Yao Ming (an NBA basketball player) has, nearly single-handedly, saved the lives of tens of millions of sharks by simply asking citizens of China to stop eating shark fin soup. Since he started doing this, the price of shark fins has tanked, and 90+ percent of people surveyed in China support a ban on selling shark fins.

The Great Green Wall initiative. They're teaching farming methods that restore water tables and greening arid areas across middle Africa, stopping the advance of the Sahara desert. They supply the expertise and the materials, and locals do the work. In the process they're also reversing the exodus of young people to the cities, because increased/improved agriculture provides jobs for them in their home villages.

James Christopher Harrison, a blood donor from Australia, who has saved over two million babies with his blood because it has properties which can treat rhesus disease.

the satanic temple

Habitat for Humanity. People seem to shy away, thinking it's a free house program for the utterly destitute. Nope!

They put people in affordable homes, with a legit mortgage, who otherwise might be shut out of the market.

Ex-wife started us on the program. We worked it, and I'm typing this from my forever home, $600/mo. and paid off in a total of 19-years. No property tax, no mortgage interest, cost of the home is what you sign for. And it's brand new or totally gutted and redone. Most are new, appliances and all.

My credit was shit from medical debt, they don't even look. BUT, you have to make a payment plan with every creditor, and pay on time. They don't officially favor families, but I'm sure it helps. OTOH, old girl across the street got hers with her 85-yo momma.

We did 300-hours of classroom work and volunteering in the field. The Habitat Restore was our favorite Saturday afternoon. But we nailed and painted and laid sod as well. No, you don't build your own home, you build your neighbor's homes. Sodded and mounted my neighbor's lawn and mailbox! Neat!

I'll answer all I can, but programs vary from region to region. If you're truly interested, email me: blade runner blues @ gmail. (My DMs are all jacked up on Lemmy, and I won't see replies unless I remember to dig.)

Worst anyone can do is volunteer. I've never done such satisfying charity work. Call your local chapter!

And praise be to Jimmy Carter, blessing be unto him.

I recently gave a brand new $3000 (usd) mattress and bed frame i wasn’t using to an old war veteran because i didn’t want to sell it. I made the phone call to a VFW and gave it to the guy who ran the bar. He was very grateful, he offered me 100$ but i told just give me $5 so i can grab a coffee on the ride home

Large scale wise, Doctors without Borders, World Health Organization, and the organizations that help fight for/track sex trafficked people to liberate them.

And within the US (I'm sure there's others, I'm a yank so my understanding of how things in Germany/Canada/China/South Africa go is often poor) there's the Electric Frontier Foundation, Meals on Wheels, Planned Parenthood, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and a lot more that help most citizens and biological beings get the right to, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that isn't actually given by any government.

Also Child's Play and Make a Wish Foundation are pretty good for sick children to get some levity in a harsh childhood. I usually chip in some online donations/sale credits to Child's Play and EFF so that they have entertainment when stuck in a hospital, and more digital rights for when they get out of it.

Herorats who are rats, that are trained to sniff out and locate landmines and tuberculosis.

Apparently there are only 200 of them, could use a whole lot more around the world.

I work (part time/retired) for a nonprofit that coordinates and connects volunteer tutors with kids experiencing homelessness.

Never occurred to me (before I signed on) that kids in shelters or on the streets are still going to school while having to deal with no consistent “home” to do homework, irregular/unreliable sleep schedules, absent or overwhelmed parents, etc. Most Volunteer Tutors become important positive role models and a reliably supportive, adult presence in their lives, and the value is immeasurable.

I mostly help the org with marketing material — including editing videos with heartfelt testimonials and Thank-You messages from students — and I swear, most of the time I can barely hold it together to get the work done!

Elon Musk, of course!

"I've done more for the environment than any single human on earth. What I care about is the reality of goodness, not the perception of it - and what I see all over the place is people who care about looking good while doing evil," - Elon Musk

/s

I like to watch these rewilding, nature restoration or cleaning channels on YouTube. Like ocean cleanup, mossy earth etc.

I run a group that does free software programming education in Seoul. There's a similar group in LA. When I came to Korea, I just set up a meetup account, paid the fee, rented some space, and started teaching people stuff and studying together. Great way to make friends. Been running it for 7 years now. I've had about a dozen or so people come say the group has helped them change their career to IT for the better. A dozen sounds like a small number, but it's a huge impact on those people

So be the change you want to see. If you have a skill that can help people improve their lives, whether it's career or life stuff, share it! Learning a new skill is hard, and having a community to support you in learning, goes a long way

I would stop fixating on who is doing the most good, like some kinda top 6 listicle of Humanity's Most Positively Impactful Helpers, and just reach out to anyone who is helping.

1. because help is multidimensional and we don't know what metrics you personally consider more important (there is no objectivity here), 2) maybe I'm getting hung up on a word and have misunderstood you

2. I appreciate your sentiment and hope you find a worthy cause to throw in with! :)

Coalition for Rainforest Nations

They work with national governments, indigenous peoples, and local communities to create and audit rainforest protection programs. They also work to reforest areas and generally spread knowledge about rainforest ecosystems.

The effective altruists try to do the most good with each dollar by focusing on the cause where the most lives per $ can be saved. Believe malaria seems to be a favorite cause there.

Somebody will know more than me on this and I’m sure there’s some controversy too.

MacKenzie Scott giving away billions over the years, most recently this: https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/19/business/mackenzie-scott-donates-640-million-open-call/index.html