Take action
It starts with you.
I made this page for the days when the world feels heavy and you want to help, but don't know where to start. So let's begin with you. Take a breath and check in.
Gandhi's birthday
Be the change.
Every October 2nd, India celebrates Gandhi Jayanti, Gandhi's birthday. He wasn't a perfect human. No one is, and he had real flaws. But just because he was imperfect doesn't mean he didn't do incredible things for humanity.
So on his birthday this year, I decided to look deeper into the meaning of the quote we all know: "be the change you wish to see in the world." What he actually wrote is so much more powerful, because we really do have to start with ourselves.
We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.
M.K. Gandhi · Indian Opinion · 1913
Right now
It's a lot.
Some days, just opening the news takes my breath away.
Floods in Spain. An earthquake in Colombia. Ebola spreading in Congo. Famine warnings in 13 places at once. Aid for mothers and babies cut, then cut again.
It's really easy to feel overwhelmed by everything happening in the world, and do nothing. But one small action can make a big difference. And sustained action, by all of us, can truly change the world.
Why small actions
Small actions add up.
I joined ActionButton in 2017 because I believed anyone, anywhere, should be able to take action on the issues that matter to them. What I didn't expect was what it would teach me. I watched one signature, one call, one share at a time add up to millions of actions. Collective action is so powerful. In a world where democracy is constantly under threat, exercising our civic voice has never been more important.
So start small. Start in your community, with what impacts your world: your neighbors, your kids' schools, the people you love.
Start here
Small actions, every day.
Taking action doesn't have to be big. Kindness, helping someone in need, sharing what you have: it all counts.
- Check on someone. Call a friend who's been quiet. Mental health starts with connection.
- Give a little, often. A small monthly gift helps nonprofits plan, more than one big one.
- Give your time. Volunteer at a food bank, shelter or school near you.
- Give what families need. Diapers, formula and school supplies to local diaper banks and family shelters.
- Spend with intention. Support women-owned, local and family businesses.
- Lead with kindness. Patience with a stranger, a meal for a new mom, a smile. It ripples out.
Give
Every action counts.
Four organizations doing the work on the ground, all over the world.
World Central Kitchen
Chefs on the front lines of crisis, serving fresh meals wherever disaster strikes. Right now: flood relief in Spain, more than a million meals after Colombia's earthquake, and meals for families through Congo's Ebola outbreak.
Give to WCK →Doctors Without Borders
Independent, emergency medical care for people caught in conflict, epidemics and disaster. Right now they're on the ground in Congo, working to stop Ebola from spreading.
Give to MSF →CARE
Fighting poverty and hunger by putting women and girls at the center, because when a woman is lifted up, her whole family and community rise with her. CARE responds to emergencies around the world and stays to help communities rebuild.
Give to CARE →Direct Relief
Getting medicine, supplies and care to health workers in disaster zones and communities in need, so people can be treated close to home.
Give to Direct Relief →Use your voice
Speak up for mothers, and for the hungry.
Funding decisions are made by people, and people can be moved. Add your name, and send a message to your lawmakers in under a minute.
And make sure your voice counts at the ballot box.
Start your own
Create your own action.
Have a cause that's close to your heart? You don't have to wait for someone else to start it. With ActionButton, you can create your own petition, poll or contact-your-lawmakers campaign in minutes, share it with your community and watch it grow.
The root
We need not wait to see what others do.
M.K. Gandhi
Start where you are.
Have a cause I should know about? I'd love to hear it.
Get in touch →