This campaign is recognizing incredible innovators fighting for social change.

Upworthy's book GOOD PEOPLE, now available - take a look!

Shop
 Explore 

Today, global impact starts with a click of the keyboard.

True

A solution for food waste and hunger, getting undocumented immigrants citizenship, an anti-cyberbullying app — these are things the world desperately needs.

And thanks to a handful of social innovators, we now have them.

The minds behind the technology and programs above have been named in the class of 2017 Tech Impact AllStars by the social impact media company NationSwell and Comcast NBCUniversal.

"The main goal is to find and uplift the everyday heroes who are changing their communities and slowly but surely, changing the nation and the world," writes Greg Behrman, CEO and Founder of NationSwell. "These are the people in your neighborhood who feel a fire in their belly to solve challenging social issues."

[rebelmouse-image 19527961 dam="1" original_size="645x361" caption="(From left) Seth Flaxman, Zakiya Harris, and Riku Sen. Images via NationSwell." expand=1](From left) Seth Flaxman, Zakiya Harris, and Riku Sen. Images via NationSwell.

Two years ago, NationSwell partnered with Comcast NBCUniversal to start recognizing these technology trailblazers for their endeavors and give them a leg up on their path. Comcast NBCUniversal is playing a defining role in shaping the future of media and technology, and believes social innovation like the Tech Impact AllStars Campaign is good for communities.

Together with NationSwell, they've endorsed some extraordinary talent that more than deserves the attention:

But they also need your endorsement to be honored. You can vote for your favorite 2017 Tech Impact AllStars from Oct. 2 through Nov. 2 by clicking here.

Today, technology is often the power behind grand-scale social impact projects. That's why Tech Impact AllStars are using it to solve major problems.

[rebelmouse-image 19527962 dam="1" original_size="580x338" caption="Raj Karmani speaks about his company, Zero Percent. Photo via NationSwell." expand=1]Raj Karmani speaks about his company, Zero Percent. Photo via NationSwell.

"[Technology] is more relevant than ever before, and it’s changing the way we approach age-old issues," Behrman explains. "Technology provides the ability to scale solutions in extraordinary and rapid ways."

"Technology innovation is the fuel that moves our business forward," writes Jessica Clancy, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility at Comcast NBCUniversal, in an email. "We also believe it has unsurpassed power to solve complex social issues and improve communities."

The program specifically recognizes up-and-coming social innovators from incredibly diverse backgrounds, and the hope is that the recognition they receive as Tech Impact AllStars will propel their mission so that they can make an even greater impact.

"We’ve seen past AllStars graduate from the program and receive new funding or corporate partners, additional coverage on platforms like Nightline, NPR, + TED, and increased visibility and interest, helping them scale their work and do more good," writes Emily Chong, senior vice president at NationSwell.

If your social impact efforts utilize tech in some way and you're domestically-based, you can be nominated to be a Tech Impact AllStar.

[rebelmouse-image 19527963 dam="1" original_size="758x426" caption="Karen Washington of Black Urban Growers. Photo via NationSwell." expand=1]Karen Washington of Black Urban Growers. Photo via NationSwell.

For example, Karen Washington started Black Urban Growers to encourage primarily black communities to help turn vacant urban lots in the Bronx into thriving gardens.

In a somewhat different vein, Rose Broome created an online crowdsourcing platform called HandUp that solicits donations for homeless and at-risk people.

Neither endeavor would be possible if Washington and Broome weren't adept at utilizing technology to inspire people to do good.

And they're just two examples of a ever-expanding population of Tech Impact AllStars.

Every year, the program has grown exponentially, both in visibility and the number of nominations.

Raj Karmani, a recipient of the Tech Impact Award, with the NationSwell crew. Photo via NationSwell.

Obviously the tech impact world appreciates the boost. Since 2015, there's been a 70% increase in Tech Impact AllStars nominations. What's more, views of this particular group's content has increased by 500,000, so finalists are indeed getting a considerable amount of notice that no doubt draws greater attention to their missions.

"As the program grows, each Tech Impact AllStars class becomes more competitive, more incredible and generates greater visibility and impact for them and their solution," Chong writes.

It's understandable given all the things they will receive. All finalists get a three- to five-minute video about their work made by NationSwell producers, a feature article to accompany it, an all-expense-paid trip to New York City, where they'll be given a speaking slot at the NationSwell Summit of Solutions, and the chance to win the Tech Impact Award — a $10,000 grant to help further their work.

Social innovators like these are exactly who this country needs right now to help bring opportunities to those who are struggling.

[rebelmouse-image 19527965 dam="1" original_size="762x426" caption="AllStar Zakiya Harris, co-founder of Hack the Hood. Photo via NationSwell." expand=1]AllStar Zakiya Harris, co-founder of Hack the Hood. Photo via NationSwell.

"These are the innovations and the solutions that we’ll need to make our country a more equitable, inclusively prosperous place, and to have more people feel like the American dream is within their reach as well," Behrman writes.

Organizations like NationSwell and Comcast NBCUniversal are doing what they can to elevate the creators of these life-changing endeavors so that they'll reach as many people in need as possible.

These brilliant ideas can change the world as long as people know about them. Thanks to technology and solution-driven companies, many more people will.

Nulo

Pets

The most inspiring pet stories of 2024

Leading pet brand Nulo knows every cat and dog has the power to be incredible.

via Keswick Mountain Rescue Team/Instagram, Cat Protection/Youtube

Incredible pets deserve incredible food.

2024 was a year filled with heartwarming stories that reminded us of the incredible bond between humans and their furry companions. From acts of bravery to heartwarming gestures, these pets made a huge impact on the lives of their owners… and the lives of many, many more.

It’s stories like these that continue to inspire leading pet nutrition brand Nulo, which is committed to helping pets live their best lives with functional, delicious and nutritious food. Through their innovative and intentional formulas, Nulo fuels incredible cats and dogs just like the ones below each and every day.

Enjoy some stories below of 2024’s goodest boys and girls — courageous dogs, trauma-informed kitties and much, much more —that really show the unwavering love and loyalty animals bring into our lives. Their inspiring actions fuel incredible.

assets.rebelmouse.io

When a 71-year-old man went unconscious and collapsed during a steep hike, his golden retriever and a black labrador instinctively broke up into a rescue team — the smart and resourceful labrador going off to look for help, and the loyal goldie staying by its owner's side. Sometimes it’s smart to have two of “man’s best friends.”

assets.rebelmouse.io

Marley, a seven-year-old, black and white feline known for his "incredible gift of empathy” won Cat Protection's National Cat of the Year 2024 for the way he comforts women who have been enslaved, exploited and trafficked and staying at the Caritas Bakhita Safe House in London. He’s known to often leave a reassuring paw on guests’ legs to “let them know they’re not alone,” a gesture often called “the first kindness they’ve experienced in years.”

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

In early 2024, Kobe, a four-year-old husky with an extraordinary sense of smell, began digging obsessively in the yard. At first the pooch’s owner, Chanell Bell, thought this was just typical behavior, but soon discovered that Kobe had indeed detected a dangerously large cloud of natural gas that would have not only been seriously life-threatening to her, but the entire neighborhood. It’s like they say, “the nose knows.”

Eight-year-old golden retriever Roger, may have failed his drug-sniffing training in Taiwan, but it turns out he has a knack for rescue operations during natural disasters. After a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck, Roger dug through the rubble of a collapsed building to locate the body of one of the 13 people killed in the quake, offering closure to a grieving family. This earned him the nickname of “the pride of Taiwan” on social media.

Made My Day ❤️ pic.twitter.com/u4fTZjFlVf
— Animals Fucking Dying 🐕 (@AnimalNmlfckng) January 27, 2024

Dogs don’t only save humans — sometimes they rescue other animals as well.

When folks scrolling through the X account called “Animals Dying” saw a video of a creature swimming through murky water with a deer fawn in its jaws, they probably assumed it was an alligator enjoying its latest meal. But to everyone’s surprise and delight, it was actually a Labrador Retriever making sure the sweet little fawn didn’t drown.

It’s amazing what can pop up at the rustle of a paper bag 😹#Hedgewatch #CatsofTwitter #cats #caturday pic.twitter.com/NW4mfze52E
— Cilla the Outwoods Cat - Priscilla Outwoods (@OutwoodsCat) September 28, 2024

Once a stray, 12-year-old Cilla found her home at Outwoods Primary School in Warwickshire, England, where she calms anxious students, inspires a community of cat lovers on X, and has even used her social media celebrity to help raise £5,000 to restock the school library — a place she loves to lounge in.

scontent-lax3-2.xx.fbcdn.net

In July, Bloodhound puppy and K-9 unit member Remi used his powerful nose to help an autistic and non-verbal boy who had gotten lost find his way back home. Deputy B. Belk, Remi’s partner, used a piece of sterile gauze to collect the scent from the boy’s forearms and the back of his neck and had Remi “reverse” track backwards for about half a mile to locate the child’s home in a nearby neighborhood.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

When a beautiful pooch named Gita saw her 84-year-old owner fall and hurt his leg, she ran down to the main road, and refused to move until someone stopped to help. Eventually she was seen by a man named Deputy Wright, who tried to get Gita into his patrol car, but the dog wouldn’t budge. When Gita did finally bolt off, Wright followed her down to where the man had been stranded, and was able to help him. Without her protection, who knows if the man would have been found in time? “The loyalty and heroism of our furry friends never cease to amaze us,” Wright would end up writing on Facebook.

If there’s an incredible furry friend in your own life, nothing says “thank you” quite like a nourishing meal. Check out Nulo for a variety of recipes sure to be loved by your beloved pet.

From Your Site Articles

animals

Family

Woman who was pressured to quit her job to raise stepdaughter's baby makes a bold decision

This sparked an important conversation about family responsibility.

via Pixabay

When parents can't step up, should grandparents step in?

A story that recently went viral on Reddit’s AITA forum asks an important question: What is a parent’s role in taking care of their grandchildren? The story is even further complicated because the woman at the center of the controversy is a stepparent.

At the time of writing her post, the woman, 38, met her husband Sam, 47, ten years ago, when his daughter, Leah, 25, was 15. The couple married five years ago after Leah had moved out to go to college.

Leah’s mom passed away when she was 10.

When Leah became pregnant she wanted to keep the baby, but her boyfriend didn’t. After the disagreement, the boyfriend broke up with her. This forced Leah to move back home because she couldn’t afford to be a single parent and live alone on a teacher’s salary.

Leah’s story is familiar to many young mothers facing similar difficulties.

The father isn’t involved in the baby’s life as a caretaker or financially. Sadly, research shows that 33% of all children in the U.S. are born without their biological fathers living in the home.

Single motherhood comes with unique hardships.

via Alexander Grey/Unsplash

The new mother is a teacher and can’t afford to live on her own with a child. In 2019, a study found that out the top 50 U.S. cities, Pittsburgh is the only one where a new teacher could afford rent.

Today, Portland, OR has joined the very short list of cities where an "average teacher can afford 91.3% of apartments within community distance of their school" according to a recent study.

The stressors of taking care of the baby made Leah realize she needed help.

“But once she had the baby around 4 months back, Leah seemed to realize having a baby is not the sunshine and rainbows she thought it was,” the woman wrote on Reddit. “She barely got any sleep during the last four months. All the while Sam was helping her with the baby while I did almost all chores myself.”

“Now her leave is ending. She did not want to leave the baby at daycare or with a nanny,” the woman continued. “Sam and I both work as well.”

Leah asked her stepmother if she would stay home with the baby. The stepmother said no because she never wanted to have a baby and she has a job. “I asked why Leah can't stay home with the baby herself,” the woman wrote. “She said how she was young and had to build a career. I said many people take breaks to raise kids, and she broke down crying about how she was so tired all the time being a mom and needed something else in her life too.”

The demands of new motherhood are usually all-encompassing.

via Pixabay

After the woman told her stepdaughter no, her husband pressured her to stay home with the baby. But she refused to give up her job to raise her stepdaughter’s child. “Leah said yesterday how she wished her mom was alive since she would have had her back. She said I didn't love her, and my husband is also mad at me,” the woman wrote. The woman asked the Reddit community if she was in the wrong for “refusing to help my stepdaughter with the baby,” and the community responded with rapturous support.

"[The woman] should tell her husband to knock it off and stop trying to pressure her into raising his daughter’s baby. If he wants a family member to look after her baby while she works, then he can do it," user Heavy_Sand5228 wrote.

"This is Leah's baby that she alone chose to have. That doesn't obligate you to change YOUR life to suit her desires. The whole business of saying you don't love her because you won't quit your job to watch her baby is manipulative and messed up, and I'm shocked your husband is siding with her," user SupremeCourtJust-a** added.

Leah and many women like her are in this situation because, in many places, teachers are underpaid, rent is high, and not all dads pay child support, even those required by law.

Another commenter noted that the baby is much more the father’s responsibility than the stepmother's. "To add, Leah should consider seeking child support from her ex. Her kid should be getting that money," Obiterdicta wrote.

While there are resources to help stepparents connect with their stepchildren and step-grandchildren, it's important to remember that the responsibility to raise a child ultimately rests with the parent(s).

This article originally appeared last year.

From Your Site Articles

This campaign is recognizing incredible innovators fighting for social change.

Today, global impact starts with a click of the keyboard.

A solution for food waste and hunger, getting undocumented immigrants citizenship, an anti-cyberbullying app — these are things the world desperately needs.

Today, technology is often the power behind grand-scale social impact projects. That's why Tech Impact AllStars are using it to solve major problems.

If your social impact efforts utilize tech in some way and you're domestically-based, you can be nominated to be a Tech Impact AllStar.

Every year, the program has grown exponentially, both in visibility and the number of nominations.

Social innovators like these are exactly who this country needs right now to help bring opportunities to those who are struggling.

Leading pet brand Nulo knows every cat and dog has the power to be incredible.

This sparked an important conversation about family responsibility.

Leah’s story is familiar to many young mothers facing similar difficulties.

They're funny because they're true.

Gordon shared 15 of his oh-so-real comics with us. They're all funny 'cause they're true.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

I love Gordon's comics so much because they're just about the reality of parenting — and they capture it perfectly.

The eyes are muscles like any other and need both stimulation and relaxation.

First and foremost, we need to allow our vision to relax.

Second, stimulate the eyes by focusing on motion.

Costco really is the best.

The 12-year-old's letter to Costco's CEO was too good to ignore

And Costco CEO Craig Jelinek had the perfect response

This is one of the many reasons people love Costco so much

Kayla Sullivan's "news report" has been viewed a whopping 30 million times.