To mark the initial success of the new “Life’s Good: Experience Happiness” initiative – and to help people focus on achieving their own happiness goals – LG partnered with Instagram star Donte Colley and the popular dance movement Daybreaker to host more than 400 participants atop One World Trade Center. Colley, whose positive dance videos have taken the internet by storm, performed his signature dances live for the crowd. The Happiness Day experience also brought to life sustainable skills, based on the science of happiness, through interactive performances and pop-up stations.

Fair Trade USA, the leading certifier of Fair Trade products in North America, in collaboration with the Sustainable Coffee Challenge, announces a group of joint commitments with major partners deeply committed to sustainable coffee sourcing and improved farmer livelihoods. This announcement from Target, Chartwells Higher Ed, UCLA, Bon Appetit Management Company, Atlas Coffee Roasters, and the Sustainable Purchasing Leadership Council comes at a pivotal moment for coffee farmers around the world who have been struggling with low C-Market prices. The unstable coffee market has millions of producers looking for the price assurances and community development funds provided by the Fair Trade model.

As Global Reporting Initiative marks two decades since launching its first draft sustainability reporting guidelines, the organization has highlighted the significance of a growing demand for environmental, social and governance (ESG) data.

Kate Indreland from Big Timber, Montana, is featured in this post. She was a finalist in our inaugural General Mills Feeding Better Futures Scholars Program, which encourages youth ages 13-21 to nominate their in-action solution or idea that tackles one of the following topics: sustainable agriculture, food waste reduction and hunger relief. As a finalist, Indreland won $10,000 to further her soil health work. I had a chance to connect with her to see what she’s been up to since last summer.

The latest rainstorms to soak Southern California wreaked havoc on some parts of the state, but for Catalina Island residents and businesses, they brought welcome relief from a historic drought and seven years of mandatory water conservation measures.

Meet Karina, manager of organizational development in the Dominican Republic. Karina shares with us her passion for developing people but also on her own self development. Here is her story:

We know it can be nerve racking starting something new or entering into unfamiliar territory, but there’s so much you get in return for doing something good. There are countless benefits to volunteering, and after reading this you are going to wish you became a volunteer sooner!

VERGE Carbon, the first-ever conference on the business opportunities in reversing climate change, will join three concurrent events as part of the VERGE 19 conference and expo, at the Oakland Convention Center, Oct. 22-24.

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Pro Bono Perspectives host and Common Impact CEO Danielle Holly teams up with Syretta Hill, Executive Director of StepUp Durham, to reflect on workplace power dynamics and how women are doing things differently. Together, they explore how reinforcing traditionally female leadership qualities like collaboration and empathy fosters dynamic thinking and bold teams who are empowered to create maximal impacts for their communities.

Each year in April, individuals and organizations across the United States and around the world celebrate National Volunteer Month to honor the important impact volunteers have in our communities, and to encourage even more people to start volunteering. Many businesses in particular set aside time for team volunteer days or encourage employees to leverage paid volunteer time off to support the community during Volunteer Week, which takes place April 7 - 13 in 2019 (and April April 19-25 in 2020).