Category: Social Good

Animals Slow Loris Social Good Social Media Social Media Companies

Selfie tourism is killing these incredibly cute creatures

sudshr47 November 18, 2017

TwitterFacebook

Warning: this article contains images of animal abuse which some may find distressing.

A small furry creature huddles close to a tree branch on the edge of the forest. Its large, globular eyes are shut (it’s daytime, and so now it sleeps); its strong hands and arms hold firm even as it slumbers.

In a deep sleep, the creature doesn’t hear the rustling of approaching predators. Before it knows what’s happening, it’s plucked from the tree and bundled into a bag. When it is finally taken out into the blinding light of day, metal pliers are forced into its mouth to clip its teeth. Then it is shoved into a wire cage, alone and in pain. Read more…

More about Social Media, Slow Loris, Social Good, Social Media Companies, and Animals

View More Selfie tourism is killing these incredibly cute creatures
Gender Gender Equality Science Social Good Stem

How the Girl Scouts CEO went from rocket scientist to America’s biggest champion of girls

sudshr47 November 17, 2017

There are moments that Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, just can’t forget. 
There was the time a college counselor at her high school in Las Cruces, New Mexico, scoffed at Acevedo’s desire to study engineering. “Girls like you …

View More How the Girl Scouts CEO went from rocket scientist to America’s biggest champion of girls
Architecture Homeless Mashable Video Social Good Social Issues

These communities for the homeless were designed by students

sudshr47 November 17, 2017

TwitterFacebook

Homes for Hope was created by USC School of Architecture students during the Fall 2016 semester. The course, called The Homeless Studio, was funded by the Martin Architecture and Design Workshop (MADWORKSHOP) and led by MADWORKSHOP director Sofia Borges and board member R. Scott Mitchell.  

The founders of MADWORKSHOP, David and Mary Martin, wanted to empower students to do something about the homelessness situation, starting in Los Angeles. 

Homes for Hope uses modular, transitional stabilization housing to assemble pop-up villages. It is currently in the initial fundraising stage.

“All of the focus is towards permanent supportive housing, which is important, but it’s not an either/or, or and/or but. We need both. We need something to happen right away, and we need to have something happen in the long term.” — Sofia Borges, MADWORKSHOP director Read more…

More about Mashable Video, Architecture, Social Issues, Social Good, and Homeless

View More These communities for the homeless were designed by students
Apps fintech Mass Incarceration Racial Justice Social Good

Use your computer’s extra power to mine cryptocurrency—and help low-income people pay bail

sudshr47 November 16, 2017

TwitterFacebook

People are used to rounding up their spare change or running lots of apps in the background of their computer. Two new programs are taking those well-known strategies and using them to support bail funds for people who can’t pay. 

Appolition, which launched Tuesday, lets users round up their credit card purchases to the nearest dollar and donate the remainder to community bail funds. It’s like Acorns, but instead of investing your money, you’re directing it to a cause. The name of the app  is a play on abolition, a nod to its focus on racial justice and ending mass incarceration.

Bail Bloc, launched Wednesday by a team at The New Inquiry, takes your computer’s spare power and mines a cryptocurrency called Monero, which is converted into U.S. dollars and donated to the Bronx Freedom Fund and soon The Bail Project. Bail Bloc runs on a complicated system, but you don’t need to fully understand cryptocurrency or Monero to contribute—although it does come with a helpful cryptocurrency explainer for those who are curious. Read more…

More about Apps, Social Good, Racial Justice, Fintech, and Mass Incarceration

View More Use your computer’s extra power to mine cryptocurrency—and help low-income people pay bail
Australia Conversations Lgbtq Politics Social Good

Empire State Building lit up rainbow in honor of Australia’s same-sex marriage vote

sudshr47 November 15, 2017

Australia’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage is being celebrated around the world, and following the news the Empire State Building showed support by lighting up in the glorious colors of the rainbow.
Though the Australian Parliament still has to o…

View More Empire State Building lit up rainbow in honor of Australia’s same-sex marriage vote
Mental Health Science Smartphones Social Good Social Media

This alarming study just sparked a fierce debate about screen time and teen mental health

sudshr47 November 15, 2017

Being a teen today means wrestling with how social media and screens shape the very essence of your identity. The anecdotal truth is that both can tear you down as quickly as they build you up; friends and followers can turn into enemies while the pr…

View More This alarming study just sparked a fierce debate about screen time and teen mental health
Australia Marriage Equality Same Sex Marriage Social Good Vote

Australia just voted overwhelmingly in favour of legalising same-sex marriage

sudshr47 November 14, 2017

TwitterFacebook

Australia’s overcome a hurdle on the long road to marriage equality — but the fight’s not over.

The country has just voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage in a non-binding, non-compulsory nationwide postal survey.

Australia’s High Court handed down a decision in September to allow the federal government to implement the $122 million postal plebiscite asking the question: “Should the law be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry?”

The survey results have been one of the most anticipated decisions in Australia, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics announcing the final result on Wednesday, with the “Yes” vote winning by a mile. Read more…

More about Australia, Marriage Equality, Vote, Same Sex Marriage, and Social Good

View More Australia just voted overwhelmingly in favour of legalising same-sex marriage
Conversations New York Social Good Subway Transportation

New York’s subway systems are switching to gender inclusive announcements

sudshr47 November 13, 2017

TwitterFacebook

Congrats to the New York subway system for making an active attempt to be less awful.

While commuters still have to deal with their fair share of overcrowding and delays, on Friday, New York’s PIX11 announced that the city’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is taking an important step in promoting equality: switching to gender inclusive announcements.

The MTA’s trains and busses will reportedly be doing away with automated announcements that include gender-specific terms like “ladies and gentlemen.” Instead, they’ll be replaced with more inclusive language like “passengers,” “riders,” and “everyone.” Read more…

More about Conversations, Transportation, Social Good, New York, and Subway

View More New York’s subway systems are switching to gender inclusive announcements
Bill Gates Business Dementia Philanthropy Social Good

Bill Gates pledges $100 million of his own fortune to fight Alzheimer’s

sudshr47 November 13, 2017

TwitterFacebook

Bill Gates just donated a piece of his fortune to advance the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

The philanthropist and Microsoft founder announced in a blog post Monday that he will give $50 million to the Dementia Discovery Fund, a public-private partnership that invests in innovative dementia research. Gates will also donate another $50 million in startups working in Alzheimer’s research.

Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates has a long track record of supporting research to eradicate diseases like malaria and polio. But Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia that progressively affects memory and other brain functions, is the first noncommunicable disease he’s fighting. Read more…

More about Business, Social Good, Bill Gates, Philanthropy, and Dementia

View More Bill Gates pledges $100 million of his own fortune to fight Alzheimer’s
Gaming Hurricane Harvey Playstation 4 Social Good Sony

Sony is giving a free month of PlayStation Plus to victims of natural disasters

sudshr47 November 10, 2017

After a handful of natural disasters caused damage and devastation around the globe these past few months, Sony decided to ease some PlayStation players’ woes.
In a thoughtful gesture from Sony, a bunch of PlayStation 4 owners in areas affected by re…

View More Sony is giving a free month of PlayStation Plus to victims of natural disasters