India trashes 100 million tires a year. She turns them into playgrounds.

Studies have routinely shown that spending time outdoors is good for health, so programs are being implemented in the United States in order to increase children's access to getting outside. From California's Outdoor Outreach which aims to help low-income students to the Every Kid Outdoors Act initiated by Congress which eliminates fees for national park passes for fourth graders, these initiatives not only get kids outside, but also teach them social skills.

In Bengaluru, India, Anthill Creations has created dozens of playgrounds, or "play scapes" as they call them, using recycled tire scraps that are safe and fun. Serving over 10,000 children, Anthill's play scapes allow spaces for children to engage in much needed play and outdoor activity necessary for successful development.

Making schoolyards and public spaces green improves the health and wellbeing of communities. But without a way for schools in Philadelphia to allocate more funding toward schoolyard construction, the city’s school district relies largely on philanthropy. In public-private partnerships, the school district contributes a portion of funding to projects lead by nonprofit organizations. Creating greener spaces has many positive second-order effects, acting as an investment the in community.

Even though natural parks are in close proximity to New York City’s metropolitan hub, many are inaccessible and overlooked areas for recreation and sport. Conservation groups, including the Natural Areas Conservancy and the Bronx River Alliance, have worked to restore trails, offer tour opportunities, and protect parks' natural geography, benefitting millions of New Yorkers’ mental and physical health.

An absence of public infrastructure and park space hasn't stopped the people of Izmir, Turkey from gathering in and enjoying the outdoors. Now a few clever and creative individuals are helping teach their communities to reclaim public spaces, sharing designs for recycling materials to build things like benches or docks for all to enjoy.

Great minds from Plato to Piaget have recognized the importance of play in healthy child development, but with bullying becoming more prevalent on school playgrounds and increased pressure to maximize school hours to boost performance on standardized tests, schools are struggling to implement meaningful recess. Playworks and other similar non-profit groups provide coaching for adults on how to help structure children's playtime to be healthy, productive, and enjoyable, while allowing children to explore on their own and develop positive relationships.

The Book Truck is a nonprofit that addresses the issue of "book deserts" in Los Angeles by providing free books and literacy programming to over 10,000 teenagers across the city. The truck was established in 2012 and has since handed out over 17,000 books. Participants in the program attest to how the program has changed their life because reading is now a tool to learn more about themselves and the world, to develop leadership skills, and to even make new friends.

With child obesity on the rise, public school students have lacked the motivation and access to eat healthy food. Different programs around the country aim to improve student diet in public schools, including Real Eats for Academics and Life in Los Angeles and Cornell’s Smarter Lunchrooms Movement, by emailing nutrition report cards to parents, presenting the healthy food with aesthetic pleasure, and the arrangement of the food for access.

Custer Elementary School in Washington State transformed from a chaotic, low-performing school into a twice-awarded "Best Public School" by implementing Integrated Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, a framework that addresses student needs across three tiers, from schoolwide culture-building to intensive individual interventions. As a result, student survey data showed that 95-97% of students felt safe, included, and cared for, leading to better academic outcomes.

Nonprofits Manufacturing Renaissance and Youth Crossroads provide vocational training that Chicago's public schools have largely abandoned, particularly in disinvested communities. Manufacturing Renaissance runs free seven-week metalworking cohorts that include stipends, tools, job placement support, and an alumni network, and has trained more than 1,200 young adults since 1982. Youth Crossroads offers multiple workforce tracks, including HVAC certification and paid internships, and 88% of trade program graduates report feeling prepared to enter the workforce.