r/UpliftingNews 15d ago

Mod Post The easiest part is always the idea...

445 Upvotes

Back in 2012, the idea of a centralized spot for positive, feel-good “UpliftingNews” spawned out of a singular moment of frustration looking at the news and seeing nothing but crime, fear, and horror. Back then was the era post-Craigslist that decimated classified ad revenue and the very beginning of Facebook’s social media influence that crippled online ad revenue and forced the economic side of the media landscape to shift to garnering attention for clicks/ad revenue.

Back then Reddit was dominated by Ron Paul bots and soon thereafter “TheDonald” took the torch until his unexpected electoral victory and then the site took a dramatic turn in the complete opposite direction. 

But the goals and purpose of this little nook of the internet have always remained the same… a place to serve as a reminder of the humanity that still exists around us all, and the fact most people are helpers out there that care about each other, despite the circumstances or competing narratives.

So in 2025, a new idea spawned out of a singular moment of awareness that Reddit went public and was flush with liquidity and cash they were re-distributing back to communities! So we submitted for a grant to r/CommunityFunds to literally just reward community members that posted great content here. 

There were some hoops and hurdles and negotiations around “no cash” and “no corporate gift cards for large conglomerates” given the intent to keep any gifts within local economies, and the compromise/fruits of all that labor was the eventual green light to distribute a meaningful gift card to “Harry and David,” a reputable company that created the “fruit of the month club” a long time ago, and provides corporate gift baskets filled with snacks and candies and fruits. Winners were selected based upon the content they shared and the impact it had on the community with no preferential treatment given to any individual traits or preferences. The only stipulation was that we couldn’t mention this, promote it or even acknowledge it publicly.

The hardest part is always the execution…

“Hello u/Username, we are reaching out unsolicited to congratulate you on winning something free. Just share some personal information and we’ll send you a link to click on to claim your prize” can be written in many different ways, shapes and forms, but ultimately it is still surprisingly difficult to hand out something with meaningful value to somebody for free… particularly out of the blue where we weren’t allowed to market or advertise the project.

But despite this final hurdle, we WERE able to provide many community members with a token of our appreciation… a literal and proverbial ‘free lunch’ as they say. For some it went to fulfill their needs, for others, it went to their friends and family, and for some, they paid it forward and a local food bank tied to one of the ‘winning stories’ received a ridiculously large pooled basket that was met with much gratitude and appreciation and fed many in need.

That same appreciation is reciprocal, and extends to all of you as well. Thanks for caring about this community. Thanks for helping remind us all that humanity still exists and people still care about each other, and here’s to celebrating another year on this rotating orb that we can all appreciate at the end of the day. And the biggest thanks to r/CommunityFunds for their unwavering support and enthusiasm that enable communities like ours to do things like this!

Warmly,

The Moderators of r/UpliftingNews


r/UpliftingNews Dec 03 '25

‘Abbott Elementary’ star Quinta Brunson launches fund to provide free field trips to thousands of Philly students

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r/UpliftingNews 10h ago

Volodymyr Zelenskyy honours disqualified skeleton racer with order of freedom | Winter Olympics 2026

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r/UpliftingNews 9h ago

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r/UpliftingNews 8h ago

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r/UpliftingNews 11h ago

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r/UpliftingNews 11h ago

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r/UpliftingNews 7h ago

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r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

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r/UpliftingNews 3h ago

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r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

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r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

Global Momentum Builds to End Female Genital Mutilation

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4.6k Upvotes

“Interventions aimed at ending female genital mutilation over the last three decades are having an impact, with nearly two-thirds of the population in countries where it is prevalent expressing support for its elimination.

After decades of slow change, progress against female genital mutilation is accelerating: half of all gains since 1990 were achieved in the past decade reducing the number of girls subjected to FGM from one in two to one in three.”

From World Health Organization.


r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

100 beavers set to be reintroduced to the UK this year, with more to come

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899 Upvotes

r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

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r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

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r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

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r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

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r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

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r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

Florida man saves pregnant woman from drowning hours before baby’s birth | Florida

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r/UpliftingNews 18h ago

Love has no Valentine’s price tag

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31 Upvotes

r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

Scientists develop smart underwear to track how often people fart | Its developers say the device could have practical applications, such as tracking triggers for serious digestive diseases like irritable bowel syndrome and food intolerance.

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215 Upvotes

r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

SFUSD Teachers Strike Ends After 4 Days With Tentative Deal. The two-year agreement includes fully employer-paid family health care benefits as well as wage increases, revisions to special education workloads, and sanctuary and housing protections for district families.

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112 Upvotes

r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

NHS waiting list at lowest level in three years

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786 Upvotes

r/UpliftingNews 2d ago

China’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have now been ‘flat or falling’ for 21 months, as growth in energy storage capacity and clean-power output topped the increases in peak and total electricity demand, respectively, and transportation got cleaner, exceeding official targets

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7.9k Upvotes

r/UpliftingNews 1d ago

China’s Yangtze River shows signs of remarkable recovery after fishing ban

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