101 Ways to Make the World a better
Place
1. Play, genuinely play, with a child.
2.
Tell someone you love them.
3.
Donate unused computer time to cancer research (and other
types of research) with BOINC http://www.boinc.berkeley.edu
4.
Use your blinker when you turn.
5.
Pick a stretch of road, highway, a park, etc. (be safe). Walk
along and pick up all the trash you can. (It gets you
exercise, money from recycling, and it makes the world a
better place!)
6.
Smile at someone. Just smile. Saying “Hello” often brightens a
day too.
7.
Round up a few loose coins. Put them in the next charity box
you see.
8.
Do something unexpected and artistic that will inspire people
and shake them out of the sad mentality of the daily grind.
9.
Plant flowers, plants and trees.
10.
Search through your cabinets for a few cans of food you’ll
probably never use. Donate them.
11.
Hold the door open for someone.
12.
Pay a random stranger a compliment.
13.
If you have a car, give people rides.
14.
Volunteer your time to a suicide hotline.
15.
...or volunteer your time as a mentor!
16.
Return your shopping cart to the corral or to the store
instead of leaving it loose or propped on a planter in the
lot.
17.
Offer someone a mint or a piece of gum or candy.
18.
Park your car further from the store and walk the short extra
distance. This frees up spots closer for people who may need
them more than you, and gives you additional exercise too!
19.
Take a child to the park or pool.
20.
Kiss someone you love.
21.
Donate things you don’t use to your local thrift store.
22.
Donate time or materials to Habitat for Humanity / http://www.habitat.org
23.
Bake cookies for someone.
24.
Bring donuts or bagels to work one morning.
(It costs next
to nothing and makes everyone happy)
25.
Clean house for someone you know who is too busy to keep on
top of it.
26.
Babysit for couples or single parents who don’t get out much
so they can have some time alone.
27.
If you see a piece of trash on the ground, pick it up.
28.
Take a risk and do something major instead, like adopting a
child.
29.
Knit, quilt or crochet a blanket and send it to Project Linus
/ http://www.projectlinus.org
30.
Instead of buying new batteries, buy rechargeables.
31.
Make breakfast in bed for someone you love.
32.
Find something you’re good at and use it to help someone else.
33.
Learn a new language, then volunteer as an interpreter.
34.
Know someone who is sad and single? Find someone to hook them
up with!
35.
Bring coffee or baked goods to city workers who might
appreciate it.
36.
Help someone with a heavy load.
37.
Adopt a pet from the humane society.
38.
Boost the morale of someone close to you by telling them what
you love about them.
39.
Hug a teacher, let them know how important they are. (Without
them, you wouldn’t be reading this... or anything else, for
that matter.)
40.
Look for ways to save a few extra bucks a month. Donate it.
41.
Remember to splurge a little on yourself once in a while.
You’ll feel better.
42.
Shop at your local charity thrift store. The money you spend
there helps others.
43.
Send a gift or a thank you card to the troops in Iraq. Support
them even if you don’t support the war.
44.
Spend a few clicks of your time at Free Rice /
http://www.freerice.com
45.
Leave an encouraging or positive comment on a stranger’s
webpage.
46.
If someone is tailgating you, let them pass and wish them
well, without the anger.
47.
If there’s been an accident or a potentially hazardous
situation presents itself on the road (i.e. you see a cow on
the wrong side of the fence) dial 911 and tell them about it.
Your phone call could save a life.
48.
If someone you love really likes something (a meal, a favor,
etc.) give it to them when they least expect it.
49.
Learn a new skill, then teach it to someone else.
50.
Wave to your neighbors.
51.
Spend less time watching T.V.
52.
Open car doors for your driver or passengers.
53.
Give blood.
54.
Become an organ donor.
55.
Buy books for a library, daycare center or school.
56.
Slip a $20 bill anonymously to someone you know who is having
financial difficulty.
57.
Dance with someone.
58.
Organize volunteers to make a bigger difference.
59.
Create a public art contest for children.
60.
Put a jar full of rocks in your toilet tank to reduce the
amount of water wasted with each flush.
61.
Support activists and people on strike.
62.
Share family recipes.
63.
Help someone with their homework.
64.
Grow your hair out, then donate it to Locks of Love /
http://www.locksoflove.org
65.
Put a quarter in someone else’s parking meter.
66.
Click ads on blogs or articles published by relatively unknown
authors. It costs nothing, and even one click will brighten
their day. :)
67.
Gather up your used batteries and electronics. Donate them.
68.
Volunteer some time to cheering people up at your local
retirement home.
69.
Replace the bulbs in your home with energy saving bulbs.
Invest in solar, if you can.
70.
If the person ahead of you or behind you in line at the store
has only a few items, buy them for him or her.
71.
...or, if you don’t have much money and the person behind you
has only a few items, let them go before you.
72.
Donate to a cause that helps families in third world countries
(consider– the amount of money the average family spends on a
birthday in a first world country could feed a family of six
for a year in many third world countries)
73.
Buy organic food from local farmers (Start by going to your
local farmer’s market!)
74.
Opt in for electronic billing, statements, etc. and save
paper!
75.
Drop off your old glasses at your local lenscrafters as a
donation to the Gift of Sight program.
76.
Don’t smoke near others.
77.
Turn the other cheek.
78.
Generate money for the charity of your choice by searching
with Good Search
/ http://www.goodsearch.com
79.
Make a list of birthdays for people you know. Surprise them
with a happy birthday email, card, text, or anything else that
lets them know you remembered. It might be the only one they
get!
80.
Be there for someone. Listen to their troubles.
81.
Grow some of your own vegetables, even if only out of a pot
indoors.
82.
If you have land, invest in livestock. Chickens are a great
place to start, and they make great pets, even if you don’t
eat them.
83.
Stop for a person waiting to cross the street or merge into
traffic.
84.
Pay the toll for someone behind you.
85.
Encourage a friend to reach for their dreams and shoot for the
farthest goal.
86.
Tape coins to a payphone with a note saying they’re for
whoever needs them.
87.
Donate cereal box tops to your local school, even if you don’t
have kids.
88.
Support independent artists by purchasing books by unknown
authors from publishers that aren’t in the mainstream.
89.
...and if you enjoyed the book, write the author a note
telling them how much you loved it.
90.
Cut up the plastic rings on six pack holders so animals don’t
get caught in them.
91.
Use a clothesline to dry clothes instead of using an electric
or gas dryer.
92.
Offer free hugs to complete strangers.
93.
Forgive a debt
94.
Adopt a soldier, inmate or someone who is down on their luck
as a pen pal.
95.
When you are waiting for service at a deli counter, swap call
numbers with someone who is in a hurry.
96.
Become a master of setting clocks on electronic devices. Set
every one you pass to the correct time.
97.
Write a poem, good or bad, and then read it at an open
microphone event.
98.
Write a nice note to or about your waiter or waitress on the
back of your bill.
99.
On a hot day, buy someone something cold to drink– on a cold
day, get them something warm.
100.
Recommend people to friends who might appreciate their
services.
101. Look for new and better ways every
day to make the world a better, happier, and more pleasant
place to live for everyone. If we all did just one thing every
day, we could really begin to make a positive difference
worldwide.
| 
