Freerice.com - An easy way to make a difference!

Between epic rain and floods in Australia and South Africa, the droughts in the Horn of Africa, conflict and a new regime in Afghanistan. and the wars in Ukraine and Ethiopia, it seems like there is hardship and strife everywhere.

As I write this, I am sitting in a comfortable office building and am waiting to administer state-mandated tests to students who have not yet shown up and this down time has got me thinking: there have got to be more things that I can do in my daily life to improve the lives of others.

While yes, the Ethos Kolekto shop stocks fair trade products that pay fair wages to artisans in developing countries, growing a small business is tough and sales are slow. Our book club has had one awesome round of discussion and inspired me to start making micro-loans (I received my first repayment of $1.85 just this morning!). We’ve got our next meeting this upcoming Sunday and I’m looking forward to our discussion and getting some new ideas on ways that I can make a difference. I also just completed a Coursera course called “Effective Altruism” and will start reading a book written by the professor soon to help solidify what I’ve taken away.

But is there anything that I (or you, for that matter) can do in the quiet moments of your life that can make a positive impact on the lives of others? Can you do it for free?

The answer is “Yes!”

If you haven’t heard of the Freerice app or Freerice.com, I highly encourage you to check them out. This giving game is run through the World Food Programme as an educational and free method of increasing sponsor-supported donations of food for people in need. The premise is that you pick the category you’d like to play and for every question you answer correctly, their advertising sponsors will donate 10 grains of rice (or equal weight in another local staple food) to the WFP.

I started playing Freerice in college and have gone in phases of playing it daily, taking years off, and then reconnecting with it. When I started (this was back in the early 2000s), there was only a website and an English vocabulary option, but now there is an easy-to-use app and over 50 categories from which to choose.

I love to use it in the classroom as a skill-building warmup that also encourages empathy and group discussion. It’s also great to use while waiting in line to order coffee or pay for groceries. Check it out!