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To Get Rid of Blight, Baltimore Tries Something New

David Kidd

November 01, 2018 |

Governing |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Baltimore, Maryland

As Baltimore's population has rapidly declined in the past few decades, outmigrants have left a trail of over 16,000 vacant homes. After decades of underwhelming initiatives, the city thinks it might have found a partial fix - the Vacants to Value program sells city-owned vacant homes to individuals or developers who then have a set period of time to rehab the property.

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ReCity. Durham, North Carolina

Richard Davies Jim Meigs

November 01, 2018 |

How Do We Fix It? |

Podcast |

Over 15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Durham, North Carolina

In Durham, North Carolina, ReCity is bringing together various non-profit organizations, social activists, and mission-driven companies in a shared coworking space to meet, innovate, and collaborate with each other. This “WeWork for non-profits” encourages knowledge sharing (e.g., vetted technology vendors or other best practices) and mentorship among these groups, placing an emphasis on the benefits that come from sharing the same physical space, at a time when community groups are declining.

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Walking School Bus program at Lincoln to expand route, improve attendance

Grace Connatser

October 30, 2018 |

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Since the Lincoln Avenue School Walking Bus program started, the school has seen marked improvements in attendance rates. The volunteer-run transit alternative promotes neighborhood safety and offers another chance for disconnected students to socialize.

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Neighbors create a solution for families who need diapers in Washington Heights and beyond

Jane Simons

October 25, 2018 |

Second Wave Michigan |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Battle Creek, Michigan

A neighborhood dentist asked his underserved community what he could do to improve their lives. The answer? Diapers. Now, his Battle Creek, MI organization delivers diapers to families in need around county, regardless of recipients' economic or social status.

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Meet The Woman Who's Transforming How Kenya Sees Disability

Hassan Ghedi Santur

October 25, 2018 |

Bright Magazine |

Multi-Media |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Kenya, Nairobi

After volunteering for the special olympics, Maria Omare decided children with disabilities in Kenya needed a space where they would be treated with dignity, care, and respect. So she rented a one-room space, and called it the The Action Foundation, a grassroots organization that provides social inclusion and education for children with disabilities. Eight years later, the organization has ballooned, “since 2012, the foundation has helped almost 240 children with various needs, large and small.”

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How to Really Help Children Abroad

Tina Rosenberg

October 23, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Short-term volunteering trips, especially those that involve working directly with vulnerable children, can do more harm than good. Instead, volunteers should look for opportunities to support staff and primary caregivers. Or even just send the money that would otherwise go towards airfare and expenses. “We confuse our own caring for help,” argues Tina Rosenberg.

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These Kenyan widows are fighting against sexual 'cleansing'

Louise Donovan Hannah O'Neill

October 23, 2018 |

Public Radio International (PRI) |

Text |

Under 800 Words

Response Location: Kenya

In Kenya, and in other parts of Africa, widows are considered impure until a male has sex with them and cleanses them. If they don’t get cleansed they face social stigma. However, one widow, Roseline Orwa, refused, and instead created the Rona Foundation. “The center provides loss and grief counseling, financial support and teaches entrepreneurial skills.” She also successfully lobbied for a bill that outlawed widow cleansing. However, even though the practice is still prevalent in rural parts of Kenya, both men and women are talking about ending the practice through talk sessions offered by the center. “A

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How Communities of Practice Make a Difference in Middle Neighborhoods

Oscar Perry Abello

October 22, 2018 |

Next City |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Community development groups are working closely with "middle neighborhoods" - areas "that aren't distressed today, but they may become so sooner than anyone expects." From Cleveland to Milwaukee to Chicago, CDCs are improving the lives of long term homeowners and helping interested parties generate the capital to move into these neighborhoods: “You're investing to a place that is on the edge, still has assets, still has people who want to be there, but need a nudge to get over the top, versus investing 60 homes in a non-functioning market."

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The Lasting Pain of Children Sent to Orphanages, Rather Than Families

Tina Rosenberg

October 16, 2018 |

The New York Times |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Costa Rica, San Jose

Casa Viva is an organization in Latin America that prioritizes family reunification over adoption. They have placed about 640 children with foster families, “60 percent of those went back to their biological family or another relative. About 35 percent were adopted.” In contrast to foster homes, orphanages have become thriving business which recruit western volunteers and charge them large fees. Casa Viva opposes this model because most kids have parents who are alive, but can’t afford to raise them.

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Unprotected

Finlay Young

October 11, 2018 |

ProPublica |

Multi-Media |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Liberia, Monrovia

Created to “help some of the world’s most vulnerable children get off the street and into school," More Than Me Foundation exposed its students to widespread sexual abuse by an influential staffer. The charity lacked board members and top leadership with experience running schools and resisted being held accountable for the abuse.

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