Weekly Good News Roundup: January 4th, 2020
Good News: We found hope in the midst of the heartbreak of Australia’s bushfires 🐨 💛
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Here’s this week in good news:
THE WEEK OF JANUARY 4TH, 2020
Beautiful gestures: the good news stories coming out of Australia’s bushfires
Australians are banding together to offer accommodation, food, medicine and funds for firefighters. (The Guardian)
Steve Irwin’s family helping to save animals in Australian wildfires
When Australian animal expert Steve Irwin died in 2006, he left behind a zoo, a legacy of helping wildlife, and a caring family that shared his passion. Irwin’s widow, Terri, took over the Australia Zoo in Queensland when he passed away, and his family announced this week the animal hospital there treated its 90,000th patient. (CBS News)
Livestreams are the new telethons, and they’re raising millions for charities
The rise of video game streaming in the last several years has opened up a new avenue for philanthropy. Streamers and charity organizations routinely partner up to solicit donations from the gamer’s thousands of loyal viewers. Instead of calling in like participants did for telethons, viewers funnel donations through a digital pipeline that makes the fundraising process instantaneous. Streamers hold auctions, hand out prizes, and incentivize viewers to donate with different reward tiers. The streams often involve the host playing video games for hours on end.
“Digital telethons” have become so popular that the community around Twitch, the world’s leading live-streaming platform, collectively raised more than $75 million for varying charities between 2012 and 2017, according to the company. (Twitch is owned by Amazon, whose CEO, Jeff Bezos, owns The Washington Post.) Events like the video game speedrunning marathon series Games Done Quick, which supports Doctors Without Borders and Prevent Cancer Foundation, has raised over $22.3 million since its inception in 2010. (The Washington Post)
Your guide to making a difference for Australia
How to help the humans affected by the Australian bushfires…
How to help the wildlife affected by the Australian bushfires…
How to help a planet affected by the Australian bushfires…
More Good News
Zoo director takes monkeys and pandas home to save them from deadly wildfires (The Washington Post)
NYC fire commissioner Nigro announces fire deaths dropped 25 percent in 2019 (NYC.gov)
This teacher in India started bussing students to school so they don’t drop out (Good Good Good)
A model raised $500,000 for Australia wildfire relief by sending nude photos to donors, she says (The Washington Post)
River Falls, Wisconsin hits green milestone, switching to 100 percent renewable energy for city buildings (TwinCities.com)
Pay is rising fastest for low earners. One reason? Minimum wages. (The New York Times)
An Uber driver got a college degree after one of her passengers wiped out her debt (CNN)
Australian Muslims join Christians in a public prayer for rain in bushfire and drought-ravaged areas (Daily Mail)
She never attended a university, but her estate will give nearly $10 million to community colleges (The Washington Post)
On eve of legal recreational pot sales in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker pardons more than 11,000 people with weed convictions (Chicago Tribune)
Pizza shop gives its employees all of the profits from Christmas Day (Today)
Dads are much more involved in child care than they were 50 years ago. (Pew Research Center)
Bill Gates wants to reinvent the toilet (Good Good Good)
American Girl’s 2020 girl of the year is 1st doll with hearing loss (Good Morning America)
China’s inland surface water quality significantly improves (Phys.org)
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