GreenPod Labs

submitted by

Andrew

My story of hopefulness is Greenpod labs. To help reduce food spoilage and waste, they study the chemical signals a plant uses to keep its fruit ripe. Then they harness them and put them in sachets to store in crates of harvested fruits and vegetables. Getting those signals, the fruits stay ripe and healthy longer. This is inspiring to me because they were able to ask a simple but impactful question and find a healthy natural solution. It’s a testament to the idea that such solutions can be found for many more challenges we face.

Land and Food

Rockcorps

submitted by

Steve

Using music and culture to inspire action. The only way to get a ticket is to volunteer.

Arts and Culture

https://someoneelse.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/encoded/se-story-eae3-43bd-yc72-0dad51827da7.mp3

Youth led engagement in democracy through design and creative thinking

submitted by

Chrissy

I'd like to celebrate and acknowledge Libby Collar a graduate designer from Manchester Met University who started working freelance for #Whyvote? youth led creative campaign and competition - to get young people engaged in democracy and empowered to register to vote, ahead of the 2024 UK General Election. Libby was unusual as she already had a healthy and much needed passion for politics and the democratic process. She entered and won a Creative Conscience award in 2023 for a project linked to this important theme. Her openness and creative input helped build a successful launch and then the development of the #Whyvote? campaign that engaged hundreds for young people across the UK. Libby continued to work with Creative Conscience for another campaign encouraging black and brown voters in the UK to get involved in the Mayor's election across London and beyond. She has become a valued member of the Creative Conscience community. Now developing and supporting a #Whyvote? USA programme ahead of the presidential elections in America. It's so good to see a passion young creative using their talents and skills to build a better world. Thanks Libby you're awesome.

Civic Engagement

Jimmy Darts - outrageous generosity

submitted by

Dan

Jimmy is a social media influencer who has grown a following of millions though outrageous acts of kindness.

Compassion and Empathy

https://someoneelse.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/encoded/se-story-80ce-4b6c-y963-662afe404812.mp3

Jeremy Roberts - a community hero

submitted by

John

On the face of it, Jeremy just runs a car park in Mevagissey Cornwall. But he does so much more than that. The reason why Jeremy is my inspiration is that he dedicates his time to inspiring and educating people, fighting for conservation and keeping kids wild. His energy, enthusiasm and knowledge are like nothing I've seen before. The world needs more Jeremys

Civic Engagement

https://someoneelse.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/se-story-9906-4f32-y1e1-ca6cac8f8d90.wav

Flip Floppi Dhow boat in Kenya

submitted by

Tamsin

My story of hopefulness, is a boat. And it's not just any boat. It's a Dhow boat made of plastic that's being collected from the beaches and oceans and clad in 30,000 flip flops, which is the footwear of 3 billion people and the most common item found on our beach cleanups in Kenya, The flipi floppy is an icon in East Africa, to advocate for ending single use plastic, and also for for reusing the plastic that's being collected. It is one of the most vibrant, optimistic, icons that makes you smile.

Climate and Environment

Lost Stock in Bangladesh

submitted by

Ruth

My story of hopefulness is an organisation called Lost stock. They were formed at the beginning of the pandemic, because when the pandemic was growing, 2 billion dollars worth of clothes were cancelled across the world. These clothes had been made already in countries like Bangladesh, China and India but the fashion labels just cancelled those order which meant that the people, mainly women who had made those clothes lost their jobs with received no pay for the work that they had done. Lost stock was created to try and help that situation, enable workers to be paid and prevent clothes from going into landfill. What they did was create boxes of up to three garments, made a website where you could tell this website whether you were into neutral colours or dark colours or bright colours. You put in your size, and also whether you like to wear baggy clothes or tight clothes and for 35 pounds for a box you got three tops in the post. Lost Stock worked with a foundation called the Sadija Foundation based in Dhaka in Bangladesh who have supported nearly 114,000 people. Lost Stock has recently been rebranded to Unfolded.

Justice

Joshua Konkankoh and Indigenous Wisdom

submitted by

Jannine

Joshua Konkankoh is a cameroonian indigenous elder and social entrepreneur who combines regenerative education, permaculture, and environmental leadership to reduce social inequalities.

Arts and Culture

https://someoneelse.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/se-story-dd2a-41ae-ye3b-853dbc44c029.wav

Peoples Pension Trust in Ghana

submitted by

Kanini

My story of hopefulness is an organisation based in Ghana, that is focused on helping informal workers who do not have a fixed wage, pension or savings, to have a savings pot for their retirement. Informal workers make up about 70% of the African population so when I see this organisation pushing through this mission, and really finding a way for Africa's workers to have a pension it brings me so much hope. In addition to all the challnges of setting up the organisation, the founder caught COVID and died which was a profound loss, not just for the organisation, but for the world and this space. Many people thought that the mission would die with him, his name was Samuel, but they were completely wrong. His mission has remained active and since he passed away, there have been over 30,000 more savers come into this organisation maybe contributing one or two dollars a day towards their pension. So the mission lives on.

Business and Finance

Galgael in Glasgow

submitted by

Katherine

My story of hopefulness comes from an incredible organisation that I've known for many years called Galgael. They operate out of this huge warehouse just on the south of the river Clyde in a former shipbuilding community called Govan. They are all about giving people who have just come out of prison or tackling addiction or long term unemployment not just some skills in boat building but a sense of purpose, a sense of community and they call it a clan, giving them a sense of clanship. They use traditional shipbuilding techniques, so there's woodwork and joinery, the sound of hammers and a smell of wood being cut. It's the most amazing space to go into and what they're doing, I think is probably quite literally a suicide prevention work. They always recognise they're just a sticking plaster, they're very humble and very attentive to the nature of the wider economic system that is driving people to their doors, but I think they're just an extraordinary, very, very precious organisation.

Justice