Inspirational People

Good News

Forget fake news and political mudslinging, it’s time for some positive stories about improving our world

Shamash Alidina, Rosa Connor and Victoria Johnson

Sat-nav supremos TOMTOM has released its first fitness tracker — the TOMTOM Touch can calculate the muscle mass and body fat percentage of the wearer, spurring you on to challenge yourself further. It also monitors heart rate and sleep so you can build up a robust understanding of how your body works.

Joanna Bevan

As a volunteer at The Kindness Offensive, Joanna is devoted to improving the quality of life for those in need across London and further afield. Some of her achievements include running Foundation Speak Street, which offers free weekly English language lessons to refugees, helps create a sensory garden for special needs children, and organises free day trips for the elderly to museums and places of interest. Joanna is described as a “selfless character who is always working towards building better communities.”

Cemal Ezel

What if your morning latte could change lives? With the support of The Big Issue, Cemal founded the social enterprise Change Please to help reduce homelessness through the simple selling of coffee. The scheme trains people who are homeless to be baristas, earning a London living wage. Change Please also provides them with housing, a bank account and therapy. Currently operating in London, Manchester, Newcastle and soon in New York, Cemal is responsible for lifting eight people per month out of homelessness and into long-term employment.