Where Are They Now? - SOLARKIOSK
Starting a new venture anywhere can be a daunting task, but factor in the tough environment of rural Africa, and an idea that’s as ambitious as it is technically difficult, and you’ve got a job on your hands. Undaunted, SOLARKIOSK has set out to deliver easy-to-install solar electricity and light-providing hubs that could help those in off-grid areas to develop their own businesses. The company is guided by the fact that those regions where electricity sources aren’t abundant are what could be considered a no man’s land – even more so when the sun sets and complete darkness descends. In actuality 1.5 billion people around the world spend their lives in such areas, where they have to walk for days to charge their phone, find refrigerated food or medicine, or resort to dangerous kerosene lamps for illumination. These communities have little opportunity to socialize, never mind set up a business. READ MORE…
In Spain, NGO taps ‘foodstagrams’ to fight world hunger
Instagram is a useful tool for sharing our lives visually with others and it’s probably a sign of how comfortable the Western world currently is that one of its most popular uses is ‘foodstagrams’ – photos of everyday meals. We’ve already seen one restaurant tap the social media service to build a user-created menu, but now a Spanish charity is aiming to fight world hunger with its FoodShareFilter app, which enables the sharing of food photos on Instagram while raising money for the cause. READ MORE…
In Brazil, vacant classroom spots offered at reduced cost to poorer students
Learning can be expensive, and we’ve already seen startups such as Raygun try to help college students in US save money. But what about those who can’t even afford a basic education? Brazil’s Mais Estudo is hoping to get more young people into university by offering vacant classroom spots at reduced prices. READ MORE…
Modular fashion store triples as art gallery and charity
When we walk into certain businesses spaces we think we know what to expect, but sometimes they can surprise us. Munich-based Wash & Coffee is one example, pairing a Laundromat service with a café, and now New York’s Aksel Paris is combining its clothes retail store with an art gallery and social cause support center. READ MORE…
Social button sends half of small donations to content creators, half to charities
As the Kony 2012 campaign showed, viral sharing isn’t just limited to videos of cats and babies. Aiming to raise money for charities and creatives through ‘likes’, CentUp is a new platform that enables consumers to share content and donate to relevant parties at the click of a button. READ MORE…
In Africa, transmitters send an alert when a water pump is broken
Access to clean water is a perennial challenge in many parts of the world, but for those affected by the drought in east Africa, it’s particularly acute. Compounding the problem is the fact that roughly a third of all hand pumps in the region are typically broken at any given time, often taking weeks or months to get fixed. Enter mw4d, a new effort that’s using mobile technology to help get pumps fixed more quickly. READ MORE…
‘Hotel’ enables customers to experience homelessness, while donating to charity
India-based mattress supplier Springwel’s Sleep Exchange campaign recently raised awareness of the problem of homelessness in the country, by offering discounts only to those customers donating their old mattresses to shelters. Now Norwegian charity magazine Faktum has created Faktum Hotels, which encourages those with a roof over their head to trade places with rough sleepers by booking a night in popular spots used by the homeless. READ MORE…
In the UK, network pairs leftover meals with hungry locals
Schemes such as Sweden’s Lantmannen have already attempted to connect people with leftover food using a dating format. Looking to establish a more long-term and sustainable platform for saving food from landfill, UK-based Casserole is a community network that matches those with extra meals to spare with neighbors who might not be able to cook themselves. READ MORE…
Wise Words with Matt Dimmer
Air miles have acted as a welcome incentive for many a traveler over the past few years. However, while business travelers can often find they have a huge number of miles accrued, those who travel less often may find the cost of a one-off important trip is too high. This is a situation Matt Dimmer was keen to avoid when he set up The Extra Mile. Matt spent a significant part of last year traveling back and forth between his home in Los Angeles and Michigan to visit his father who was dying of cancer. This regular travel pattern was costly but also very important for Matt, as he had the chance to spend time with his father before he passed away. He realized though that not everyone would be able to afford the regular flights involved to visit relatives living far away and that’s when the idea for The Extra Mile came to him – a startup that encourages those with unwanted air miles to donate them to people who wish to visit relatives suffering from cancer. READ MORE…
Tool gives users the news, and suggests what they can do about it
This week, we’ve already written about MSF.TV, the news station that aims to keep viewers more informed and encourage them to donate. Now, ShoutAbout is a tool that enables news providers to empower readers by offering information on the meaningful actions they can take to help out with the situation they are reading about. READ MORE…
