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A young girl’s fleeting thought of suicide reveals turmoil beneath the surface.

Discovering social entrepreneurs, an Irish singer and Korean food.

At 101, Bunny Mellon finds herself thrust into an unwelcoming limelight, as a central figure in the John Edwards trial.

Young, wealthy and gay, Chris Hughes and Sean Eldridge have begun to emerge as major players on the national political stage.

Billionaire industrialist and philanthropist David H Koch donates $35 million to renovate the dinosaur hall at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. Photo

The Pebble, a watch being developed to work with smartphones, has raised more than $7 million in financing on Kickstarter, a case that has signified the site’s coming of age.

Many of the breast cancer foundation’s affiliates are struggling, months after the national group rescinded a controversial decision to curb funding for Planned Parenthood programs.

The Fresh Air Fund gave a New York City girl a taste of carefree summer life out in the country.

Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theater receive an $18 million gift from the Robina Foundation to finance the creation of new plays and musicals through commissions to writers, developmental workshops and productions. (M)o

City Room blog; Five-Borough Ladies Arm Wrestling League is dedicated to raising money and awareness for women's charities; year-old chapter of a national network called the Collective Lady Arm Wrestlers had its most recent match at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Photo

Major donation by Elizabeth A Sackler will support the establishment of a permanent curator of feminist art at the Brooklyn Museum.

The grandson of New York philanthropists pledges a $40 million gift to build a field house with an indoor cycling track.

Special Guest Blogger: Jackie Reed

Jackie is the student that brought the pen pal program to Fairview High School, read more here
Hey there! My name is Jackie Reed and I’m currently a sophomore at Fairview High School.  I’m the average high school student.  I have been involved in swim team and theatre ever since elementary school and strive to get good grades to satisfy my parent’s standards.  But I also love connecting with people, if it’s meeting new friends or even connecting high school kids from two different countries.
Which is exactly what I did for my Spanish class last year.  I was introduced to the pen pal program when I was in eighth grade.  I began sending letters to a girl my age in Baja, Mexico.  We exchanged pictures, little trinkets and she even sent me a shell with my name painted on it.  But I was off to high school after six letters.  When I got to my high school Spanish class, I absolutely loved it.  I just thought the students and I would really enjoy exchanging letters with students in Spanish to learn their culture and about them.  So I worked to bring the pen pal program to my new school. And who doesn’t like meeting someone who lives in another country?  What I love about the exchange program is that you learn about another student’s culture and it is a great way to practice your Spanish without getting points off!  In the future I’m hoping to visit Mexico and speak almost all Spanish and hardly any English.  I really recommend this program for anyone looking for a fun new way to meet someone!

Trudie Styler, long-time wife of rock star Sting and philanthropist who has raised $3 million at her biennial benefit for the Rainforest Foundation, has built her own successful career as an actress, activist, vintner and yogi. Photos

At 58, Trudie Styler is the farthest thing from just a rock star’s wife, and this month she raised $3 million to save the rain forest.

An 11-minute film of an arcade created by Caine Monroy, a 9-year-old boy in Los Angeles, has become an Internet sensation.

Readers disagree with David Brooks that social activists could use some moral realism.

Today’s idealists are wonderful folk, but they could use a healthy dose of moral realism.

Revealing new light has been cast on some American cultural figures now that the Ford Foundation has given decades’ worth of its documents to the Rockefeller Archive Center.

Signature Theater Co announces that the Irene Diamond Fund has donated $10 million to its Pershing Square Signature Center; the largest theater in the complex will be renamed the Irene Diamond Stage.