Happy Monday 👋

Did you know that 150 million people around the world don’t have a stable home?

Or that 35% of the human population can’t afford a nutritious daily meal?

In our modern world, it’s difficult to comprehend these statistics, especially given that 1.3 billion tons of food is discarded every year…

So, this November, let’s stand for those less fortunate and ensure everyone has access to basic human rights.

Here are the impactful insights that I have for you today:

• Ensuring everyone has access to nutritious food and a safe place to stay 🏠
• An Advent calendar like never seen before 🙋
• How one of the world’s largest breweries is embracing regenerative farming 🍻
• The new environmentally-friendly way to recycle lithium batteries 🪫
• And more… 💚

🏠 Event of the Week: Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week 

👉 Did you know that this week (November 18-26) is Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week? This event was founded to draw attention to the issues surrounding hunger and homelessness, as well as to inspire community action. 

1️⃣ The big picture: Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week was founded in 1975 at Villanova University and it’s now sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Student Campaign Against Hunger and Homelessness. During this week, participating groups hold a series of service, educational, fundraising, and advocacy events to eventually end hunger and homelessness around the world. Today, events are held at over 700 locations with millions of dollars being raised for local service providers.

2️⃣ Why is this important: Around the world, 2.83 billion people (roughly 35% of the human population) can’t afford a healthy, nutritious diet and one in 11 people go to bed hungry every night. Unfortunately, 85% of people facing hunger crises live in conflict-affected countries with the threat of environmental disasters also rising due to climate change, contributing further to global hunger. In terms of homelessness, there are at least 150 million people living without a place to call home, with 1.6 billion people lacking adequate housing. 

3️⃣ How can you get involved: You can get involved in Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week by hosting or attending an awareness event, volunteering with an organization focused on ending homelessness and hunger, or spreading the word on social media using hashtags such as #HHWeek or #TimeForChange. 

You can also consider donating to one or more charities that are working to end homelessness and ensuring that every person has access to nutritious meals:

• 9 Best Charities That Fight Hunger Globally
• 9 Best Charities That Fight Child Hunger
• 13 Best Charities for Helping Homeless People
• 10 Best Charities Providing Shelter for the Homeless
• 10 Best Charities That Help With Housing

If you are looking for more inspiration, you can find a wider range of charitable causes to support in our charity support blog.

🙋 Feedback: An Advent Calendar Like Never Seen Before

Today, I want to share some great feedback that we’ve received about The Most Impactful Advent Calendar from Patti, as shared on Facebook 💚

Related: Learn more about The Most Impactful Advent Calendar here and get your very own calendar that delivers daily acts of kindness in your name, instead of cheese or chocolate!

📢 Three Good News

🍻 Brewery giant produces its first beer using solely regeneratively grown barley:

• Carlsberg, one of the world’s most popular and best-known brewers, has announced a new collaboration with DLG and Viking Malt to source Danish malt barley, cultivated according to regenerative principles. 
• Regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that aims to restore soil health, improve water cycles, and enhance biodiversity, while maintaining good yields.
• A portion of this new harvest will be used to create a special edition Carlsberg beer brewed with 100% regeneratively grown barley, while the rest will be incorporated into their flagship Carlsberg Pilsner. 

🚘 Paris introduces car-free zones to reduce air pollution:

• This month, Paris officials introduced a car ban in the top four central districts of the French Capital, covering an area of approximately 5.5^sq miles.
• The air in Paris is currently ranked as moderately polluted with a fine particulate matter of 10.5 μg/m3. To protect health, the World Health Organization recommends a maximum level of 5 μg/m3 for long-term exposure.
• Around 40 signs appeared overnight in Paris indicating the entrance to a new limited traffic zone (ZTL) put in place by the city council. Only certain vehicles, such as buses, taxis, and emergency vehicles will be allowed to drive through the area. 

🪫 Researchers find a highly efficient way to recycle batteries – with citric acid:

• A research paper published in the journal Angewandte Chemie, details a simple, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly way to recycle depleted lithium-ion batteries using nothing more than citric acid. 
• From electric vehicles and smartphones to being an integral component in renewable energy sources, lithium-ion batteries are used everywhere in our daily lives. However, they have a limited lifespan which results in large numbers of these batteries having to be disposed of, resulting in the release of dangerous chemicals and heavy metals.
• According to the study, small amounts of citric acid can break up the lithium-oxygen bonds, leaching out 99% of the lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese metals that are contained in NCM batteries.

🤝 Three More Important Awareness Events

♂️ November 19, International Men’s Day:

• International Men’s Day celebrates the achievements of men and raises awareness for the difficulties men face, such as a higher risk of suicide. 
• This day is important for allowing men to be more open about their struggles and find community. 

🌊 November 19, Oceans of Plastic:

• Oceans of Plastic day raises awareness for plastic pollution in oceans and advocates for reducing plastic in the world at large. 
• As an important issue in waste management, Oceans of Plastic day is incredibly important. 

🛣️ November 18-24, Road Safety Week:

• Road safety is an important concern for all Americans, which is why Road Safety Week honors those who have died or been injured in road accidents and promotes road safety tips.
• In an era with ever-increasing car sizes, it is especially important to make sure everyone is aware of road safety. 

Related: You can discover all the 95 most important awareness events (for the month, days, weeks) in our awareness calendar for November 2024!

📜 These Days in History

🤳 November 18, 1963: The first push-button (Touch-Tone) telephone was launched in the US, eventually going on to replace most rotary-dial phones. 

📽️ November 18, 1928: Walt Disney released Steamboat Willie, the first animated film with sound to feature the iconic Mickey Mouse. 

📖 November 18, 1477: William Caxton printed the first book in the English language entitled The Dictes and Sayings of the Philosophers.

💭 Quote of the Day

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.”

Walt Disney, American animation film producer

Share the news with your friends to make a bigger positive impact on the world and society together!

Stay impactful 💚