After a violent insurgence of illegal loggers decimated their lands, a group of 15 fearless Purhépecha women led a revolution that brought an indigenous Mexican culture—and its beloved wild mushrooms—back from the brink.
3 Min Read
The New York Public Library is bringing iconic literature into the 21st century, putting classics like "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" and “The Raven” into the hands of young readers via something that’s likely in their hands already: their smartphones.
3 Min Read
Tom Szaky has a revolutionary vision to solve the world’s disposable plastics problem—but it’s not by recycling things. It’s by not creating trash in the first place.
2 Min Read
On July 29, 2019, millions of Ethiopians took part in a massive national tree-planting drive to help combat climate change. “Africa has what it takes to spearhead this global push,” noted the Director of UN Environment’s Africa Office.
2 Min Read
Jesse Israel’s life had to get pretty loud before it could get quiet.
6 Min Read
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Stunning Moment of Compassion as High School Coach Disarms and Then Hugs Student
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A Surprising Funeral Announcement
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Teen Stabbed at School Gives Away Shoes to Help Heal PTSD
After a violent insurgence of illegal loggers decimated their lands, a group of 15 fearless Purhépecha women led a revolution that brought an indigenous Mexican culture—and its beloved wild mushrooms—back from the brink.
3 Min Read
The nationally recognized BraveHearts program pairs wild mustangs with military veterans to assist in their transition back to civilian life and help curb depression and self-sabotaging behaviors.
1 Min Read
After being ridiculed and ultimately stabbed because of his shabby sneakers, Kyler Nipper refused to let his bullies get the best of him. Now, he’s helping people who know exactly what it feels like to walk in his shoes.
2 Min Read
A California woman’s Starbucks run ends up changing her life—and the lives of two complete strangers—in ways that will last a lifetime.
3 Min Read
Bringing ill and wounded veterans together for friendly competition and camaraderie, this nonprofit is committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of those who have sacrificed so much.
2 Min Read
The Starry Night Café is more than just a place to buy coffee; it’s a place where differences are championed and meaningful friendships are cultivated.
2 Min Read
Observations from a yearlong trek to all 50 states, stopping in schools of all sizes, types and philosophies to hear educators discuss what works best, and how innovation happens in the process.
4 Min Read
In chronicling their own demises, four writers taught themselves how to live.
6 Min Read
Tom Szaky has a revolutionary vision to solve the world’s disposable plastics problem—but it’s not by recycling things. It’s by not creating trash in the first place.
2 Min Read
Captured as part of the National Geographic Photo Ark project, Joel Sartore’s striking portraits highlight Earth’s vast, colorful cast of characters.
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Student protestors from more than 150 countries skipped school as part of the Global Climate Strike.
13 Images
On July 29, 2019, millions of Ethiopians took part in a massive national tree-planting drive to help combat climate change. “Africa has what it takes to spearhead this global push,” noted the Director of UN Environment’s Africa Office.
2 Min Read
Warmer air rising up from the bottom of the canyon, meets cooler, moister air and creates the clouds you see here.
0:50
In partnership with the government of Mozambique, he is restoring Gorongosa National Park, a southeast African jewel left ravaged and fallow by almost 20 years of bitter civil war.
5 Min Read
Philip Ball shares what he’s observed in more than 15 years of examining the science behind nature’s beauty.
3 Min Read
Why something so seemingly small as a solar-powered refrigerator is a tall order in some parts of the world.
2 Min Read
How can we make the world a kinder place—and if we do, will it make us happier? Jaclyn Lindsey set out to answer these and other questions when she founded Kindness.org, a site that offers ideas on how to be kind.
3 Min Read
You could go around randomly asking people whether they need help with anything, but it's not the only way to introduce more kindness into your actions. The website Kindness.org offers several...
1 Min Read
From teaching to coaching to organizing charitable efforts at work, Parker Ramsdell has made it a priority to help others.
4 Min Read
Riding a bicycle seems like a rite of passage for kids, but that’s not always the case.
2 Min Read
One day more than a decade ago, Tom Robertson saw a man carve a bear in a friend's backyard. That moment launched a new calling, and a new identity: Robertson soon became known to friends as "Chainsaw."
1 Min Read
Often, the young men who partnered with these dogs yearn to adopt them—but it takes money, time, and the ability to navigate bureaucracies. Enter Molli Oliver.
2 Min Read
"One of the hardest parts about being an ice cream dude is seeing the disappointment on a kid's face when all of their friends buy ice cream but they're left out because they don't have a dollar," ...
1 Min Read
World War II veteran invited to throw the first pitch at a Mariners' game against the Padres turns in an admirable performance.
1 Min Read
Luchita Hurtado has been creating artwork for decades, but it’s only now—on the cusp of her 100th birthday and by a stroke of luck—that the rest of the world can finally see her paintings and witness her agelessly infectious lust for life.
2 Min Read
When Mother Nature stripped the Bahamas of virtually everything, chef José Andrés and his team of relief workers remind us that what remains can be a force that’s even stronger: human compassion.
2 Min Read
Diagnosed with stage 4 Neuroblastoma as a baby, Whitaker Weinburger had always been too sick to have a proper birthday party. This year, with Whitaker’s health in stable condition, his mom was determined to remedy that.
1 Min Read
With 88 pianos spread throughout the city, the 2019 Pianos for Peace Festival brings together people of all ages to share in a love of music and a strong sense of unity.
5 Min Read
Giving can be empowering, which is why the founder of kindess.org partnered with Camerados, a group that creates spaces where anyone can walk in, connect with others, and do for others.
1 Min Read
When the program began its service to provide meals and more to families during the holiday season, it reached 500 families. Now it helps 5,400 families each year.
2 Min Read
The short videos Places Like This: A Veteran Expedition & Places Like This: The Value of Wilderness tell us the stories of group expeditions where teamwork in the wilderness is used to heal vets...
1 Min Read
Maria Shriver shares a personal message in celebration of her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who sought hope and acceptance for people with intellectual disabilities. (Video via Special Olympics)
3:22
The New York Public Library is bringing iconic literature into the 21st century, putting classics like "Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland" and “The Raven” into the hands of young readers via something that’s likely in their hands already: their smartphones.
3 Min Read
When CEO Dan Price cut his own $1.1 million salary to help pay each of his 120 employees a minimum annual salary of $70,000, he made the cover of Inc. Magazine alongside the headline, “Is This the Best Boss in America?” He's making waves again with his unique—though still very unproven—wage plan.
1 Min Read
The Washington Monument looked a little different this past weekend as crowds flocked to witness a spectacular light show in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.
1 Min Read
Observations from a yearlong trek to all 50 states, stopping in schools of all sizes, types and philosophies to hear educators discuss what works best, and how innovation happens in the process.
4 Min Read
What started as a small science camp celebration more than two decades ago has since exploded into a multi-state STEM experience for more than 5,000 kids in the Washington metro area.
3 Min Read
The oldest of five boys, he was tasked with raising his four younger brothers. He balanced work and school, all while taking care of his family. Years later, he's now taking care of his community.
1 Min Read
Solar-powered aircraft trip around the globe invites the world to reimagine what is possible with solar energy.
1 Min Read
Armed with a degree and resolve, Mohammed Rezwan returned to his birthplace to help solve one of Bangladesh's biggest problems.
2 Min Read
Insisting that equality is achievable over the next 10 years, the philanthropist pledged significant funding and unveiled a bold, three-step plan toward affecting meaningful and expansive societal change.
3 Min Read
A fledgling vocational training program in Washington, D.C., is helping individuals with special needs thrive in the workplace, while simultaneously addressing a nationwide caregiver shortage.
2 Min Read
The Starry Night Café is more than just a place to buy coffee; it’s a place where differences are championed and meaningful friendships are cultivated.
2 Min Read
Over a year since her her husband was gunned down, Andrea Chamblee is finishing an important and poignant chapter in her life—quite literally—honoring his legacy by finishing the last chapter of his book.
1 Min Read
Here are memorable moments from some of the most inspiring commencement speeches of 2019.
2 Min Read
When Andrew Brennan returned home from flying Blackhawk Helicopter missions in Afghanistan, he got a job working in logistics for Best Buy. Three months into the job, he knew shepherding electronic...
4 Min Read
Armed with a cane, she steadily makes her way to the finish line, often after everyone else has finished the race. But she’s far from alone.
2 Min Read
Charles Linville and Chad Jukes take on climbing as a way to recover from their own war wounds and offer hope to others.
2 Min Read
Jesse Israel’s life had to get pretty loud before it could get quiet.
6 Min Read
In chronicling their own demises, four writers taught themselves how to live.
6 Min Read
I have never let lifelong epilepsy or my intellectual disability stop me from doing the things I want to do in life. In high school, I ran track and field. I compete in swimming in the Special Olympics. I also work at Perfect Sense, a software product company in Reston, Virginia.
4 Min Read
"I never get tired of it," says Dwayne King of the hundreds of miles of glaciers and beauty he regularly traverses as a pilot in Alaska. King appears in "Living Free," a short film about life in the Last Frontier state. King is a pilot who operates Kingdom Air Corps out of Sutton, about 75 miles northeast of Anchorage.
1 Min Read
One summer trip turned into a longer, life-changing adventure for James Campbell and his teenage daughter, Aidan.
5 Min Read
Photographer snaps secret candids of strangers and then gives them the photo as a gift. She calls this series 'anti-selfies'.
11 Images
When I first began studying photography, I learned to shoot in black and white. We used black and white film, processed it ourselves, and made black...
10 Images
Teenagers carry caskets of homeless veterans. Corporations donate materials and labor to build homes for severely wounded service members...
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From teaching to coaching to organizing charitable efforts at work, Parker Ramsdell has made it a priority to help others.
4 Min Read
(Warning: Contains Profanity)
“Action sports are a mental game. Every trick, variation and landing is generated in your mind as a vision or dream of what you want to do next.” Aiden Sheahan
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Edwin Bancroft Henderson was born on Nov. 24, 1883 in Washington, D.C. About 20 years later, he introduced basketball to African Americans in D.C. and along the entire East Coast on an organized basis for the first time in history, earning him status as the "grandfather of black basketball."
2 Min Read
Every halftime at D.C. United’s Audi Field, focus shifts away from the soccer players and on to a different type of star—the Community Star. This award honors young people who are making a meaningful impact in their local communities.
5 Min Read
From Syria to Rio 2016 - The story of Yusra Mardini | Refugee Olympic Team
17-year-old Syrian refugee Yusra Mardini will swim for the Refugee Olympic Team at Rio 2016.
We see professional skier Aiden Sheahan practice mindfulness in the short film Insight: Envisioning Before You Execute. Is meditation important for all athletes? Studies say yes.
1 Min Read
Since 2013, this annual, championship-level golf competition has brought together teenagers, wounded veterans and individuals with mental disabilities for friendly competition but also for something much greater: a shared goal to bridge the gap between differences and cultivate meaningful, lasting relationships.
2 Min Read
Through sport, these courageous men and women personify the meaning of the word invictus—unconquered.
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Most Popular Stories
Brightspot's standard theme includes front-end templates for attractively rendering articles, videos, listicles, promos, and much more. Developers can build on those standard templates to deploy themes that range from simple to extravagant.
1 Min Read
Customizing a theme is a big part of front-end development. To facilitate that development, Brightspot provides Styleguide, a webpack-based application that previews a theme with mock text and images. With Styleguide you can immediately evaluate any change by reloading the browser page.
1 Min Read
For hundreds of years, Lady Columbia personified our nation, symbolizing liberty, patriotism and union. That’s why photographer Francis Smith set out to visit towns, streets and waterways bearing her name, snapping away to capture poignant images of life across modern America. “I feel like this isn't just my project. This is a project that belongs to everybody," he says.
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Lucy Taylor has no shortage of friends in her second-grade class. But during recess, she often would sit alone. Thanks to her mom’s recent Facebook post and her principal’s thoughtfulness, Lucy’s playground time has never been happier.
1 Min Read
Capturing a photograph a day helps photographer Cathaleen Curtiss appreciate life's simple things.