Empowering the Phoneless

Think about all the important ways you use your phone in daily life. You use it to build relationships with family and friends. To make doctor’s appointments. To secure an apartment. To find a job.
But what if you were phoneless?
Enter Community Voice Mail (CVM), a nonprofit that strives to keep those who are in crisis [...]

The Atlantic Yards and You

When I lived in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill, I’d ride the the C train every day on my way home from work and would often get off at the Lafayette stop. I’d walk up the subway steps to a delicious waft of fresh pizza from Not Ray’s, and a beautiful view of the open sky, unobstructed [...]

Idealist Podcasts Heart NYC

The Idealist Community podcasts have been showing NYC a lot of love lately! And it’s not because 20 percent of our Idealist members live in this awesome city. Well, maybe. But it’s also because NYC is full of innovative projects that are making the world a better place on a daily basis. So much [...]

The Monster Mash

When I was young, the movie Pet Sematary was the cause for a lot of sleepless nights. The plot involved an ancient Native American burial ground gone evil, as those who were buried on its soil came back to life with a vengeance. The movie had all the elements to frighten a young child: spooky [...]

From Rags to Reuse: The Take a Seat Project

I’m standing on the subway platform anxiously waiting for the C train to arrive for at least 30 minutes, and my legs start to give. Tired after a long day and a late night out, I just can’t do it anymore. But the already sparse seats are taken. I look around at my options: squat [...]

Wall of Shame: Fair or Unfair?

It’s officially fall. Football season is underway, restaurants have again reverted to indoor seating and the trees are changing colors. Along with the shedding of leaves, the end of summer traditionally sees a decrease in the number of DWIs as well.
But there are still a lot of people that booze and then get behind the [...]

What Does Democracy Mean to You?

With the presidential election only six weeks away, it would be an understatement to say tension between the two opposing camps is high. The competition is fierce – and often ugly. I don’t think there will be another time when you can Google the words “moose” and “lipstick” in the same search and receive hundreds [...]

Spotlight On: Suzanne Seggerman, Games for Change

Suzanne Seggerman never considered herself a gamer. But one day around 1990, somebody gave her “Hidden Agenda”, a computer game about Central American politics. Seggerman sat down to play and didn’t get up from her chair for ten hours. It was then she realized there was more to video games than throwing fireballs and saving [...]

Want One Last Wave at Yankee Stadium? Good Luck.

When I was younger, I used to go to Yankees games every summer with my dad. Hooting and hollering, Dad would proudly wave his Yankees cap while I sat by his side mimicking his actions, unsure of who or what I was rooting for. Quite frankly, eating ice cream from a baseball hat-shaped cup [...]

Riding the C: More Than it’s Cracked Up to Be

There’s this conductor on the C Line who used to make my day. At each stop he says things like, “We know you have your choice in subways lines. Thank you for choosing the C,” or “We hope you have a bright and wonderful day. You deserve it, ” or “It’s Monday. It’s going [...]