http://www.dailygood.org/ Extraordinary, positive changes are happening all around the world and are often overlooked. Come in and get inspired as we showcase the uplifting news stories you might have otherwise missed. en-us clubs@charityfocus.org There are certain kinds of creative, off beat ideas that are simply obvious when you hear them. Tarak Shah and Sabina Nieto came up with one. With the economic downturn, every office building in the country probably has unrecognized resources: vacant cubicles. No doubt many are utilized as storage spaces for disabled copy machines, extra office supplies and the like, but here's an inspired possibility: how about the vacant cubicle as art gallery? Now after you read that last sentence, didn't you immediately smile? http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4243 http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4243 Thu, 02 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 When we look back on our lives, sometimes the smallest gesture can have enormous effects. For George Hill, one man's act has made all the difference. Today, Hill works with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and studies computer information systems at Cal State University. But things weren't always so smooth. After leaving the Marines, Hill found himself homeless and addicted to drugs and alcohol. One day, Hill was sitting on a bag of his belongings when a homeless man approached him. He recalls, "His hands were black... he had rags tied to his feet. And his hair was matted in two big, nasty dreads." The stranger reached into his pocket and offered Hill all that he had: one dollar, in coins. "Here, man. I feel sorry for you." That was all it took. http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4242 http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4242 Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700 She had so much. A two-bedroom apartment. Two cars. Enough wedding china to serve two dozen people. Yet Tammy Strobel wasn't happy. Working as a project manager with an investment management firm in Davis, California, and making about 40K a year, she was, as she put it, caught in the "work-spend treadmill." So one day she stepped off. Inspired by books and blogs about living simply, Strobel and her husband began downsizing and donating their things. Clothing, a television, and even cars disappeared. Now, three years later, the two live happily, modestly, and debt-free on Strobel's 24K annual salary. Working less, she has time to be outdoors and volunteer. http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4220 http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4220 Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Until recently, Tony Schwartz accepted the myth that the potential to excel is predetermined by our genes- that some people are born with special talents while others aren't. Lately though, his work with dozens of executives reveals that it's possible to build any given skill or capacity in the same systematic way we build a muscle: push past your comfort zone, and then rest. Talent, then, may actually be a simple reflection of how hard we're willing to work. Encouraging us to take ownership of our desired talents, he explains, "If you want to be really good at something, it's going to involve relentlessly pushing past your comfort zone, along with frustration, struggle, setbacks and failures." To help us, Schwartz offers six keys to achieving excellence: Pursuing what you love, practicing intensely, taking regular breaks, and doing the hardest work first. http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4241 http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4241 Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700 Five years after Hurricane Katrina, the sun continues to rise over evacuated homes and empty lots. New Orleans is still cleaning up debris. Yet one local artisan is building up beauty out of the destruction. Stefano Velaska is a survivor of both Katrina and the 1968 invasion of his native Czechoslovakia. At 18, he fled his country and ended up in Louisiana, where he discovered a passion for jewelry-making. After the hurricane hit, he found himself searching for "some way to somehow promote New Orleans." He stumbled upon the answer in the scraps of metal strewn across the city. Today, you can find him in the covered French Market of the New Orleans French Quarter, crafting the city's endurance into an art form: jewelry from the storm. "It is a small piece of New Orleans, a small piece of history," Velaska remarks. http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4240 http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4240 Sun, 29 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700 After giving birth to premature twins, Kate Ogg was informed that one of them didn't make it. Devastated, she held her limp 2-pound infant against her bare chest. For two hours, the mother and her husband said their goodbyes, cradling and hugging their son as if he were alive. Two hours later, the newborn began moving and gasping. Ogg instinctively fed her son a few drops of breast milk and soon his gasps turned into real breaths. "A short time later he opened his eyes. It was a miracle," the mother recounts. Now five months later, the radiant parents are highlighting the virtues of skin-on-skin care for sick babies, a technique known as 'Kangaroo Care' for the way Kangaroos hold their young in the pouch. http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4237 http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4237 Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700 How do you tell the story of one powerful man who moved a nation to independence, marched 241 miles (388 km) in a symbolic act of freedom, and brought violent conflicts to a screeching halt through fasting? How do you express the complexity of this shy and timid young man who grew into a fiercely gentle leader and pioneer of nonviolence? If you're MC Yogi, you rap about it. With smooth rhythm and lucid lyrics, he explains Gandhi's message to "be the change you wish to see in the world" and spins a tale that would warm anyone's heart. http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4235 http://www.dailygood.org/view.php?qid=4235 Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0700