We can change the world by doing small steps, and collectively it will achieve huge goals. In this article I will show you few websites which make a difference. It turns out that by very little effort we can do really big changes. These are NOT money donation sites. These are inspirations to show you the options and get into the habit of making positive actions every day. Websites which make a difference don’t require a lot of work, often are playful. I hope this article will inspire you to make a pledge and start changing the world!
10 websites which make a difference
1. Save the Rainforest
Go to The Rain Forest site and click! This is one of those sites where you can trigger the donation from the site’s sponsor by simple click. One click will save one square metre of rainforest! It won’t cost you a penny! Imagine, how many square metres you can save if you click every day or what’s more, recommend this website to you friends? In a year together with your friends, you can save few square kilometres of the rainforest!
2. Go to hunger site
The same idea brings Hunger Site and click triggers a donation. It’s free and will give meal to one person. You can set up your search engine to enter this site every day and simply feed a lot of people.
3. Recycle old spectacles
If you or member of your family has some old spectacles, you can donate them to a person in need. In the developing countries 200 million people live their life in half-sight world. They are too poor to buy spectacles, or eye tests are simply not available where they live. Your glasses can be a window to a new world for someone! Start collecting old spectacles and see how you can help on Unite for Sight.
4. Give a chance
On Kiva, you can lend money for someone in developing country who wants to set up a business. Even small amount of money can help an entrepreneur to realise his plan. Once they have made a success, they will repay your loan. On the website you can choose a particular project and person you want to support.
5. Make a gift
How many times you did you get a gift which was totally useless? Wouldn’t it be better to make happy someone, who really needs help? For next birthday or Christmas, you can ask your friends to get you a good gift or you can choose buying as a present from you. There is a huge catalogue of gifts on the website, which really help to change the world. What about buying an exploder, to destroy weapons left after wars or tools for a trainee carpenter in Africa? Prices of the gift vary from few $ to hundreds, pick one and change someone’s life.
Myself, as a bee, I am supporting my sisters. The bees are essential for the life on Earth and unfortunately, now on the extinction list. I prepared an article with ideas on how everyone of us can help to save the bees.
6. Distributed computing
Does it sound like a magic to you? Yes, it is magic! At least for me, some websites which make a difference are absolutely mind-blowing. Imagine that your computer, connected to network of thousands of users around the world, can help solving real world problems like AIDS vaccine? You say: what?! Distributed computing is a science which solves the problem by dividing it into many computers and then combining the solutions. Large projects which are impossible for a single computer or person to solve, require a lot of computing power. Recent projects have been designed to look for extra-terrestrial radio signals, to look for prime numbers so large that they have more than ten million digits, and to find more effective drugs to fight cancer and the AIDS virus.
7. Give away things you no longer need
There are plenty of ways to donate your clothes to charity, not used paint to local communities or books to the library. You can also register on Free Cycle and join the nearest group to give away your things and search what you need.
8. Play the game
Second life is a fantasy world where you can choose your avatar and play. You are able to make a campaign in this imaginary world and raise real money for charity.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single minute before starting to improve the world”
Anne Frank, diarist and Holocaust victim
Websites which make a difference are numerous. These I found in Michael Norton books: “The everyday activist” and “365 ways to change the world.” Those books are full of inspirations and tips I was not even aware of! However, I don’t want this list to be closed on 9 points. If you know other websites which make a difference, please share in comments below. Let’s inspire each others!
The Bee is a nature lover and tea addict. Loves the idea of slow life and responsible traveling, constantly trying to improve to bee more eco-friendly. Appreciates old cultures and traditions, loves to immerse with locals, listen to ethnic music as well as taste regional food and drinks. Her favorite spots while traveling are family houses and street markets.
This is a wonderful post. I clicked on the links in the Rainforest and the hunger site. It’s so amazing to know websites which enable such an easy way to contribute without actually paying money. although I’d like to contribute money too. I checked the give away your old stuff site and was happy to see something available in my city too. have bookmarked to try it out
I am glad you liked it Sinjana, hope we can all contribute to the better world
What an awesome post! It is so refreshing to read an inspiring post like this. I’ve heard of several of these websites, but not all. I teach AP Human Geography (high school level) and we were recently discussing websites like these. I look forward to keeping these websites in mind to look into with my students! Thank you! 🙂
So happy to hear that! Let’s spread it!
What a great, informative post! I love that the Hunger Site and Rain Forest site raise money by simply clicking! It’s so easy and I am happy to spread the word. I am a big fan of Kiva as well. I love the opportunity to help someone follow their dreams. Thanks for sharing!
<3
I am SO EXCITED to learn about Unite for Sight! I always throw away my glasses that are over-used and falling apart, but now I can send them to someone who can actually use them! This is such a cool list, and I wish I could remember the site, but there’s one that is a basic search engine that donates rice as you click around. Suppose this would be like number 1 on your list. These are awesome! thank you!
Thank you so much! I am glad that you found a perfect places for your used glasses, I hope this will be a great step in mindful using of things for you :*
This was a wonderful and educational post. I knew about some of them but I also learned about some new ones. I clicked on all of these to learn more about them and I’m glad I did. Thank you for sharing these inspiring websites with us.
Glad you like it Elena, thanks for visiting :*
These are all great, but I’m really drawn to Free Cycle. We all have so much “stuff” that we don’t even use. It’s a great way to help others and reduce waste in this world.
This is a super interesting post, very informative and with lots of fantastic links to check out! I need to have a look at the Free Cycle site, there are always things we no longer need and this looks like a great way to donate to charity. Well done 🙂
Thank you so much!
What a great list! I went ahead and clicked to donate to the forest and give a meal to stop hunger. I’m fortunate to live in a city that encourages helping others. It’s great to see the list of organizations helping globally. This is the time of year to help others even more.
Perfect! I hope you will find a great use of these websites :*
I had no clue that these kinds of websites exist, it’s amazing! I also had no idea how a single click could actually make a big difference. I will take note of these and pass the info around. Thanks for sharing!
Happy to hear that Jen! All together we can make a big changes!
These are all very interesting and helpful sites. Honestly, I dint know about any. I have tried and clicked on all. Thanks for sharing. This definitely helped me to contribute towards something better.
Perfect! All together we can do big things!
Great article. I have never heard of any of these sites. I particularly like the Hunger and Rainforest Site and would like to contribute daily. Every little bit helps. We do a lot of repurposing furniture when we can and also staying away from using plastic where we can as well. If everyone just did a little bit each day it all helps.
Not into religion just to make the world a better place I don’t care about color religion nothing a good person is a good person and we are all people not really different at all