💚 Improving Quality of Life 🛁
Affiliate Disclosure
Hey fellow impactful ninja ?
You may have noticed that Impactful Ninja is all about providing helpful information to make a positive impact on the world and society. And that we love to link back to where we found all the information for each of our posts.
Most of these links are informational-based for you to check out their primary sources with one click.
But some of these links are so-called "affiliate links" to products that we recommend.
Why do we add these product links?
First and foremost, because we believe that they add value to you. For example, when we wrote a post about the environmental impact of long showers, we came across an EPA recommendation to use WaterSense showerheads. So we linked to where you can find them. Or, for many of our posts, we also link to our favorite books on that topic so that you can get a much more holistic overview than one single blog post could provide.
And when there is an affiliate program for these products, we sign up for it. For example, as Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases.
What do these affiliate links mean for you?
First, and most importantly, we still only recommend products that we believe add value for you.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission - but at no additional costs to you.
And when you buy something through a link that is not an affiliate link, we won’t receive any commission but we’ll still be happy to have helped you.
What do these affiliate links mean for us?
When we find products that we believe add value to you and the seller has an affiliate program, we sign up for it.
When you buy something through one of our affiliate links, we may earn a small commission (at no extra costs to you).
And at this point in time, all money is reinvested in sharing the most helpful content with you. This includes all operating costs for running this site and the content creation itself.
What does this mean for me personally?
You may have noticed by the way Impactful Ninja is operated that money is not the driving factor behind it. It is a passion project of mine and I love to share helpful information with you to make a positive impact on the world and society. However, it's a project in that I invest a lot of time and also quite some money.
Eventually, my dream is to one day turn this passion project into my full-time job and provide even more helpful information. But that's still a long time to go.
Stay impactful,
Happy Monday 👋
Did you know that 32% of US adults engage in daily self-care practices?
Self-care is vital for our physical and mental wellbeing. Yet, many of us don’t practice it often and others who do often feel guilty for taking time out for themselves…
So, today, I would like to share an event with you that encourages us all to practice a little self-care!
Here are the impactful insights that I have for you today:
- Prioritizing health and self-care 🛁
- How steel wings are reducing cargo fuel consumption 🛳️
- How Mardi Gras glass is rebuilding Louisiana’s vanishing coast 🏖️
- Discussion of the week: stronger community relationships 💬
- And more… 💚
🛁 Event of the Week: International Self-Care Day
👉 Did you know that this Friday (July 24) is International Self-Care Day? This event encourages individuals to prioritize their health and well-being through conscious, daily self-care practices.
1️⃣ The big picture: International Self-Care Day was first launched on July 24, 2011, by the International Self-Care Foundation. The date was chosen to symbolize the benefits of self-care, which are felt 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Since its inception, International Self Care Day has gained global recognition, with health organizations and individuals around the world participating in activities that promote self-care. The day has become a platform for highlighting the importance of personal health responsibility and the role of self-care in achieving long-term wellness.
2️⃣ Why is this important: Consistent self-care practices have been clinically proven to help manage stress, improve mental health, and prevent chronic diseases. However, in a fast-paced world, many people overlook self-care, leading to burnout, mental health struggles, and physical ailments. By raising awareness, International Self-Care Day empowers people to take proactive steps toward better health and well-being.
3️⃣ How can you get involved: You can get involved in International Self-Care Day by setting aside time each day for activities that rejuvenate your body and mind, such as yoga, journaling, or walking in nature. You can also get involved by joining local or virtual self-care workshops focusing on mental wellness, nutrition, or fitness. In addition, you can use social media to share your favorite self-care practices, tips, and inspirations using the hashtag #InternationalSelfCareDay.
Below are our favorite charities that are especially relevant for this awareness event:
- 9 Best Charities for Health and Well-Being
- 9 Best Charities for Mental Health
- 9 Best Charities for Fitness
If you are looking for additional inspiration, you can find a wide range of charitable causes to support in our charity support blog.
📢 Three Good News
🛳️ Steel wind wings can cut a cargo ship’s fuel use by 40%:
- A massive cargo ship fitted with two 37.5-meter steel wind wings completed a near-global voyage saving up to 40% fuel on some routes, proving that aerodynamic wind technology can meaningfully cut emissions from one of the world’s dirtiest industries.
- Cargo shipping is responsible for roughly 3% of all human-caused CO2 emissions, and the industry has struggled to find clean alternatives to heavy diesel fuel.
- The results showed that the wings saved an average of 3 tons of fuel per day, with peaks of up to 11 tons on favorable wind days.
🛣️ North Carolina is building America’s first wildlife highway:
- North Carolina is building America’s first large-scale wildlife highway along Interstate 40, using green bridges and underground tunnels to help bears, deer, and mountain lions cross safely while reducing thousands of deadly wildlife-vehicle collisions.
- Between 2021 and 2023, over 62,000 wildlife-vehicle crashes were reported in the state alone.
- Wildlife passages like the ones being built in North Carolina can reduce vehicle-wildlife collisions by up to 90%, making roads far safer for both drivers and animals.
🏖️ How Mardi Gras glass is rebuilding Louisiana’s vanishing coast:
- Glass Half Full, a nonprofit founded in New Orleans in 2020, is recycling millions of pounds of glass from bars and Mardi Gras celebrations into silica sand, using it to rebuild Louisiana’s rapidly eroding coastline with promising early results.
- Louisiana loses roughly a football field of land to the sea every hour, making coastal restoration efforts like this one critically urgent for the state’s survival.
- Since launching, Glass Half Full has recycled over 14 million pounds of glass and completed four major coastal restoration projects across Louisiana.
💬 Discussion of the Week: Stronger Community Relationships
Welcome to our new section, where we spark meaningful discussions about everyday topics that can create a real positive impact in our lives!
This week’s discussion topic: What simple actions can we take to build stronger community relationships?
- What small gestures or practices have helped you build stronger ties with your neighbors or community members?
- Why do you believe building stronger community relationships is beneficial for everyone involved?
- Do you have any practical ideas or inspiring examples of small community-building actions?
Your insights and experiences could spark meaningful changes that bring our community even closer together!
For our founding community members, keep the conversation going in our forum here.
Want to join our community when we reopen? Just reply to this email—I’d love to personally add you to our waitlist so you’ll be the first to know all about it 💚
🤝 Three More Important Awareness Events
🌛 July 20, International Moon Day:
- International Moon Day is a UN-designated day which marks the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
- The day also promotes the peaceful use of outer-space technology as scientists continue to advance technologically.
- World Chess Day is an opportunity for chess lovers worldwide to unite to play and promote this game in their communities.
- As an affordable and inclusive activity, it can be played anywhere and by all, across the barriers of language, age, gender, or physical ability.
🪸 July 20-26, Coral Reef Awareness Week:
- Coral reefs are essential ecosystems for a wide range of species, yet they are under threat from extinction.
- So, this event is a great opportunity to get involved in the many campaigns and initiatives held by organizations around the world to ensure the survival of coral reefs for future generations.
Related: You can discover all the 74 most important awareness events (for the month, days, weeks) in our awareness calendar for July 2026!
📜 These Days in History
🧑🚀 July 20, 1969: The Eagle lunar landing module, carrying U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin, landed on the Moon. Several hours later, Armstrong became the first person to set foot on its surface.
🏅 July 20, 1968: At Chicago’s Soldier Field, the first Special Olympics began, and some 1,000 athletes—all of whom had intellectual disabilities—participated.
✍️ July 21, 1899: American writer Ernest Hemingway—famous for his adventurous life and lucid, masculine prose, for which he earned the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature—was born in what is now Oak Park, Illinois.
💭 Quote of the Day
“Time is the least thing we have of.”
― Ernest Hemingway; American novelist
Share the news with your friends to make a bigger positive impact on the world and society together!
Stay impactful 💚
