Why is India flipping over Ultimate Frisbee?

Ahead of the World Cup, Seattle organizations worked to find shelter for people living outside in the city’s Pioneer Square with a focus on connecting each person to the right type of housing or temporary shelter for them, not just whatever happened to be available. In all, the effort has helped 66 people get into shelter or housing, while 14 are still waiting to be placed.

In an effort to foster community amidst divisive gang violence, locals formed the group Unifying Las Cañas to host soccer tournaments with teams from the upper and lower sides of the city. The soccer tournaments connect residents from both sides and build a sense of community over sports.

The Police Athletic League connects local police officers with youth to fill some of their free time playing sports. The program uses mentorship and lessons learned from athletics to prevent juvenile crime and violence.

Michigan rock climbers are taking on an additional role as environmental stewards. Many of the state’s popular climbing locations are not conserved or cleaned by anyone else, so the climbers pick up litter and take action to prevent erosion.

Westside Sports started in 2017 and serves as a way for people and youth in the community to foster healthy relationships with law enforcement. Chicago Westside Sports consists of a league of hundreds of kids who play sports and dozens of officers, faith leaders, and nonprofit leaders who do the coaching.

With team names like Reconciliation, Peace, Love, Humanity, and Forgiveness, the football league organized by Face of Peace Global has begun to chip away at the religious-based fears and hostility that tore their city apart for a generation. Following 18 years of sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians in which people settled into starkly separate zones, the football coaches recruited teams deliberately mixed across religious and neighborhood lines. Divisions did not dissolve instantly, but players say that over time they have grown to trust and like their teammates, small steps toward peace.

A series of four football competitions in 2017-18 brought peace to two communities whose land dispute had led to violence. In the absence of a government response, the chief security officer of the Igbesikala-Ama, a minority group, put his peacemaking training to work to recruit teams from eight communities to participate. Included were people from the two communities in conflict and members of the youth "cults" who had done the fighting at their elders' instigation. The competition brought an end to the violence, though a lack of money put an end to the football competitions.

L.A. Superior Court Judge Craig Mitchell started the Skid Row Running Club, which leads runs every morning with formerly incarcerated addicts. Many of the participants have led successful lives after running, giving credence to the evidence of a linkage between aerobic exercise and a reparation of the parts of the brain that have been damaged by drug and alcohol abuse.

A group called Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, now 36,000 strong, is bringing together people from different political and ideological backgrounds over a common interest in the preservation and conservation of public lands and waters. Bucking stereotypes, the group spans the political spectrum, with 33% Independent, 23% Republican, 20% Democrat and 16% unaffiliated in a recent survey. The BHA's recent promotion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund shows that bipartisanship is possible.

Refugio, Texas was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey, leaving behind damaged houses, schools and businesses and people who can not afford to rebuild their lives. However, this town has used its community and found strength in their love of football and their support of one another to keep moving forward.