The American Federation of Teachers, vilified by critics as an obstacle to school reform, is leading an unusual effort to turn around a floundering school system in a place where deprivation is layered on heartache. The AFT wants to improve education deep in the heart of Appalachia by simultaneously tackling the social and economic troubles of McDowell County.
Code for America is a new kind of public service. The 'Peace Corps for geeks' has developed apps that have trimmed Boston's costs for digging out fire hydrants after a snow and have made Philadelphia city services more accessible.
16 year-old Laoise Nolan performs a really cool version of The Cup Song with 600 students (and staff) at a school in Ireland.
Would you bike to work or recycle more often if it meant you got free stuff at stores? Recyclebank offers rewards for recycling, and gives London commuters fresh incentives to walk or ride. Recyclebank has reached millions of people with its environmental social platform, awarding points that can be exchanged for deals and discounts at nearby stores.
One of the most inspiring examples of neighbors helping neighbors around the New York City area in the wake of Hurricane Sandy is the emergence of ad hoc charging stations for people without power who need to charge their cell phones.
Simon Berry is piggy-backing on Coca-Cola's distribution system to bring life-saving medicine to the places that need it most. Thanks to a vast network of local suppliers, you can get a Coke almost anywhere money changes hands. In the 1980s, Berry was an aid worker in Zambia, and when he looked at Coke's success, he saw an opportunity. Today his essential health kits for treating diarrhea are made to fit exactly inside the empty space between beverage bottles in Coke delivery crates.
Thousands attended the formal dedication Sunday of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on the National Mall – an emotional day for those, including President Obama, who came to honor the slain civil rights leader, calling him a man who stirred our conscience and thereby helped make our union more perfect.
Players in a German orchestra mingled with crowds on a Cologne plaza recently and one by one joined in to play the well-known tones from a galaxy far, far away.
A severely injured survivor of the London train bombings has created a smartphone app to help people with disabilities travel around London more easily.
American Diplomats found rare common ground with the Islamic Republic at a recent round of nuclear negotiations, noting Iran's victory in the freestyle wrestling World Cup in Tehran. U.S. wrestlers competed, including the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs who was cheered on wildly by wrestling-crazy Iranian fans.
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