DFTBA

Last December, Google Chrome introduced a browser extension called Chrome for a Cause. By installing the extension, Chrome kept track of the number of tabs you opened throughout the day, and as the clock struck 12, you got to choose what you wanted to donate the day's tabs towards. Google had pre-selected 5 charities: The Nature Conservancy, charity: water, Un Techo para mi País, Doctors Without Borders, and Room to Read.

It was a week-long initiative, and at the end of the week, the numbers were in. On behalf of the global Chrome community, Google made $1 million in donations as follows:

• Planting 245 278 trees in the endangered Atlantic Forest
• Providing 11 610 people in developing nations with clean water by building freshwater wells
• Developing 11 208 square feet of shelter by volunteers for impoverished families in Latin America
• Administering 106 934 meningitis vaccinations to combat outbreaks in Africa
• Publishing 142 518 books by local talents that would be donated to schools and libraries across Asia and Africa

Another initiative along the same lines as the Chrome extension is Freerice.com. Freerice provides a domain were you can tweak up on various subjects from vocabulary to geography to art while you donate grains of rice. Last year alone, 13 198 863 280 grains of rice were donated through the United Nations World Food Program to underdeveloped nations or to areas suffering from damage caused by natural disasters, like the recent earthquakes in Japan.

This shows that making a difference in the world need not be complicated or overly ambitious. Sometimes, even something as small as opening a tab- something you would have done regardless- could be impactful. Chrome for a Cause and Freerice highlights what can be achieved if we all get together and do our bit to help out. Let us all work towards making the world a better place.

In the words of the vlogbrothers, don't forget to be awesome (dftba)!