Project 014: Nominees, Please

UPDATE: Nominations are closed. We still have a bunch of submissions in our inbox, though, so if you sent one in and don’t see it on the list yet, just be patient.Sometimes, a hero’s work goes without praise. But here at GOOD, we think that’s a shame. We think that the people who are making strides toward excellence deserve a pat on the back and a round of applause. And we think that you deserve to know about them.Beginning this year, we’re assembling an annual list of people, businesses, and institutions driving change in the world, and we’re calling it the GOOD 100. But in order to put it together, we need your help. We want you to let us know about someone-in your community or anywhere on earth-who is making the world a better place. Do it by any means necessary. Write an essay. Snap a photo. Shoot a video. Build a sculpture. Just find a creative way to nominate someone for the GOOD 100, and send that entry to projects[at]goodmagazine[dot]com.THE ASSIGNMENT:Nominate someone for the GOOD 100.THE REQUIREMENTS:A photo, an email, a video, or all three.THE DETAILS:Email your entry to projects[at]good.is. We’ll publish them below as they come in.WATCH:One nominee will be featured on a special episode of GOOD News, sponsored by Lexus. Watch at good.is/news.SUBMISSIONS:From Tad Beckwith:“I’d like to nominate Brent Bolton for the Good 100. Brent Bolton is the co-founder of Ecospeed, a sustainable transportation small business based in Portland, Oregon and he’s somebody whose cruisin’ for good. Brent designed a better alternative with his Electric Mid-drives and Electric Mountain Drives for bikes and trikes that are the only electric bike assists that use the full gearing of the bike so you can climb up hills and cruise on the flats without the motor lugging down.”Learn more at ecospeed.com.From Maxine Mitchell:“I’d like to nominate the Center to Promote HealthCare Access, for the GOOD 100. The Center is a California-based nonprofit that manages a dynamic and innovative Web-based system known as One-e-App. One-e-App provides an efficient one-stop approach to screening application submission and enrollment in a range of public sector health and social service programs, ranging from healthcare programs like Medicaid to food support programs like Food Stamps. One-e-App – used extensively in California and also in Arizona, Indiana and Maryland – reduces the amount of time needed to complete an application, improves the efficiency of application processing, and improves application approval rates. All of this adds up to connecting people more quickly and effectively to needed benefits. One-e-App is committed to bringing modern and effective technologies to low-income high-need areas to increase access to much needed public benefits.”Learn more at oneeapp.org.From Kimberly Worthington:“I’d like to nominate Couchsurfing.org. Couchsurfing is helping to renew a sense of community around the world and it provides for a cheaper, more realistic way of traveling. I believe only the truest folk join and participate. I have experience with both hosting travelers, and being a couchsurfer traveling. I have enjoyed just about all of my experiences equally! I now have connections in England, Spain, San Francisco, Memphis, and many many more across the globe.”Learn more at couchsurfing.org.From Ankit Bhurat:“I would like to recommend Mr. B P Agarwal founder of Sustainable Innovations. He is committed to bringing water to the driest state of India, i.e. Rajasthan (west India). His project named Aakash Ganga – a rainwater harvesting project that literally means “river from the skies” – is working in Rajasthan and recently got a project approved in China (Guiyang Municipality). In Rajasthan, the project – backed by the World Bank – has already been implemented in six villages. A letter of intent has now been signed with the state government for its extension to 70 villages, to provide water security to 200,000 people. In 2007, he founded SI as a non-profit corporation ‘to harness innovations for making safe drinking water available to rural villages and for delivery of healthcare to vulnerable populations.’”Learn more at sustainableinnovations.us.From Joe Sciarillo:“Since 1997, JC Orton has served over 100,000 meals to the homeless and neediest residents of Berkeley and Oakland, California. JC Orton, the Coordinator of Night on the Streets – Catholic Worker has devoted himself tirelessly to serving the dispossessed on the East Bay in Northern California. In addition to regular meals to those in whom he sees ‘that spark of divinity,’ JC runs an overnight storm shelter in winter, a pantry operation, and soup nights three nights a week during winter, where he is often seen handing out sleeping bags and blankets to the homeless from his weathered, dark blue VW Catholic Worker van. He also provides a mail service to the homeless, helps them with taxes, visits them in hospitals and prisons, and is the personal caregiver to Berkeley’s over 800 homeless people.”Learn more at the Night on the Streets – Catholic Worker website.From Joshua To:“I’d like to nominate Ricky Opaterny for the GOOD 100. He was a co-worker at Google who was responsible for starting the @Google Talks program — a program to bring the leading authors, musicians, politicians and thought leaders to Google for talks about their latest work and Q&A sessions. He was also responsible for leading the campaign to save a local bookstore: Kepler’s.”Learn more at savekeplers.com, visit Ricky’s blog, and watch @GoogleTalks on YouTube.From Hunter Metcalf:“I would like to nominate The Creative Visions Foundation with the founders Kathy Eldon and Amy Eldon Turteltaub. Creative Visions Foundation is inspired by the life of Dan Eldon, an artist, photographer, adventurer and activist killed in Somalia in 1993 while covering the conflict as a photojournalist for Reuters News Agency. Creative Visions Foundation was founded in his memory by his mother, Kathy Eldon along with Dan’s sister, Amy Eldon Turteltaub. Creative Visions Foundation is a publicly supported 501(c)3 organization that supports “Creative Activists” like Dan – who use media and the arts to