Mark Wood might be most recognized as the former violinist of the epic Trans Siberian Orchestra, however his more impressive contribution to the musical world actually comes in the form of his organization. Nearly 10 years ago, the violinist and Emmy award-winning composer began Electrify...

LGBT Issues – Sudan, North Africa is a place where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by death. However, a new online LGBT magazine, Rainbow Sudan, is offering an outlet and hope to the LGBT community by giving them a way to read about and discuss their situations. “Sudanese...

Human Rights – Human Rights Watch (HRW) is calling for Afghanistan to release 400 women and girls who have been imprisoned for what their government calls a moral crime. Most commonly this includes fleeing from an unlawful forced marriage and domestic abuse. Zina, sex outside of marriage...

LGBT Issues – Religious colleges and universities aren’t exactly known for welcoming LGBTQ students with open arms, but one alumni group is looking to change all that in hopes that one day LGBTQ students at George Fox University (GFU) in Oregon can speak and act...

Just Weird – A city in the north-east part of Brazil has found a way to keep track of its students without the constant nit-picking and fussing that is usually required of teachers. The school has embedded RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chips in the student’s uniforms. If...

Celebrity Charities – VH1′s Save the Music Foundation and Dosomething.org have teamed up for the third annual Battle of the Bands campaign aimed getting young students involved in saving music education. Among the supporters is American Idol Kelly Clarkson, who stared in a PSA for...

Animal Rights – Bonsai is an art. It is also a business, and one that is coming with cost to the white-headed langur, an endangered monkey of Vietnam. Much of the problem stems around the desire for bonsai growers for the Ficus benjamica, a fig that is regularly taken out from the root...

Social Issues – While it is no surprise that developing nations struggle for proper medical care (cleft palate infomercials, anyone?), the images that cross our minds are typically those of infectious diseases and birth defects. The far more subtle — and, in some ways, insidious...

Environment – Cliff Ricketts, an agricultural education professor at Middle Tennessee State University, has a big trip ahead of him, and he’s only got a little bit of fuel. He plans to drive across the country on 10 gallons of gasoline, from Savannah, Georgia to Long Beach,...

Celebrity Charities – A host of British stars will be joining the seventh annual Pitney Bowes Pushing the Envelope campaign, designed to benefit the United Kingdom’s National Literacy Trust. From actors like Stephen Fry, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren and Simon Pegg to the members of...

Environment – Alone, in the Atlanta zoo, sits the last known Rabbe’s fringe-limbed tree frog. The frog, which is native to Panama was discovered in 2005. It has not been seen in the wild since 2007, though it’s call was heard once at the end of that same year. In 2006, the...

Celebrity Charities – Holly Branson, daughter of Sir Richard Branson, is doing more than just raising awareness about the plight of children in India; she’s adopting the whole Udawad village in Udaipur in an effort to improve the quality of life and provide sustainable resources...

LGBT Issues – Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, has come out once again in support of the Trevor Project. The PSA, which has aired during Glee and offers support for LGBTQQ teens, encourages teens suffering from stress or suicidal thoughts to call the Trevor Lifeline, which runs 24/7...

Celebrity Charities – Former Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz is the latest star to collaborate with online community MASScanvas. For the rest of February, fans and participants can submit designs to the t-shirt company, whose limited edition tees are sold in support of each partner...

Social Issues – An attempted donation in the name of former porn star Sasha Grey to Read Across America has been rejected by the program’s founding organization, the National Education Association (NEA), America’s largest teacher’s union. Assence Films is releasing a...

Civil Rights – Rhode Island teen Jessica Ahlquist isn’t receiving the warmest reception after winning a suit for the removal of a prayer banner in her High School, Cranston High School West. Despite demanding her constitutional rights, she has received criticism on and offline,...

Social Issues – Rick Santorum seems to have a bottomless pit of rage-inciting comments up his sleeve. In his latest bit of fodder, he claims that “the left” uses universities to “‘indoctrinate’ young people for the end purpose of maintaining...

Social Issues – Footage of an autistic student being brutally beaten has surfaced thanks to one particularly sick individual who filmed the incident and posted it to Facebook. The beating occurred at a school bus stop in Maryland, and luckily, the evidence fell into the hands of...

Social Issues – Using the media to shame others into losing weight is nothing new; from advertisements to TV shows, putting overweight people into the spotlight is what most people think will work to fight the obesity epidemic. The Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta apparently agrees...

Celebrity Charities – Kids in Los Angeles public schools might be shredding like legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen in a few years. Or at least, they’ll be learning how to play music on Van Halen’s guitars. Van Halen, whose eponymous band was one of the most important rock...

Human Rights – In 2009, The United Nations launched the Blue Heart Campaign to raise awareness about the issue of human trafficking and its impact on society and to encourage involvement in helping stop this crime. Last year, President Obama declared January as National Slavery and Human...

Social Issues – “Each tree has 56 oranges. If eight slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?” Offensive? This math problem, along with others about beatings and slavery, was sent home with a class of third graders at Gwinnett County’s Beaver...