The headlines in 2020 have been hard to read. Learn how you can change them in 2021 through this list written in collaboration with actionable, a social action platform empowering people to #ActNow on issues that matter.
Here are 10 disasters, movements, and challenges that made headlines in 2020 and how to help:
A string of earthquakes, including a 6.4-magnitude quake, struck Puerto Rico in January, displacing 7,500 people. Families feared that their houses would collapse and slept in the streets. Many of them were still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria in 2017, and housing department rules stalled rebuilding efforts after the hurricane. Nonprofits like Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico stepped in to defend peoples’ right to housing.
Donate to Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico as the organization ramps up efforts to provide legal education, train pro bono attorneys, and help survivors apply for disaster assistance after the recent earthquakes.
About 37,500 square miles were burned in Australia by February 2020—an area 50 times bigger than California’s largest recorded wildfire. The fires took at least 33 lives as they swept through every state in Australia from the start of the fire season in July 2019. An estimated 3 billion koalas, kangaroos, and other Australian wildlife died or lost their habitats because of the fires.
Though 2020 is nearing a close, the wildfires continue to impact local communities. Donate to the Australia Wildfires Relief Fund to provide long-term assistance to residents working to recover and rebuild.
There have been 1.7 million deaths worldwide and counting. In addition to the irreversible harm to human health caused by the coronavirus, one in three nonprofits in the US risk not surviving the pandemic. Local organizations on the front lines of the pandemic response might run out of cash and be forced to close as traditional fundraising events are cancelled and donors shift or cut back on their contributions.
As the pandemic continues into 2021, donate to the Coronavirus Relief Fund.
In the US, 26 million people marched in protests following the murder of George Floyd. Protestors in 2,000 cities in more than 60 countries demanded justice in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. They were the largest protests in US history. But the push for change didn’t stop there. Anti-racism became a part of our everyday vocabulary. The public demanded brands and organizations to advocate for racial justice. In 2021, the public is demanding action and accountability for racial justice.
Donate to Free Minds, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. that focuses on nurturing and amplifying the voices of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youth through literary arts, workforce development, and violence prevention.
The 2020 monsoon season brought severe flooding to India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Myanmar and left at least 550 people dead across the region. More than 25 million people were also trying to stay safe from COVID-19 as they evacuated communities that were under water. In one of the largest informal settlements in Karachi, Pakistan, 800,000 people were wading through waist-high water after major flooding in August. That left damaged homes, roads, and a host of diseases.
Donate to the South Asia Flood Relief Fund to support nonprofit organizations that are providing maternal health care, solid waste management, and other programs to respond in the aftermath of the floods.
The ammonium nitrate explosions at Beirut’s port in August were among the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever—the second blast registered on seismographs with the strength of a 3.3-magnitude earthquake. More than 200 people were killed and about 5,000 others were injured as the blasts destroyed swaths of the Lebanese capital and tore through homes as far as 6 miles away. Local nonprofits responded immediately with medical supplies for survivors, food and hygiene kits for some of the 300,000 people who were displaced, and repairs to damaged buildings.
Donate to nonprofits that are leading long-term recovery efforts to rebuild the city and help Beirutis reset.
The Asian giant hornet grabbed headlines this year, with the ability to wipe out 40 honey bees in 60 seconds and a fearsome nickname—the “murder hornet.” While invasive species largely stay out the news, these hornets have raised alarm in North America. Climate change has helped ease their spread within Asia and beyond—they first arrived on the West Coast of North America in 2019. Officials are working to stop the 2-inch long hornets from colonizing and decimating local honey bee populations.
As climate change continues to impact fragile ecosystems, donate to the GlobalGiving Climate Action Fund. Your donation will help local leaders take on climate change—the most urgent challenge of our time.
It’s hard to overstate the legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: since her confirmation in 1993, she has authored 213 majority opinions, the most of any justice during that time. The impact of her 27-year tenure on civil rights, women’s equality, and our society at large will live on. Since the sudden news of her death in September, people around the world have continued to mourn the loss of a hero and champion for race and gender equality.
Donate to the GlobalGiving Girl Fund today. Help provide education, legal protection, health care, and access to training and job skills so that girls can thrive—and make a difference in their lives and communities.
With more than 9,200 fires, California recorded its worst fire season in modern history in 2020. At least 31 people were killed, and 4 million acres burned across the state. In September, smoke plumes gave the sky in the San Francisco Bay Area an eerie orange glow and reminded residents of the new reality of climate extremes and worsening wildfires. As first responders tirelessly fought the fires and families evacuated their homes, World Central Kitchen set up emergency programs to serve 1 million meals in 82 cities across Northern California and Oregon in just 24 days.
Donate to the California Wildfire Relief Fund to support World Central Kitchen and other nonprofits that continue to provide food, supplies, and COVID-19 testing as evacuees return home.
The pandemic is pushing millions of people—who were already facing conflict and compounding crises—in Burkina Faso, Nigeria, South Sudan, and Yemen to the brink of famine. The number of people globally who face acute food shortages is expected to nearly double to 270 million people in 2020. In Yemen, with 24 million people in need of emergency assistance, UN World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley warned that the country could face a devastating famine within months.
Donate to local nonprofits that are responding to the crises in Yemen and other regions facing famine with food, health, and psychological support programs.
Note: This post was updated on April 21, 2021 to reflect the Derek Chauvin verdict.
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