The Weekly Theme
Each week, we feature a new theme of solutions for those passionate about learning in-depth on how we are building a better world!
Indonesians celebrate new year by clearing 30 tons of plastic off a beach
During the monsoon season each year, large amounts of trash and debris wash up onto Bali’s Kuta Beach. The litter is a serious issue and draws attention to our mounting single-use plastic crisis, but the community’s response to the trash is also inspiring. This year, locals got together for Read More...
How car-free streets unite communities: A firsthand account from Oakland
The Optimist Daily has never been shy to support urban planning that favors pedestrians over motorists. Not only does it make the streets safer, but it can also clean up the air in a city dramatically. But beyond all this, perhaps the biggest benefit of clearing the streets of cars is that it turns Read More...
How Phoenix is feeding the hungry and saving local businesses
Like most cities around the world, Phoenix, Arizona had its restaurant and hospitality industries ravaged by the pandemic. When the city received its federal CARES Act relief, it decided to allocate $951,000 towards an ambitious goal: saving the city’s farms and restaurants and providing food to Read More...
Optimist View Special Feature: Uplifting Stories by Ione Butler
“If you want to improve your mood, a great place to start is by shifting the narrative.” - Ione Butler, Author Uplifting Stories As we all hunker down to await the end of this pandemic, connecting with our usual holiday cheer is tough. Quarantine fatigue is getting us down, but the Read More...
WayFinder helps people with intellectual disabilities navigate independently
Many of us don’t think twice about daily tasks like going grocery shopping or visiting the mall, but for individuals with cognitive disabilities, these outings often require the assistance of a caregiver. A new app, WayFinder, hopes to make daily tasks more approachable for all by unlocking Read More...
Giving season: Business owner pays overdue utility bills for 114 families
In 2019, a Florida business owner by the name of Michael Esmond wanted to help out struggling members of his community, Gulf Breeze, by paying the utility bills of 36 households. This year, Esmond felt the need to up the ante with both Hurricane Sally and the Covid-19 pandemic causing economic Read More...
Chicago couple uses wedding deposits to feed their community
The pandemic has brought weddings to a screeching halt. When Chicago couple Emily Bugg and Billy Lewis canceled their big bash, they decided to use the catering and venue deposits to do some good in their community. The couple asked their caterer to take the $5,000 deposit and turn it into Read More...
Thankful Thursdays: Commemorating community food
Locally grown food is more sustainable, fresher, and grown by small farmers. Locally grown food cuts down on food waste and reduces transportation emissions. Plus, is there anything more delicious than a freshly picked piece of fruit? During the pandemic, these farms and organizations have kept Read More...
A guide to mailing homemade treats this holiday season
In our guide to more socially distanced holidays, we recommended sending care packages with homemade treats to relatives you can’t see in person. Today, we’re diving deeper into how you can safely prepare and mail those goods. First things first, it’s important that the food is being Read More...
Lab-grown chicken to go on sale for the first time after safety approval
When it comes to the meat industry, the numbers are grim for farmed animals. An estimated 130 million chickens and 4 million pigs are slaughtered every day for meat. By weight, 60 percent of the mammals on earth are livestock, 36 percent are humans and only 4 percent are wild. The slaughtering of Read More...