The Harmony Program is a New York-based non-profit music education organization that “provides daily after-school music lessons to children from economically disadvantaged communities. Harmony’s unique model taps the city’s college- and graduate-level music students as teachers, training them to develop the talents of young people who would not ordinarily be exposed to music education.” The program is […]

It’s expensive to keep people poor!” Those are the words of Bill Strickland, CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corporatio​n. His business aims “to create empowering educational environments for adults-in-transition as well as urban and at-risk youth, enriching Southwestern Pennsylvania and, eventually, the world.” In particular he has built the Bidwell Training Center in Pittsburgh, an adult career training institution that […]

“This story is ultimately about how small acts of kindness can bring a little humanity, even in a tragedy that defies all imagination.” It’s an account of what a retired undertaker has achieved in Kamaishi, Japan. Atsushi Chiba took it upon himself to clean and tend to the dead bodies of hundreds of last year’s earthquake and […]

Today, as reported by the BBC, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to deliver a campaign message and even to criticize her country’s political system. A clear sign that things are changing positively in Burma, she was able to speak for 15 minutes on national television and radio as part of a […]

This story has been reported by several news channels in the last few days, but it’s worth repeating. The UN has reached one of the millennium development goals ahead of schedule. Goal number 7 is to “Ensure environmental sustainability.” Within that goal, target 7C is to “Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without […]

Yes! It’s time to rejoice and congratulate all those who contributed to an entire year without polio in India! Do so here.

The Good Times wishes you optimism and more positive news in 2012! gelukkige nuwejaar / voorspoedige nuwejaar / ilufio ètussé / Gëzuar vitin e ri / e glëckliches nëies / güets nëies johr / عام سعيد (aam saiid) / sana saiida / shnorhavor nor tari / amokitanone / yeni iliniz mubarek / aw ni san’kura […]

Check out MassiveGood, and fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and improve maternal and child health. How? It’s “the social network generation’s solution to put a stop to the millions of deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, and to improve maternal and child health in the developing world. If social media has revolutionized the way in which […]

Got an old bicycle in your garage that you don’t know what to do with? Send it to Bern, where it will be restored and shipped to Africa so people living in rural areas can cycle to work. That’s what Paolo Richter does. His company, Gump-& Drahtesel hires unemployed individuals to recycle old bicycles for Africa, […]