When we look out for each other, incredible things can happen.

These five women demonstrate that beautifully.

From left to right: Alison, Maria, SuEllen, Teri, Kathy. All images by L'Oréal Paris.

Through their tireless work and compassion for helping others, they have each been selected from over 6,000 submissions as L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth. They are women who recognize some of the unique issues affecting our communities and choose to be part of the solution.

A total of 10 women were selected as 2015 Women of Worth honorees. Here are five to know about right now.

They so deserve it.

1. Maria Rose Belding from Washington, D.C.

She's making food for the hungry a lot easier to access.

Maria is bringing food pantries into 2015.

While many 19-year-olds only have college on the mind, American University student Maria is putting her focus on those who struggle to put food on their table every night.

She developed an interactive website called MEANS (Matching Excess And Need for Stability) that provides a super-simple way to coordinate food exchanges between donors and local food pantries and soup kitchens.

The most amazing part: In just two years, the site has expanded to include users in 50 cities in 12 different states, representing more than 1,600 partner agencies. THAT is impact.

2. Teri Kelsall from Laguna Woods, California

She's helping veterans join the workforce and start their own businesses.

Too many think veterans “lack real-world skills" when it comes to getting a job.

Teri's organization The Jonas Project began as a way to honor her son Jonas, a Navy SEAL who was killed while serving in Afghanistan. Teri and her husband wanted to give back. And after they realized how hard it is for veterans to find work or start their own business ventures upon returning to the states, they knew just what to do.

The Jonas Project is helping veterans who want to become entrepreneurs develop business plans, get advice from mentors, and seek angel investors for start-up capital.

So far, they've been able to provide assistance to 18 veteran-owned companies, four of which are open for business right now.

How cool!

3. Kathy Koenigsdorf from East Islip, New York

She's helping recovering addicts and their families with resources and support.

She has experienced the struggle firsthand.

Kathy's story comes with tragedy. In 2013, her son passed away from a heroin overdose.

Today, the Jake Koenigsdorf Foundation serves as a support network for families trying to help their children overcome addiction and raises money for substance abusers who want help but can't afford treatment. In only two years, they've been able to help 105 people access treatment. The beginning of a new start at life.

4. SuEllen Fried from Prairie Village, Kansas

She's helping prisoners see a different way.

Reducing recidivism, one conversation at a time.

SuEllen has been visiting prisoners in Kansas for more than 30 years, and she's making a lasting impact. Her organization, Reaching Out From Within, reaches more than 500 prisoners a year in Kansas and North Carolina and aims to help prisoners reduce their chances of relapsing into criminal behavior once they've served their time.

Through weekly groups and now GED classes, she's showing inmates that there are different roads ahead for them.

5. Alison O'Neil from Atlanta, Georgia

She's providing fun aesthetic services to seniors to give them the attention and support they deserve.

They deserve so much support!

Alison O'Neil remembers her father saying to her, "Beauty becomes you," right before he passed away. She took it to heart.

She created a new a mission: to help the often-overlooked elderly population discover their self-worth and feel better about the way they look and feel.

Her professional background in health mixed with those words from her dad helped her create Beauty Becomes You. She and her team have been able to provide more than 15,000 hair, skin, nail care, and massage therapy services to over 5,000 seniors.

A little attention can go a long way.

These women are helping others to help themselves, and there is nothing more empowering.

Their genuine belief and support in complete strangers is a small peek into a stronger, more compassionate world that we should all want to live in.

Bravo, ladies!

Celebrate these incredible ladies and this year's 2015 Women of Worth honorees by reading their stories and voting for the 2015 National Honoree to receive an additional $25,000 toward her cause!

L'Oreal is encouraging everyone everywhere to promote inspiring women that are changing the world. Share a story or photo of a woman in your life that inspires you and tag it with #WCW or #WomenofWorth to join the conversation!

All images used with permission from L'Oréal Paris.

Wise http://ift.tt/1P0VBs5

Jon Stewart is in retirement hog heaven.

Anna and Maybelle are living in a pig's paradise.

GIF via The Daily Squeal/Facebook.

They feast on green grass. They sunbathe on 12 acres of pristine pasture. And they get belly rubs...

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

...from Jon Stewart and his wife, Tracey. Every. Single. Day.

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

Anna and Maybelle are just two of about a dozen other animals living in the lap of luxury on the Stewarts' farm 50 miles outside of New York City, "CBS This Morning" reported.

The former "Daily Show" host and his wife, who is an author and animal advocate, have run Bufflehead Farm in New Jersey since 2013, according to The New York Times. Along with Anna and Maybelle, they care for four dogs, three rabbits, two guinea pigs, two fish, and a bird.

And while that might seem like a full house (er, yard), the Stewarts are just getting started.

Jon and Tracey's large, furry family is about to get even bigger.

On Oct. 24, 2015, the couple announced that their property will officially become a Farm Sanctuary.

Farm Sanctuary, an advocacy group that fights the factory farm industry and cares for abused animals, has three other animal safe havens in the U.S.; the Stewarts' New Jersey property will be its fourth.

Soon cows, sheep, chicken, goats, turkeys, and (of course) more pigs will be arriving at Bufflehead Farm.

Tracey, who has a newly released animal welfare book called "Do Unto Animals," announced the big news at the nonprofit's gala in New York City this past weekend.

"We're getting married!" she told the crowd, according to a press release. "Farm Sanctuary and us, we're getting married."

"We bought a farm in New Jersey with the intention of starting a farm sanctuary of our own with an educational center, but what I'm announcing tonight is that our farm is actually going to be the New Jersey branch of Farm Sanctuary. We're going to build new advocates, new curious learners, and new leaders for this very important movement." — Tracey Stewart

Caring for rescued animals is quite the 180 from Jon's previous day job as host of "The Daily Show."

Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images.

But for Jon — who called himself his wife's "wingman" during this next chapter and who has quietly eased into eating a vegetarian diet — farm life doesn't seem so bad ... although he joked about missing the perks of TV stardom during his recent Emmy speech.

"To everybody on television, I just want to tell you — cling to it!" he joked on stage last month after "The Daily Show" won Best Variety Talk Series at the award show.

"I have been off of television for six weeks, seven weeks, whatever it is. This is the first applause I've heard. It is a barren wasteland out there." He told the Emmy's audience. "You get used to craft services. Out in the world, there are tables with food — but you can't take it. It costs money, and very little of it is gluten free or vegan."

The comedian, however, seems perfectly at peace — in hog heaven, if you will — right where he is.

GIF via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

Although pig masseur and late night host may seem dramatically different, it appears that Jon is still doing what he does best in retirement: helping give a voice to the people — and animals — that deserve to be heard.

Check out the story from "CBS This Morning" on Jon and Tracey's big news below:

Thumbnail photo via CBS This Morning/YouTube.

In 2012, over half of the world's polio cases were in Nigeria.

But then something amazing happened.

This year, they've had ... zero.

A substantial drop to zero cases of polio in 2015. You do the math. That's incredible.

I know, right? GIF via "Full House."

As the country celebrates going an entire year without a single case of the crippling disease, the entire continent of Africa can too. Nigeria is the last of the African countries to suffer from it. That's huge! And it's huge for all of us — including you.

Think of the progress made: It wasn't that long ago polio was everywhere — including the U.S. — crippling hundreds of thousands of kids a year.

If you grew up in the U.S. in the 1950s, you lived in fear of this horrible disease cutting your healthy childhood short. Even as recently as 1988, polio was a devastating problem in 128 countries.

In 2014, there were three countries that hadn't eliminated polio: Nigeria, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Go ahead and cross Nigeria off that list.

Maps via CDC.

How in the heck did they manage to get rid of it?

It wasn't magic, and it didn't come easy. Between misinformation, politics, and violence, there have been some major roadblocks in the past years.

It turns out when you have the resources and agree to work together, powerful things can happen — and more kids get a chance at a healthy life.

Kids being kids. Via Jeremy Weate/Flickr.

A recent joint effort between the Nigerian government, community members, religious leaders, and thousands of health workers with an awesome vaccination program helped kick polio to the curb.

Hopefully for good.

Vaccination programs and close monitoring helped make polio disappear in so many countries — and now in Nigeria too. We're on our way to completely eradicating it globally because of them.

But since the disease is contagious and can spread so fast, it'll take two more years of no polio cases in Nigeria for it to be declared completely polio-free. But hey, you gotta start somewhere. Cheers to Nigeria!

Next up: Pakistan and Afghanistan. There is work to be done — but it can be done.

Polio sucks. Image via CDC/Flickr.

There are entire generations of people who have never even had to consider polio.

There are people who have never known anyone with the disease or had to fear it themselves. They might not even understand the damage its caused all over the world — or how it works. (Ask Google or your grandma).

I can't wait until no one in the world has to think about polio anymore.

We're so close to eliminating polio from the earth! And when we do, it'll be one of the greatest achievements in our human history. It's going to be awesome.

Thumbnail image from Vardion/Wikimedia Commons (altered).

He and Mellody Hobson took a step toward helping underrepresented groups in Hollywood.

George Lucas wants to help make Hollywood a more diverse place — starting with his alma mater.

George Lucas graduated from the University of Southern California in the late 1960s before going on to make some of culture's most iconic films. In 2006, he donated a whopping $175 million to USC's film school. Nine years later, and he and his wife, Mellody Hobson, opened up the pocketbooks once again, this time with a much more targeted initiative.

Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images.

Lucas and Hobson just donated $10 million to USC's film school to help minority students and increase diversity.

The donation marks the creation of the George Lucas Foundation Endowed Student Support Fund for Diversity. It's the largest single donation for student support the school has ever received.

Here's how it'll work, according to the school's website:

"Undergraduate and graduate African American or Hispanic students will receive priority consideration for financial support from the fund. The recipients, who will be called George Lucas Scholars or Mellody Hobson Scholars, will first be awarded for fall 2016. The awards will be split equally between male and female students."

“Hispanic and African-American storytellers are underrepresented in the entertainment industry. It is Mellody's and my privilege to provide this assistance to qualified students who want to contribute their unique experience and talent to telling their stories," Lucas said in a statement posted to the school's website (emphasis added).

Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images.

USC's own striking 2014 study found that, yes, diversity is certainly lacking in Hollywood.

When it came to characters, nearly three-quarters were white.

"Of those characters coded for race/ethnicity across 100 top films of 2014, 73.1% were White, 4.9% were Hispanic/Latino, 12.5% were Black, 5.3% were Asian, 2.9% were Middle Eastern, <1% were American Indian/Alaskan Native or Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and 1.2% were from “other" racial and/or ethnic groupings."

And when it comes to diversity among directors, things are even worse.

"Across the 100 top films of 2014, only 5 of the 107 directors (4.7%) were Black. One Black director helmed two pictures and only one was female. Only 45 Black directors have been attached to the 700 top‐grossing films. This represents 5.8% of all helmers in the years analyzed. Only 19 Asian directors worked across the 700 top‐grossing films. This is an overall percentage of 2.4%. Only 1 Asian director was female across the films analyzed and was listed as a co‐director."

Lucas' contribution will certainly help, and hopefully spark a wider conversation about, diversity in Hollywood.

Fixing Hollywood's diversity problems isn't something that can happen overnight. Change hinges on so many factors, and one is the question of whether those in a position of power will use that power to lift the voices of minority filmmakers and actors. That's why it's important that people like Michael Moore and Geena Davis speak up and that George Lucas makes contributions like this.

Lucas resists the dark side of the Force and proves himself to be a true Jedi. Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images.

Lucas' donation helps push back in an effort to break down the barriers that prevent others from telling their stories. Well done, George.

Thumbnail photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Walt Disney Studio.

Oslo is getting a big, green facelift.

It's easy to see why Norway is one of the happiest countries in the world.

With delicious seafood at your fingertips and landscapes like this outside your window ... yep, that makes perfect sense.

Bergen, Norway. The Scandinavian nation is the fourth-happiest country in the world, according to recent findings by the World Happiness Report. Photo by Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images.

The European nation also means business when it comes to keeping Oslo, its capital city, green and pedestrian-friendly.

Green? Check. Pedestrian-friendly? Check-check! Photo via iStock.

On Oct. 19, 2015, Oslo politicians made an unprecedented announcement: Cars will be banned from the city center within the next four years to curb pollution.

Cars will be gone. Finished . Done-zo ... with a few exceptions.

The new law will stop all private vehicles from venturing through central Oslo, with only special cases allowed — like for vehicles carrying someone with a disability or transporting goods to businesses — Reuters reported.

Photo via iStock.

Some business owners have been hesitant to support the plan, believing the ban may impede their ability to draw customers, but local leaders think making the area more pedestrian-friendly will actually boost business.

"We want to have a car-free center. We want to make it better for pedestrians, cyclists ... it will be better for shops and everyone."
— Lan Marier Nguyen Berg, lead negotiator for Norway's Green Party in Oslo

According to the Oslo City Council, this will make Oslo the first European capital city to implement such a sweeping and permanent ban on motor vehicles.

Paris has tried going car-free for a day, Beijing did the same — for two weeks — and London and Madrid have congestion fees to curb traffic. But this bold new plan from Oslo, a city of more than 600,000 people, is in a league of its own.

The ban is part of Oslo's robust strategy to slash carbon emissions and craft a friendlier city for bikers and pedestrians.

Oslo's car-eliminating plan is just one way to cut greenhouse gases significantly — a feat the city has been prioritizing in recent years — The Guardian reported. It also just announced it's officially divesting from fossil fuels, becoming the first capital city in the world to commit to go fossil-free.

Photo via iStock.

Local leaders recognize they can't simply disallow cars without accommodating those who still need to get around town, though. They're planning to create at least 37 more miles of bike lanes throughout Oslo, as well as allocate a "massive boost" of resources toward improving public transit systems.

The idea is to reduce automobile traffic by 30% throughout the city in the next 15 years. Even then, cars on the road will have to be way more eco-friendly.

"In 2030, there will still be people driving cars," Berg said at a news conference. "But they must be zero-emissions [cars]."

Photo by Cornelius Poppe/AFP/Getty Images.

Let me get this straight. A forward-thinking city — filled with happy people and delicious seafood, no less — that clearly takes pollution seriously?

BRB, I'm moving to Oslo.

Doubling our attendance from 80 last year to 160 this year, we nearly doubled our donation to SafePlace from $4300 to over $8000 this year!

Huge thanks to everyone that came out and to all the donors. If it weren’t for your help, we wouldn’t have nearly as much to give to SafePlace. 100% of the donations went to SafePlace, and the money will help end sexual and domestic violence here in Austin.

Thank you again. SafePlace’s mission is so important, and your generous donations will help fulfill it.

Can’t wait for next year!

What do the Chicago skyline, a cat, a subway map, a Van Gogh, and a skull all have in common?

They've all been re-created into beautiful masterpieces using... bacteria.

BOOM is right. And BOOM is bacteria, too.

The American Society for Microbiology just held its first-ever Agar Art contest, challenging microbiologists to mix science with art.

Their main rule: to use microbes as the paint and agar (a jelly-like substance) as the canvas.

Let's just say I'm glad I wasn't a judge — it would have been a tough call. After 85 submissions came rolling in, it's evident that science and art can overlap in a very special way.

Here are the top 3 winners:

1. Neurons

Submitted by Mehmet Berkmen of New England Biolabs, with artist Maria Penil.

2. NYC Biome Map

Submitted by Christine Marizzi, an educator at a community lab. This art piece was created as a collaboration between citizen scientists and artists at Genspace: New York City's Community Biolab.

A subway map! Ahh. I love this description of it:

"Microorganisms reside everywhere, yet they are too small to be seen with the human eye. New York City is a melting pot of cultures - both human and microbial - and every citizen has a personalized microbiome. Collectively, we shape NYC's microbiome by our lifestyle choices, and this unseen microbial world significantly impacts us."

3. Harvest Season

Created by Maria Eugenia Inda, a postdoctoral researcher from Argentina working at Cold Spring Harbor Labs.

People's Choice Winner: Cell to Cell

It had the most Facebook Likes! Created by the group that won first place, Mehmet Berkmen with artist Maria Penil.

When the idea of bacteria goes from "ew" to "interesting!" ... that's awesome.

Bacteria is so normal and EVERYWHERE (you're entirely covered with it, sorry), but it's still often seen as such an icky thing. This is one way to show it in a different light and have a lot of fun doing so.

There were many submissions that didn't win the art contest but are still a sight to behold — like this version of Van Gogh's "Starry Night." Whaaat!

Here on Facebook.

Or this butterfly that almost looks real.

Here on Facebook.

And then there's St. Louis. Hey there, St. Louis.

Here on Facebook.

Looks like it was picture day for one petri dish.

Here on Facebook.

What a cool competition and a way to show that science and art don't have to be seen as opposites.

Left-brained, right-brained, whatever. We tend to box ourselves in to thinking we're only good at certain things. But ... says who? Just go for it.

You can see the rest of the amazing submissions on Facebook. Feel free to share them too! They worked hard, guys.

Images used with permission from the American Society for Microbiology. Thumbnail image used with permission from creators of the "Starry Night" at the FRITZ Lab.

The Hanson family donated to the cause!

You can be the proud new owner of these awesome X-Men figures, which will be featured in our silent auction. Can’t wait to see you there!

Thanks Emma and Brett for the donations!

Passport Game Studios donated three games to help the cause!

Known for fun games for all types of gamers, Passport Game Studios might be most famous for Tokaido, the game of walking through Japan. Go check out their website, and come on down to the convention for the opportunity to get Tokaido for your own!

Mage’s Sanctum donated to our convention!

Space to game, good prices, and great selection, Mage’s Sanctum has it all. Local to Austin, TX, it serves the gaming needs for its part of town. Go check out their store, and be sure to come play Street Fighter in our Play-to-Win event!

Miniature Market donated several games to our convention!

An online store known for a wide-breadth of games and great sales, Miniature Market definitely has what you are looking for. Check out their site, and come bid on their donations in our silent auction!

Arcane Wonders donated for the second year running!

Well-known for Mage Wars, Arcane Wonders also released Sheriff of Nottingham last year, and it has been such a hit. Bluff and lie your way to victory, or negotiate yourself into a nice pile of gold. Check out the Arcane Wonders website, and come out to bid on their donations!

Bellwether Games donated to the convention!

Bellwether Games has several fun games in their lineup. Antidote is a game of deduction, deception, and mortality, and I would add suspense and intrigue to that list. A great game with a great theme, you can play a copy to get a chance to win Antidote, and you can bid on it in our silent auction. So go check out Bellwether’s website, and come on out to the convention!

See you there!

Artana Games donated to help the cause!

Do you like science? Do you like fun? Because that’s what Artana Games delivers. Go check out their website, and come to the convention to bid on these two games in the silent auction!

Fireside Games donated for the third year running!

Known for their family games, Fireside Games recently released The Village Crone, a fun game of spell-casting, frog-turning, and love potions. Check out their website, and definitely come bid on their donations in the silent auction!

Wow! Crits Happen donated HUGE for the third year in a row!

Tox from Crits Happen reviews board games and engages the community from his Youtube channel, and he also donates generously to local conventions.

Huge thanks to Tox! Come on out and get his donations from the Dutch auction, and be sure to subscribe to his Youtube channel for awesome videos!

I don’t know. No one can know…

CoolStuffInc.com donated some great games to our convention!

CoolStuffInc.com is an online board game retailer with a wide selection of games at great prices. They have frequent sales and great deals. Go check out their products, and come bid on their donations in the silent auction!