People Doing Good

Stories of people making a difference in the world

Socktober: A simple idea that sparked a nationwide wave of kindness

Brad Montague founded Socktober in 2011 thanks to a nudge from a few middle school students. After learning that a concerning number of neighbors were living on the streets, these kids were eager to help in a tangible way.

October's awareness months and days you should know about

The ultimate calendar of October’s awareness days, national months, and more...

President Jimmy Carter smiles at Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at the White House, Washington, D.C.

Jimmy Carter at 100: How his faith influenced his public service and human rights advocacy

On Carter’s 100th birthday, as journalists and historians consider his legacy, this prelude to Carter’s campaign offers insight into how he wanted to be known and how he might like to be remembered.

On the left: an image of Chef José Andrés in a Waffle House. On the right: A waffle house lit up at night.

On his way to aid first responders, Chef José Andrés praised Waffle House workers as unlikely heroes

The chef was on his way to provide disaster relief in Asheville when he made an important stop at the breakfast spot.

A photo collage of a strawberry vertical farm, an ExxonMobil tank, a nasal spray vaccine, an aerial view of Atrium Health Hospital, and a kid climbing a large rock

Good News This Week: September 28, 2024 - Moms, Parks, & Nasal Sprays

Your weekly roundup of the best good news worth celebrating...

Two images side-by-side. On the left, a woman and a man stand in Yosemite National Park holding a large burlap sack to collect trash. They also hold two trash picker sticks in their hands. On the right, the same two people sit in the Rush Creek Spa, wearing robes, with their feet in a small bath. They look at peace as they throw up some "peace" signs.

Pick up trash at Yosemite, and you can trade in your loot for a free spa treatment

The Yosemite Facelift combines environmental stewardship with a relaxing escape.

A Black and White photo of Maggie Smith from 1970.

Maggie Smith's greatest roles: witch, countess, and charitable figure

The “Harry Potter” and “Downton Abbey” star quietly aided several charitable efforts throughout her career.

A black and white portrait of Frederick Douglass

What Frederick Douglass learned from an Irish anti-slavery activist: 'Agitate, agitate, agitate'

Though Frederick Douglass remains the most well-known abolitionist to visit Ireland in the decades prior to the American Civil War, he was not the only one.

A photo collage of a kid getting a vaccine, a bottle containing different chemicals to make a protein product, people seated inside a restaurant, a snippet of a line graph of the declining rate of U.S. overdose deaths, and a group of six people planting a tree

Good News This Week: September 21, 2024 - Proteins, Athletes, & Trees

Your weekly roundup of the best good news worth celebrating...

The cover of Maia Kobabe's book "Gender Queer" sits atop an illustration of broken chains

'Gender Queer' is the most banned book in America. Here’s how author Maia Kobabe says you can protect it.

Maia Kobabe published a graphic memoir — "Gender Queer" — in 2019. It has since become the most challenged book in the United States.

Illustration of library shelves full of brown and blue books

14 Ideas for Celebrating Banned Books Week

When it feels like our reality has crumbled into a dystopian nightmare, what do we do? We use the power of books, form our own team of heroes, and fight against censorship and for stories that matter!

A notepad calendar graphic displays the text "100 Days of Good News" in bold orange and red letters, against a background with floating calendar pages showing various numbers, including 56, 98, 10, 72, 34, and 3. The background transitions from pink at the top to orange at the bottom.

100 Days of Good News: All of the good news we've shared so far

We launched the '100 Days of Good News' project as a bit of a palate cleanser to give our brains a break from the heaviness of bad news.