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  • Making an App to Make a Difference

    February 12, 2019 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    The lack of technology and app solutions for social problems is beginning to change thanks to the help of a growing group of technology accelerators (also called incubators) aimed at tech companies focused on social impact, rather than traditional profit-focused start-ups. Incubators like Blue Ridge Labs, Fast Forward, and Financial Solutions Lab offer capital, connections, and mentorship.

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  • When It's Hard to Make Ends Meet, Can Smart Apps Help?

    February 04, 2019 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Elsie, Michigan

    Smartphone technology levels the playing field for low-income people, utilizing services that manage SNAP food-assistance budgets, pay parking tickets on time, payday loans, and more. Applications like Fresh EBT work with families to create budgets to better manage their monthly income.

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  • The Magazines Publishing One Another's Work

    January 29, 2019 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Poland

    Publishing various perspectives fosters civic discourse. In Poland, Projekt Spiecie addresses the challenge of ideological isolation by creating a network of magazines across the political spectrum that all agree to publish each other’s work. By providing their readers with competing points of view on topics of national debate, these publishers aim to reduce the opacity of individual media bubbles and to lessen polarization.

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  • It Takes a Mosquito to Fight a Mosquito

    January 08, 2019 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: Australia, Townsville

    Australia has a major mosquito problem which has resulted in a rise of dengue cases, but adding more mosquitos to the ecosystem may be the solution. The city of Townsend has been experimenting with the release of bacteria-injected mosquitos into the area in order to directly combat the dengue-infected mosquitos. So far, this approach has seen significant positive results and is now being implemented in a variety of different ways in other parts of the world.

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  • Making a Difference in 2018

    December 11, 2018 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    In times of political gridlock, individuals have stepped up to make meaningful changes in their communities, with their solutions inspiring others around the world. From ground-up political action that decreased gerrymandering in Michigan to an accessible coding bootcamp to helping women’s health in many forms, it is clear that change can come from anywhere.

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  • How to Really Help Children Abroad

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

    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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  • Britons Pay Hundreds for H.I.V. Drugs. Why Do Americans Pay Thousands?

    September 25, 2018 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: England, Liverpool

    When it comes to helping H.I.V. patients, Britain's National Health Service is able to keep prices for treatment much lower than the United States does by encouraging the use of generic drugs. The National Health Service's structure allows it to incentivize prescribing generic treatment in a way that the American system doesn't, especially as H.I.V. treatments are not being consistently replaced by something found to be more efficient.

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  • The business of voluntourism: do western do-gooders actually do harm?

    September 13, 2018 |

    The Guardian |

    Text |

    Over 3000 Words

    Response Location: Guatemala, Zacapa

    Voluntourism, or the practice of western volunteers paying to do service in developing countries, seems like a moral, do-good activity. However, the practice has been proven to have consequences, including reducing the need for local labor and stunting development of children in orphanages. There has recently been progress in discouraging volunteers from working in orphanages - the volunteer efforts in institutions never benefit the children - but true progress might involve staying at home.

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  • To Get a Better Job, First Train for the Job Training

    September 04, 2018 |

    The New York Times |

    Text |

    1500-3000 Words

    Response Location: United States

    When it comes to job training, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and its partners believe in a holistic approach. LISC offers not only skills courses, but also child care assistance, financial competency lessons, and mental health services. "You have to really do all of these things simultaneously if you really want to have a lasting impact helping people get into living-wage jobs and careers," notes LISC president Maurice Jones.

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