Reasons to be Cheerful

“I’ve been told a lot that this is the best coffee on this street,” says Sana Pishgoo, owner of Shiraz Patisserie in north London. “I’ve also been told I have the best Iranian cakes in London.” A skilled pastry chef and cake maker, Pishgoo, 45, set up her business in... The post The Coffee Academy Serving Up Career Paths appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful .

This story originally appeared on The 19th and GBH News Rooted in Boston. On a sunny morning in June, about two dozen people walk the land of Soul Fire Farm in Rensselaer County in Upstate New York, during a tour. They are participants in a week-long immersion program that includes a... The post Black Women Farmers Are Reclaiming the Land appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful .

“Agh, I am only getting consonants,” sighs Nicole Riberolles, the 104-year-old doyenne of Les Artistes nursing home in the Batignolles neighborhood of northwestern Paris. There’s a Q, R, Y, W, N and an E lined up on her Scrabble letter holder. She sees nothing available, weaving her pearl necklace through... The post The ‘Civic Hour’ Is Reinventing Volunteering appeared first on Reasons to be Che…

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Networking Sixty-eight quadrillion miles: That unfathomable number represents the estimated extent of the network of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi weaving through soil around... The post What We’re Reading: Ma…

From the outside, Demain looks like any other bakery in Paris. The bright blue storefront, featuring huge glass vitrines, frames a bready feast for the eyes. Behind it lie glorious piles of almond croissants, pistachio pastries, lemon meringue tarts, pecan-speckled brownies and such a great quantity of bread that the... The post Smashing Yesterday’s Croissants for a Better Tomorrow appeared first…

For several years, when Pierre-Yves Loaëc left his office in Nantes in the evenings, he passed a woman sleeping rough in the parking lot near Nobilito, the marketing agency he runs. The contrast nagged at him. Outside, she huddled near a parking garage vent for warmth during the winter. “My... The post French Companies Are Inviting Homeless People to Sleep in Their Offices appeared first on Reaso…

On most mornings, the line in front of Masaka City Hall forms before the door opens. There are those in search of jobs and others looking to grow small businesses. A few come with complaints about broken streetlights, unsafe roads or neighborhoods they feel city leaders have forgotten. Nearly all... The post The City That Doubled Down on Listening to Its Youth appeared first on Reasons to be Chee…

The clothes hanging in Lydia Wendt’s loft atelier in Los Angeles’ Fashion District shimmer in earthy tones: an orange sleep set dyed with California poppies, a coral lounge set colored with madder root, undyed tees in off-white cotton. Pointing to the dark disk of a dried sunflower, Wendt explains, “The... The post This Brand Wants You to Compost Its Clothes appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerf…

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Fill your cup During the World Cup, soccer fans who come to watch games at Toronto’s FIFA Fan Festival zone at Fort... The post What We’re Reading: World Cup Carousing — With Reusable Cups appeared first on R…

This story was originally published by Next City, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on solutions for equitable and just cities. Get Next City’s stories in your inbox: nextcity.org/newsletter.  America’s fastest-growing new bank doesn’t specialize in AI or crypto-currency or some exotic investment strategy with little real world value. It specializes in environmental sustainability.... The post Banki…

Welcome back to The Spark, our monthly celebration of how people just like you are creating positive change, one meaningful step at a time. The Spark is generously supported by Laura Rice. Sign up to Reasons to be Cheerful’s weekly newsletter here and you’ll get The Spark in your inbox at the... The post The Spark: Banishing Cars With a Block Party appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful .

One Thanksgiving, while most families gathered around dinner tables, Janina Estrada cruised the neighborhoods of Orange, California, searching for her 42-year-old son Jimmy Barela in the rain. For nearly two decades, he had cycled through schizophrenia, addiction, diabetes, homelessness and psychiatric crises. She knew his usual sleeping spot: behind the... The post ‘Relentless Outreach’: The Sta…

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Marketable skills With few jobs available, youth in the U.K. are taking their skills to market — literally. That’s according to a Positive... The post What We’re Reading: Why Young Entrepreneurs Are Flocking …

“My kids lost their dad in 2020,” says Ashlyn Stone. Her partner, Hayden Hansen, died on the way to the hospital after a car accident in Kaysville, Utah.  Though she has two children, Stone says that no one, including those working for public agencies, reached out to offer support for... The post How Utah Is Looking Out for Kids Who Lose a Parent appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful .

Across the world, 18th birthdays are a time for celebration. But in India, an estimated 30,000 teens reach this threshold in childcare institutions (places that offer shelter and protection to vulnerable youth) every year, and age out of care to become “nobody’s responsibility,” as one person who works to support... The post Nobody Taught Them to Adult — So They’re Teaching Each Other appeared fi…

This story was originally published by New Mexico Rivers Rising, an independent project dedicated to covering New Mexico’s waterways and wetlands and the challenges they face in a warming world. For river ecosystems to survive dry times, they need their floods — and big, messy floodplains. In a case study recently published... The post Letting a River Act Like a River appeared first on Reasons to…

Above the entrance of a high school in Renningen, Germany, a promise is written in large letters: School without Racism – School with Courage. Inside, that promise is tested. On a cold day in January, 10th- and 11th-grade students spend hours moving through workshops on racism, bystander intervention and sexualized... The post Inside Germany’s ‘Schools Without Racism’ appeared first on Reasons to…

Welcome back to our weekly behind-the-scenes glimpse at what’s getting our team talking. Tell us what you’ve been reading at info@reasonstobecheerful.world and we just might feature it here. Filthy clean energy Denver’s goal is to reduce its greenhouse gases to zero by 2040, which means throwing everything it possibly can... The post What We’re Reading: Denver’s Newest Clean Energy Source Will Be…

“I think it’s over there, to the right, but the grounds are so big I’m not sure where it is exactly,” says Anna Massong, director of technical services at Sceaux City Hall, as we study a map beside the grand iron entrance gates of the Lakanal School.  Built in the... The post The French City That Champions Its Trees appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful .

Jimmy G. was a distracted and disruptive fifth grader.  “In the morning, when he came in, he’d be up in everybody’s business, up and out of his chair, constantly blurting stuff out,” says Amy Young, his science and social studies teacher at Spooner Middle School in the North Woods of... The post Ride It Out: How Cycling Helps Kids Focus appeared first on Reasons to be Cheerful .