5) Gender equality – Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
The goal is simple: End all forms of discrimination, violence and harmful practices against all women and girls, everywhere. Unfortunately, we’re still quite a long way away from reaching it, but many great organizations are working extra hard to make sure this goal is achieved sooner rather than later. Examples include: The TransWomen of Color Collective, an advocacy initiative run by and for trans women of color; Women’s Hope For Change, promoting education for girls in Malawi; or She;Codes, dedicated to teaching girls in Israel computer sciences. Look up an organization or group helping girls and women around you to volunteer with them, promote their work or donate to their efforts.
6) Clean water and sanitation – Ensure access to water and sanitation for all
2.6 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water sources since 1990, which is by all means a great statistic – but millions are still lacking access to clean and safe water around the world. Companies like Miya are trying to change that: by building infrastructure and promoting water efficiency instead of wastage, we can conserve water and make sure it gets to people who need it. Access to clean water can eliminate many diseases and highly improve the quality of life for many.
7) Affordable and clean energy – Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Transitioning to clean energy offers the opportunity for growth and development in developing countries, with more jobs and more opportunities for people from around the world, a better food production process and improvement on climate change. This is also a great goal for countries to work together towards – cooperating in research and in building infrastructure to evolve towards clean, renewable and efficient use of energy. Organizations like Sustainable Energy for All do amazing work towards this goal – keep up on the latest news on their website.
8) Decent work and economic growth – Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all
One of the lesser known sections of goal #8 is to devise and implement policies that promote sustainable tourism, which in turn creates jobs and promotes local culture and products. That’s where our partners at Givingway come in – they saw that while volunteering abroad has become more popular, it has also become very commercialized, so they made it easier, more accessible and better for the local communities. By matching potential volunteers with local organizations around the world, Givingway can help with your volunteering process from start to finish, ensuring that you volunteer in a sustainable, local organization and truly help the community in which you’re volunteering.
The SDGs are a great choice for a Good Deeds Day project, and a wonderful way to get other organizations or companies with a mutual goal involved in your project. Looking for more ways you can help advance the Sustainable Development Goals? Check out parts one, three and four of this series for 12 other goals you can make a difference in!
Ready to make a difference? Pre-registration for Good Deeds Day is now open! Let us know what you’ll be doing to make the world a better place on April 7, 2019.
