With all of the charitable and governmental organizations designed to help people, there are still a lot of people who need help and most don’t know how or who to ask for it. That is why we have created Sent From Ebove.

Sent From Ebove is a website where people can post a wish and ask for help that they need, no matter how small or large the request, for their community or the world to see. There are many generous people who would love to give and help someone directly. We want to bring these people together. We are an online marketplace for altruism and informal philanthropy, connecting people in need with people that can help.   Read more...

In a new documentary, Bill Clinton and Michael Dukakis, as well as architecture and energy experts, discuss the problems caused by suburbanization and horizontal development. The DVD, Sprawling From Grace, which will be released on April 21, looks at the pollution, health-risks and decreased quality of life caused by suburbanization.   Read more...

Getting held hostage inside the sweltering conference room, where it can easily reach one hundred degrees, is not an option. In Ganta, a small town in North-central Liberia, Karen Cheng and I heed the night manager’s warning about the electrical shutdown and building lock down. We gather our hospital administration team from Sierra Leone and establish a makeshift work station outside of the building that consists of basic benches and wooden chairs. For the next hour with computers in laps, we answer questions and walk the group through financial models on the last day of our Finance Workshop to promote transparency and accountability through good financial reporting. Finally, laptop batteries give-out as twilight descends upon the Liberian jungle. Our “students” prepare to head back to Sierra Leone and implement the skills they and 20 other delegates from Liberia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Guinea learned over the past three-days.   Read more...

Donna Spector, a veterinary internist in New York, knows what creatures have the key to living the good life. Hint: They typically have four feet.   Read more...

When you're an English major, the question everyone asks (after you reply "no" to "Do you want to be a professor?") is "So, do you want to write?" When I was feeling honest, I would answer that I didn't know many English majors who wouldn't love to be authors. It's the secret ambition of all English majors, and many other people, to write. Are you one of them? Since it's a Friday, and you're looking at a little free time over the next few days, why don't you try to jump start your writing this weekend? Here are a few ideas to get you typing away.   Read more...

With the advent of the internet and social networking, and of so many new - and amazingly convenient - ways to donate, raise awareness and support causes, many people are beginning to wonder less whether they will serve and more how to best serve their cause. What if you could support your favorite cause continuously, at no charge, with only one, incredibly brief time commitment?   Read more...

With a tighter household budget, most people are wondering about ways to save money - including energy conservation. However, it's easy to leave the process at wondering. In a very insightful National Geographic article, Peter Miller discusses the ups and downs of making his home more energy efficient and reducing his carbon footprint. He and his wife made a goal of reducing the carbon their household produces to 20% of the US average.

Miller's efforts to conserve energy and reduce emissions range from the more mundane - such as using compact fluorescent light bulbs and cutting down on car travel - to some less common and more insightful ways of conserving. He describes the "energy audit" that he and his wife did, revealing areas of their house with poor insulation. All of his tips are useful and within the means of most homeowners. Miller found that he and his wife saved $190 on energy bills.   Read more...

An autistic child from Thailand, frustrated by the first day of school, sat on a third-story ledge and refused to budge. Bangkok authorities were unable to persuade the boy to come down, until fireman Sonchai Yoosabai heard about the boy's love of superheroes. Yoosabai made a quick change into his Spider-Man costume - apparently he had one laying around at the fire station. Of course, the boy didn't hesitate to follow Spider-man's instructions to walk slowly back from the ledge.

This Sydney Morning Herald article inspired me on two levels. First, the story is literally a kid's dream come true. But second, the story made me stop and think about our everyday heroes a bit more. Although costumed superheroes sell movies and comic books, most heroes wear plain clothes. For the rare moment, regular people may "put on costumes," work their magic and transform lives. Most of the time, however, they go about saving lives in much more mundane fashion: a random phone call, returning a lost wallet, even sometimes just a smile for a stranger.   Read more...

With the pressures of bills, the job or the job hunt, the practices we most need to combat stress are the most neglected. We don't have time to exercise, to connect with friends or to meditate. But when you consider the risks of running yourself ragged - sickness, reduced energy and reduced resilience in the face of new challenges - we don't have time to neglect personal maintenance. And although research on meditation is still scattered (studies tend to focus on groups with specific ailments, like chronic pain or ADHD), thousands of "average" people can attest to the power of meditation in reducing pain, stress and depression while increasing their ability to focus and respond to challenges.

Interested in trying meditation, but still don't think you have the time? Beginning meditation isn't as difficult as you might think. So, without taking any more of your time, here are five ways to fit much-needed meditation into your schedule.   Read more...

Schoolbuses never seemed like the safest idea to me: These big, yellow monstrosities with no seatbelts and no real separation between the driver and a bunch of rowdy little kids. But schoolbuses are getting a whole lot safer, and it has nothing to do with seatbelts or paper-airplane proof barricades. Diesel retrofit programs are greatly reducing childhood exposure to toxic air pollution, and they are becoming more and more common, especially in the northeastern United States.

According to the EPA website, 24 million children ride a schoolbus every day, spending an hour and a half traveling on the bus. The noxious fumes released from a diesel bus engine are circulated right back into the bus and breathed in by children, contributing greatly to childhood asthma and other respiratory health problems. But through the hard work of environmental and health groups, as well as the growing public concern about health problems associated with diesel exhaust, a number of cities and states are now requiring these pollution-reducing retrofits on their vehicles.   Read more...

As I walked along 5th Avenue from 96th St. to Central Park North in Manhattan last night, talking on the phone with someone from college I’d seen earlier in the day for the first time in 20 years, the message “There is so much life to be lived” kept running through my head. Sharing memories with Carole, who I reconnected with via Facebook, made me laugh and remember how much fun we had as silly, confused, searching, 18-22 year-old students. YES! We had fun! Perhaps it didn’t all seem that way at the time, but we can choose now to focus on the fun and not the drama we created.

When I hung up the phone, I walked into the subway station and waited for my train. I pulled out my iPod and hit ’shuffle.' A dance tune came on and I began to sing quietly and move my feet to the beat. “Why don’t you dance, right here, right now?” I dared myself. Thinking about my Radical Openness policy and a commitment to do something Radically Unusual once a day, I started to dance, slowly and self-consciously at first, and then I just closed my eyes and let the rhythm consume me. Spinning around on the subway platform I again heard “There is so much life to be lived.”   Read more...

Last July, returning from a trade show, I opted to take the train through the woods of New York home to Toronto. Train rides and hot baths have always been great ‘idea releasers’ for me; this one did not disappoint (I wonder what a bath ON a train would do!?). Not only did it release an idea, but allowed me to transition into the next phase of my life; one that is more aligned with my core values and ethics. The idea? Mobius Manitou.

The name Mobius comes from the discovery by German Mathematician August Ferdinand Mobius in 1858 and is symbolic of eternity and infinity. Though it appears double sided, a Mobius Strip can be traversed entirely and endlessly without ever stepping over an edge. Manitou, to the Algonquins of Eastern Canada and North Eastern USA, is the word for spirit, as well as for life energy. Together, the words Mobius Manitou stand for the Infinite Spirit in ourselves, the ‘other’, and the animals and nature that surround us. Mobius Manitou, the web site, hopes to provide a forum to create honouring and supportive connections between each.   Read more...

One thing that we've been doing here in Grand Rapids, Michigan as part of our Helping Hands Project is to piece together various care packages for our homeless community. These packages include handmade hats, scarves, some snacks, toiletries, pen/paper, and the like as well as an inspirational and encouraging handwritten card.   Read more...

Are you fascinated by the prospect of transmitting power to devices wirelessly? By computers that can think like people? By the prospect of diagnosing cancer - before someone has it? By phrases like "probabilistic electronics" or, say, "transcontinental brain-machine interface"? Geek out for a couple of hours by watching the video of the IEEE 125th Anniversary Media Event. Although you do have to take a moment to register, the video is well worth it.

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers brought together 7 experts to present about cutting-edge research - from pattern recognition to cancer research to brain-machine interaction to the latest in mobile computing. For a two-minute digest, take a look at Radio Worlds' article on the IEEE event. The presentations last for just over an hour and a half, with half an hour for some good questions about privacy rights & policy, engineering education and our societal perception of engineers.   Read more...

Business School Ashridge, in association with the European Academy of Business and Society (EABIS), and with the support of HP and WWF, are running a competition to find the best ideas from management and other post-graduate students about how organisations can innovate to create value from the shift to low carbon economy. The deadline for entries is 3 May 2009.   Read more...

This is an invitation to join Peace and Collaborative Development Network, an online initiative to bring together professionals, academics and students involved in Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Development, Democratization, Social Entrepreneurship and related fields.

The network fosters interaction between individuals and organizations around the world and currently has over 5,600 members. The site is a terrific networking tool where you can find local and international partners and practitioners, share resources, read guides to careers, scholarships, internships, funding, and IT resources in the field and exchange best practices. Discussion topics and personal blogs can be posted. The site also has a video section where members can access and view videos related to the field.   Read more...

"It's not their attitudes, it's not their families; the majority of students are one, two, sometimes even three or four years behind," explains Oakland sixth-grade teacher Sam Franklin in a video on the Vida Verde website. The children are motivated to learn, but they are coming from a large gap in educational opportunity and experience. Many children have supportive parents - although frequently the parents don't have a broad knowledge base to pass on - but the families and school districts don't have the budget to provide experiences that many other children take for granted.

Vida Verde begins addressing this problem by providing "at-risk" youth with a three-day environmental education program.   Read more...

I have noticed in my morning commute how jealous people are of their own space on busy sections of freeway. One car will follow another, bumper to bumper, shouting and honking if someone attempts to merge or change lanes. The result is always the same: the merging car goes as far as it can and then wedges into the lane, causing everyone to come to a complete stop. Including the jealous, honking driver who was afraid to give just a little bit of space.

Cami Walker explained in an interview that, before she started her personal 29 days of giving, she was "a selfish, resentful person." However, 29 days of giving have transformed not only her, but a community of over 3,600 committed givers.   Read more...

The tag line for Ashoka's Changemakers initiative is "open sourcing social solutions." Changemakers seeks to develop a community that competes to generate the most effective solutions to social problems and afterwards works together to refine and implement them. The latest Changemakers contest, Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities, focuses on improving the quality of life in impoverished, rural areas.   Read more...

Akoha's cutting-edge approach to gaming takes advantage of the most sophisticated 3D technology to create the world's most massively multi-player game. Interact with almost 7 billion lifelike characters and practically infinite, perfectly-rendered, real-world objects. When you complete a mission - with pulse pounding, a smile tugging at your lips or perhaps with victory arms - you feel as though you are literally inside the game. Because you are. It's the world's first "social reality game."   Read more...

Ashoka's Young Venture, a contest for aspiring young inventors, comes to a close this Sunday. Entrants include such inspiring participants as Cody Smith, a visually impaired inventor who is designing a high-tech pair of glasses that would allow even legally blind individuals to read. The device combines cutting-edge LCD technology with cameras and microcomputers.   Read more...

For the last few years, my husband has been after me to do something with the seeds in our catchall drawer. My response is always, “I am going to plant them in the spring.” But springs seem to come and go lately, and the only germinating that appears to be going on is that of new seeds in the drawer.

I have an affection for gardening and even dried these seeds myself. But a lack of follow through with planting is a sign of change for me. It is a hint that I have outgrown this activity - outgrown it because it doesn’t fit who I am anymore.   Read more...

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) recently awarded Matthew K. Gold, assistant professor of English at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), a grant for his innovative digital humanities project, “Looking for Whitman: The Poetry of Place in the Life and Work of Walt Whitman.”

The project focuses on a new kind of interactive learning, made possible by recent advances in social networking technologies, that is gradually reshaping academia by expanding the boundaries of education beyond the “walled garden” of traditional academic disciplines, classroom activities and online learning environments.   Read more...

The United States needs to establish individual and family health insurance premiums so that everyone is paying the same percentage of their income per dependent regardless of the source of that income. This percentage would be based on the national cost of health care as a percentage of the gross individual income (not taxable income). In other words, both people on welfare and those earning multi-millions per year would be paying some fair (emotional) share tax deductible premium.   Read more...

‘g’ serves as a one-stop shop, containing items that range from green building materials and home improvements to lifestyle products. With a commitment to make going green a simplistic process, the flagship store - located on Cape Cod in Mashpee, Massachusetts - has grown into a position as a community leader providing affordable and accessible materials under one roof. With continued success in the marketplace of environmentally conscious consumers, ‘g’ Green Design Center offers the opportunity to capitalize on a growing industry.   Read more...

Don't we love clean and happy endings? We plan events in our Google calendar, budget our retirement based on a projected rate of return and buy ultra-pasteurized milk to avoid any potential bugs. These action plans can make our lives more structured but do they allow for the unexpected? After all, most of the wonderful and innovative things in life come from the unexpected.   Read more...

I'm not Catholic, but I decided to participate in Lent last year. Was it to strengthen my relationship with God? Was it to try to create more peace with myself?

No. My motivation was to lose weight. I should have known right away that it wasn't a good idea.   Read more...

You can stock your couple’s psychological first aid kit by practicing communication strategies - such as just being there, active listening, partner care and identifying needs - at low-stress, neutral or even positive times. Here are five communication skills you can develop at low stress times to help you through more painful moments.   Read more...

Some good news about your favorite good news magazine: Ode is a finalist for three Maggie awards. Nominated once last year, this year Ode has received nominations for the Political & Social Issues, Lifestyles & Alternative Lifestyles and Special Theme Issue awards.   Read more...

The audience applauds when Willie Smits announces that he has almost 1,000 orangutans in his two centers, but Smits quickly interjects: "No no, wrong! This is horrible, this is proof of our failing to save them in the wild." Smits has his sights set higher than saving orangutans in shelters. That's why he has built a rainforest.   Read more...

Asheville, NC - recently named one of the happiest cities in the world - will play host to HATCHfest from April 15 - 19, 2009. HATCH is a multi-disciplinary mentoring festival that brings together veterans from seven media/arts industries and pairs them with up-and-coming artists over a four day festival. The HATCH mission is to mentor, educate, inspire and recognize the next generation of creative innovators. After 5 years in Bozeman Montana, HATCH expands to Asheville this spring.

Join us as thousands of creative leaders and learners descend upon our beautiful Western North Carolina home.   Read more...

For the young, music is an intimation of life. Each sonata or concerto cracks, but does not fully open, the door to worlds not yet experienced. The violin, singing of unknown desires, stirs desire. The cymbals' crescendo resounds with heights of elation not yet relished. The bass drum booms a cryptic proclamation of great events - happening where? For the old, music is a memoir of life. The buried strata of past experience, loosened by the mysterious psychoanalysis of sound, erupt into consciousness. Sorrows and joys which played singly through time now harmonize into a grand symphonic impression of the tremendousness of living. Must not the brittle self shatter to have been poured so full of experiences?   Read more...

Click for a short meditative walk in the woods, all while sitting at your desk. Be in the moment. Being in the moment promotes balance and harmony. Whether it's done through yoga, meditation, eating slowly or listening to music, being in the moment enriches your life.   Read more...

It’s after 1 A.M. and I’ve been YouTubing again. It’s my late-night fix, along with Facebook and blogging. I’ve been using YouTube to research Positive Affirmations. In my quest I came across a great video by James Ray, who has been featured in The Secret, on Larry King Live, and on Oprah, talking about doing what you love.   Read more...

According to the Tao Te Ching, the Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. Understandably so, as words can only convey a limited meaning and only share or convey ideas which have already been experienced. What about the Tao that can be skied?   Read more...

International Women's Day is just around the corner (March 8th). It's an international holiday celebrating the achievements of women in both social and political fields. Women like Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa, Marie Curie, Susan B. Anthony and many others have changed the world for the better. Here is a selection of the many courageous women who have been featured in Ode who are still changing the world today.   Read more...

Better The World is the world’s first, effortless fundraising platform that provides people with free and easy ways to raise money for the causes they care most about. The platform unites people, companies and charities with a shared interest in a cause - with the goal of driving positive social change.   Read more...

“What’s the good news today?”, I asked the group. Seventeen blank faces stared back at me in silence. I rephrased my question. “Who’s got some good news to share?” Still no response. “No one in this room has one good thing to say about something that is happening in their life today? I don’t believe it! What’s wrong with you people?” I joked.

This is a common routine, one which I repeat in each of my fitness classes at a YMCA in New York City. You’d think the folks who gather in those classes each week would be prepared for it by now and be ready with an answer. No such luck.   Read more...

"Change is only a click away" seems to be Social Actions' goal in launching their Change the Web Challenge. Social Action has created a database of 60,000 volunteer actions that you can take on the web. The challenge is to create an easy-to-use web application that allows net surfers to use the Social Action database in creative ways. The grand prize: $5,000, with 2nd and 3rd place winners receiving $3,000 and $2,000.

Social Action already has a few applications that might get creative juices flowing: one application uses keywords in Wordpress to generate an automated list of related volunteer actions. A Firefox extension allows the user to highlight phrases and find related ways to serve. The point is to create an innovative way for people to get involved.

Need an infusion of intelligent optimism? Ode now has a presence on some of the leading social networks, making it easy for you to stay on top of all the inspiring stories that are posted on www.odemagazine.com. Be sure to join and share Ode with your friends!   Read more...

One of my favorite brands, the anthroposophic cosmetics brand Weleda, decided to work together with Soil and More to become a climate neutral company.

The last couple of years Weleda worked hard on diminishing its CO2 emissions. Recently the company decided to compensate the remaining emissions by buying emission rights of Soil and More, a Dutch company which creates composting installations in Mexico, South Africa and Egypt. Their composting method transforms organic waste into superior biological dynamic compost. This process, which is certified by the UN, diminishes the output of CO2 gasses.   Read more...