What can be found in a book? Your answer might be history, fiction or recipes. There are as many possible answers as there are combinations of words in a dictionary. Books can help us learn about topic we’re interested in, provide an escape from reality during hard times and assist our imaginations in forming new ideas. The innumerable possibilities books offer make reading a perfect recipe for a better planet.
The founders of Pitch a Dream based in Nairobi, Kenya are instilling a love of reading for children in rural schools throughout their country. The Dream Workshops, which they run alongside teachers, help kids cultivate reading skills, change-making mindsets and a global perspective. Pitch a Dream gives books and mentorship to encourage and inspire young minds.
Bring inspiration to your mind by reading about more of the world’s changemakers.
Parents for the Planet is a group based in Denver, Colorado that offers book clubs, movies, walks and online platforms to provide the connection and encouragement needed to take action on climate change.
Founded by vegan author, illustrator and activist Julia Feliz Brueck, Sanctuary Publishers is a vegan book publisher based in Wyoming committed to raising the voices of the marginalized and giving back through each book sold.
Tara Rouse and Shelly Holland of the L. C. Hatcher Elementary Outdoor Science Lab in Lucedale, Mississippi are giving children the space to smell, listen to and touch the natural world, experiencing the planet hands-on.
Rose Mary Nakame’s project The Health Equity Voice in Kampala, Uganda allows rural health workers to tell their stories, present challenges, propose recommendations and paint a picture of the day-day life of a rural health worker to the public.
Pastor Tony and Erica Lawson in Baltimore, Maryland started a food and resource center at the church house where fresh produce will be available for all community members within and outside of the church community.
Raaji is an animated series by the Pakistani women’s empowerment digital platform Aurat Raaj. From honor killing to child marriages, the series educates, empowers and entertains young Pakistani adolescent girls with content that can save their lives and reduce shame surrounding gender issues.
The Liquid Gold project, led by Immaculate ‘Sherry’ Adhiambo, serves vulnerable women farmers in Busia, Kenya.
Rama Ganesan’s project, Michiana Vegan Living, introduces and promotes vegan living to people in and around South Bend, Indiana. The project partners with community resources such as local vegan chefs, public spaces and local merchants to provide inclusive and engaging events.
Douglas Nyongesa’s project Biodiversity Alive supports green economy and protects the biodiversity in the Bunyala Forest in Kakamega, Kenya.
Benchwarmers Basketball is a program in Los Angeles, California that allows kids ages 8 to 14 to play basketball with kids that are at their same level.
Patricia Way, Kristi Polizzano and Reem have created an Inside-Out course to bring undergraduate students from Temple University together with students from the Outside Service Unit at SCI-Graterford, a men’s prison outside of Philadelphia. The course is called “The Gender of Crime, Prisons, and Reentry” and it explores the ways gender norms in U.S. society intersect with how crime is defined and who is criminalized.
Aimee Martinez and Rachel Melvald are two Los Angeles, California-based psychotherapists with a passion for art who aim to promote and create space for emerging artists from underdeveloped areas without traditional means of exposure. Their first project involves a pop-up art gallery focusing on the creativity of artists in Cuba, while immersing them in the Los Angeles community through an art exhibition at Schoos Night Gallery in West Hollywood and a children’s art workshop.
Mimi Aboubaker founded TUSA, an education technology social enterprise aiming improve college access and affordability for socioeconomically disadvantaged students in the United States through increased transparency in the higher education financing market. They give scholars with high potential and financial need the funding resources necessary for post-secondary education.
Do you have an idea to better the planet? Apply for a grant from The Pollination Project!
