make a difference

7 ways to help on this World Refugee Day

catherinemryan

You can make a difference. Here's how to help refugees. // volunteer // charity // give back // Ten Thousand Hour Mama

Six years ago, Syrian teen Nabil fled Syria with his family. They stayed for four years in a small apartment in Jordan, all the while doing everything they could to find a permanent, stable, safe home. Now Nabil and his family have settled in Seattle, where he plays forward on his soccer team, volunteers with a Muslim organization to reach out to local homeless people and welcomes other Syrian refugees as they arrive and begin to rebuild their lives.

This World Refugee Day, which is marked across the globe on June 20, nonprofits, governmental organizations and regular citizens like you and me can recognize the immense resilience of refugees like Nabil. I got to interview Nabil for my work with Microsoft Philanthropies, which is sharing stories of refugee youth to direct donations to its nonprofit partners such as the International Rescue Committee, Mercy Corps, the UNHCR and more. And stories like Nabil’s, and the tens of thousands of others like him, inspire us to want to know how to help refugees.

 

7 ways to help refugees for World Refugee Day - and every day. Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

Taking action with others: Doing good every day in February

catherinemryan

Misery may love company, but activism adores it! And the thing is, the more I practice everyday acts of kindness and political action, the more optimistic I feel. In February, I (mostly) succeeded in my resolution to do good every day, and I came away with this as my main takeaway: We can do even more good, develop relationships that build community and get out of our Facebook bubble when taking action with others.

Taking action with others // doing good // make a difference // Mother Teresa quote // Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →

How this family helps the homeless: Kids doing good

catherinemryan

When Kristin Corona woke up to 10 inches of snow outside her Portland-area home earlier this month, her mind immediately turned to building snowmen, sledding and making snow angels with her two kids. But that’s not what Lucas, 6, thought of.

As he stared out the window at the untouched snow, he told his mom, “I’m really worried about people who don’t have houses right now.”

Kristin paused. “What can we do about it?” she wondered aloud.

That question has inspired ongoing action in the Corona household and beyond—through a kid-created Share the Warmth Club.

These kids do good and make a difference to help the homeless in the winter. Ten Thousand Hour Mama Read more →