A boy makes his own lemonade at a block party in Boston. Resolutions for 2013 to share more might including sharing tools, a car, your home, or hosting a block party to get to know your neighbors better. (Steven Harris/Staff/File)
11:47 am ET -Leaders of sharing-based groups around the world offer ideas for how to make 2013 a year of sharing with each other, whether it's a car, meal, office space, child care, time, skills, or your home.
People Making a Difference (View all)
- Restoring US native prairies, acre by acre, yard by yard
- Difference Maker: A grandmother hunts for Argentina's grandchildren 'stolen' decades ago
- 13 resolutions to improve the world's food supply in 2013
- Nonprofits' message: Keep firewood close to home
- How renewable energy is rescuing US schools from budget cuts
- FarmVille's game players bring clean water to the real world
- Four ways to help 'contract farming' benefit the very poor
- Difference Maker: Entrepreneur Joe Edwards helps make St. Louis vibrant again
- Number of volunteers in US hits highest level since 2005
- Give to people on the street? In cities, it's a daily dilemma
More People Making a Difference
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Mom in Argentina rescues hundreds of sex slaves
What began as a one-woman campaign a decade ago has become a movement, and today Susana Trimarco is a hero to hundreds of women she's rescued from prostitution rings in Argentina.
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Shoppers add charitable giving to their lists
Purchases that give a portion of the sale to a charity make shoppers feel good but may diminish overall giving to that charity, a consultant says.
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Kids Helping Kids is run by kids – and for kids
The Connecticut-based nonprofit youth group of middle schoolers and teens plans and carries out projects that make a positive difference in their community and beyond.
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Difference Maker
Izhar Gafni invents revolutionary cardboard bicycleHis two-wheeled creation, a $20 bike made out of cardboard, could revolutionize bicycling, especially in the developing world.
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Alta Gracia factory produces fair-trade clothing
For years, college student activists have pressured their schools to make sure clothing with college logos is sweatshop-free. Now, they have another choice: fair-trade clothing manufactured in the Dominican Republic by Alta Gracia.
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How one man learned to share – and saved $17,000 in one year
Neal Gorenflo found he could share cars, lodging, office space, even a nanny, saving him money and helping him to live in a more sustainable way.
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Would the lights go out if superstorm Sandy hit the Netherlands? Nope.
The US can learn from the modern, disaster-resistant electric grid in the Netherlands.
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Clean cookstoves in Mozambique lure big investors
CleanStar Mozambique is a combined effort among a mix of institutions centered around replacing traditional charcoal cooking stoves with stoves fueled by sustainably produced bio-ethanol.
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#GivingTuesday sparks a big spike in charitable donations
Gifts to charitable groups shot up 53 percent to $10 million on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which is being promoted as #GivingTuesday.
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Difference Maker
Ellen Calmus helps Mexican families cope with cross-border challengesThe Corner Project assists families with relatives in the US, ensuring, for example, that children of migrant workers born in the US are able to register for school or other services in Mexico.
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Designing from nature could solve the world's biggest challenges
Can a boat be designed to clean the water? How does a spider manufacture resilient fiber? The world needs products that don’t harm humans or the environment, and nature’s already done the research.
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Nonprofit leaders to President Obama: Help the vulnerable
In his second term President Obama will likely make changes that affect nonprofit and charitable groups. Five nonprofit leaders and thinkers share their ideas about what he can do to strengthen their efforts.
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Black Friday, Cyber Monday ... now Giving Tuesday
A national campaign to brand the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as an annual day of giving is a product of the digital age, steeped in social media, with its own Twitter hashtag: #GivingTuesday.
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New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker will try living on food stamps
Cory Booker has committed to living on the equivalent of food stamps for at least a week to spur a discussion on the role government plays in providing food for the poor.
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Bartering may boost food supply for rural Kenyans
The age-old practice of bartering – trading goods without exchanging money – may provide a better return for Kenya's rural poor.
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Curacao looks at using ocean water for power
Curacao, an island nation in the southern Caribbean, may use cold seawater to generate power, taking an innovative step toward clean, local energy.
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Difference Maker
Restaurant mogul George Schenk melds the needs of people, planet, and profitsServing nutritious food, following ecological principles, and helping his community in Vermont make George Schenk a businessman with a social conscience.
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Public banks could help after a disaster such as superstorm Sandy
In April 1997, a public bank was able to respond to a massive flood in Grand Forks, N.D., in ways that privately owned banks could not or, perhaps, would not. Could public banks help in other disasters, such as superstorm Sandy?
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Nonprofits work to help legal immigrants become US citizens
The costly, lengthy, labyrinthine path to US citizenship can take two years to complete, dissuading many from trying. Nonprofits are jumping in to help.
- Cover Story
Giving back: Eight innovative philanthropists around the world
The global face of philanthropy is changing. Donors no longer just open their wallets. They're actively involved in causes, use savvy business practices, and leverage what they give to achieve more good. Meet eight innovators.
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