precious habitat, and for farmers in the tropics of Central America, it's a way of life. A burgeoning movement suggests there really is such thing as a better cup of coffee. [more]
Hot in the City
from goodletter #43
Take a diverse urban neighborhood in one of America's largest cities. Combine it with a sweltering summer, a community-based organization with a great idea, a local utility with heart, and a few thousand air conditioners, and what do you get? Maybe a graceful, human solution to an energy crisis.
[more]
Eat, Drink, and Make a Difference
from goodletter #10
Tahoma Food System is preserving the beauty of an unpaved landscape, providing job training, and producing a variety of fresh food that's safe to eat.
[more]
Families & Children
First Things First
from goodletter #87
Is there any way to end the cycle of homelessness? Says one ground-breaking school, it's by dedicating heart and soul to the children. [more]
Through A Mother's Eyes
from goodletter #86
Her daughter passionately making a difference in the lives of schoolchildren all over the world, a proud and gracious mother reflects upon -- and shares in -- an extraordinary gift. [more]
Victory Over Poverty
from goodletter #75
When you consider the impoverished circumstances of over a billion of the world's people, it becomes remarkably clear that figure-skating is nothing more an insignificant game. But in the Olympic spirit of peace and justice, a group that first made its presence known after World War II is still giving people the tools they need to rebuild their lives. [more]
Warm and Caring Voices
from goodletter #72
Determined to rise above the incessant sadness of the evening news, a couple finds a unique non-profit organization and discovers firsthand how important it can be to lend a simple voice and little support to a child in need. [more]
Searching for the Good in Kids
from goodletter #69
When we change our perspective and start thinking about the good things children are doing instead of always focusing on their shortcomings, we may also just change the way they see themselves. [more]
Safe and Empowered
from goodletter #61
Many agree hope for curbing violence in the world lies with the children. But it all depends on whether they avoid violence at home and in school. One woman is helping build programs that bring the teaching of non-violence into schools, in the hopes of breaking the vicious cycle that seems to plague our world. [more]
The Kids Are Alright
from goodletter #57
A Providence, Rhode Island organization aims to tell the world: kids are doing amazing things. [more]
Under Sail
from goodletter #48
When your job brings wonder to the eyes of children in places you once only dreamed of, it changes the way you feel when you wake up in the morning. [more]
You Hold The Key
from goodletter #18
How are you going to change the world this year? It's not the gargantuan task you might think. Why not expand the horizons of just one other person by becoming their mentor? Barcy "Not only am I a goodthings founder, I'm also a subscriber" Fisher says that for her, the idea was an epiphany that could've only come on an introspective road trip. [more]
Health
Mean To A Better End
from goodletter #95
Women whose incomes fall well below the federal poverty level often have to choose between feeding their children and health care. One organization is helping homeless women avoid having to make that choice. [more]
Catching a Good Wave
from goodletter #77
While we at GoodThings are experiencing a late-winter blast of cold here in the chilly Northern latitudes, it's prime summer weather in the far reaches of the Southern Hemisphere. What better time to check out how one Indonesia-based organization is combining a passion for the ocean waves with a drive to make a difference. [more]
Alive and Fishing
from goodletter #76
With the threat of breast cancer looming ever large, increasing numbers of women of all ages and backgrounds find themselves coming face to face with their own mortality. And for the survivors, a normal life is often elusive. One unique program offers pristine streams, a caring community, and a chance to return to the land of the living. [more]
A PATH to Awakening
from goodletter #70
In Kenya, where decent reproductive health is nonexistent, HIV and AIDS are rampant, and children hardly have a fighting chance at any real future, is there any way to keep hope alive? PATH, an international public health organization dedicated to fostering comprehensive, local self-reliance, believes solutions may lie in giving real meaning to empowerment. [more]
Human Rights
Knocking to Open Doors
from goodletter #85
In Zambia, a part of the world where social problems can seem almost unbearably complicated, the simplest solutions can sometimes make the most difference. [more]
A Season for Nonviolence
from goodletter #71
A fitting, action-oriented tribute bridges the enduring legacies of two of the 20th century's most important human rights leaders and offers "A Season for Nonviolence" to people everywhere who believe in peace. [more]
NetAid, Net Gain
from goodletter #63
On the ground in Afghanistan, the unsung heroes of the massive humanitarian crisis are -- in the face of war and drought -- tirelessly and passionately saving lives and changing the world. [more]
Home Is Where Humanity Is
from goodletter #62
A passionate drive to make a difference led one woman to pick up a hammer and a nail and head to Costa Rica, determined to help construct homes for people in need. The friendships she discovered and the gratitude she experienced gave her life new purpose. [more]
Personal Passions
That Human Touch
from goodletter #96
Motivated by examples of how genuine human kindness has the power to turn people's lives around, one woman envisions her own constructive pursuit and resolves to begin it. [more]
Sing A New Song
from goodletter #79
If someone played all the world's national anthems at the same time, would the world hear? This week's GoodLetter contributor recalls a life-changing personal experience and considers how it might also change the world. [more]
Passion in the Wind
from goodletter #25
With the possible exception of high-alpine mountaineering or the Tour de France, sailing the high seas might be the most improbable of human pursuits. What could possibly make enduring intense weather, heart-stopping seas, and extended solitude worth it? [more]
Creating Your Own Luck
from goodletter #24
Risk-taking -- call it the stuff of life. But it isn't always about bungee jumping or ill-advised investing. What happens when it's just about doing something different, getting out of a rut, creating luck? Jules Selman says risk may not be a matter of life or death, but it can clearly change our ways of seeing. [more]
Past Stories
It's a Celebration, Not a Deadline!
Getting the Most Out of a Major Transition
Give Thanks ALL Year Long
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
One Letter Goes a Long Way
Giraffes Stick Their Necks Out
They've Been Workin' on the Railroad
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