Posted on May 13, 2025
Donations Spotlight: Help Free Press Action fight authoritarianism, defend free speech, and protect your rights to connect and communicate
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This May, Free Press Action is among three amazing groups that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will be vital to the nonprofit as it continues the fight for media and tech policies that help people, not just big corporations.
Read this important blog post from Free Press Action, then visit CREDO Donations and cast your vote to help send much-needed grant money to the group to assist in its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding May grantees.
This May, you can help Free Press Action keep up the fight for media and technology that serve the people, not billionaire oligarchs. For more than two decades, Free Press Action has battled powerful corporations that want to decide what you’re able to watch, listen to, read and share. We’ve opposed runaway media consolidation that has downsized or outright closed thousands of local newsrooms across the country, leaving people in the dark about what’s happening in their communities. And when the government attempts to silence or punish speech it dislikes, Free Press Action fights back. Free Press Action works to protect the free and open internet, expose corruption, and challenge media and tech moguls trying to spread lies and steal our private data and our tax dollars.
Facing a democracy in critical condition, we need to stand up for free speech and fight back against the media and tech companies that are harming our communities.
Free Press Action has an important role to play in the months and years ahead. Here’s how we’re fighting back:
PURSUING LEGAL ACTION
Free Press Action’s team of attorneys and policy experts is trying to derail an agenda to deregulate the media and tech industry while handing billions out to grifters like Elon Musk. We’re throwing sand in the gears, taking the administration to court, and pushing Congress to speak out and protect our rights.
DEFENDING FREE SPEECH
Free Press Action is fighting the Right’s war on journalists and the truth. It’s absolutely crucial that the press remain free and open and that dissent is a respected and protected right. The media have often failed us, but we must aid the journalists and muckrakers who reveal wrongdoing, protect the protesters raising their voices, and speak out against attempts to silence and harass critics of those who use positions of power for personal enrichment.
STANDING UP TO EXTREMISM AND CORRUPTION
Free Press Action is shining a light on corruption and collusion between government actors and the billionaire-run media, tech and telecom giants. We won’t sit idly by as the Chairman of the FCC exploits his government perch to the benefit of the few — at the expense of everyday people. We won’t let the administration get away with corrupting independent agencies and illegally firing federal workers so DOGE can strip the government for parts, violate our privacy, and seize funds meant to make broadband more affordable and reliable.
LAUNCHING CAMPAIGNS AND ORGANIZING COALITIONS
Free Press Action is campaigning to stop draconian rollbacks of public and corporate policies that safeguard civil and human rights. We’re building campaigns and coalitions to destabilize the far right’s use of our media system to advance racism, hate, authoritarianism and violence. Drawing on a base of 1.4 million activists, Free Press Action organizes in-district meetings to hold legislators accountable, challenges corporations failing to protect their users, and designs policies to fix our most pressing media and tech problems.
When the federal government fails to meet its responsibilities, we take our fights to the states where we have many opportunities to build support for civic media that actually meets the needs of local communities, to make reparations a reality and to protect people from corporate abuse.
The support of CREDO Mobile members ensures that Free Press Action can hold politicians and policymakers accountable, amplify underrepresented voices in the halls of power, and help mobilize millions at moments when public pressure can make all the difference. CREDO activists have been important allies in many of Free Press Action’s campaigns and your vote of support will help power our work at this crucial time. Thank you!
Posted on May 12, 2025
For voting rights: CREDO Mobile makes a difference
Earlier this year CREDO Mobile made a donation to VoteRiders, which will use the funding in its work to provide voter ID assistance so every American can cast a ballot that counts.
We’re loyal supporters of VoteRiders and we’ll continue to back the group as it fights to build a thriving American democracy with an empowered, civically engaged, diverse and representative electorate—a democracy where voter ID laws don’t prevent any eligible voters from having a voice at the ballot box.
Working together, we’re making an impact
Our funding has enabled a number of recent wins by VoteRiders. Outreach by the nonprofit increased its partner base and volunteer team by over a third, to 2,200 partners and 14,000 volunteers. With these additional people, VoteRiders was able to directly reach an unprecedented 15.9 million voters in 2024.
How did it reach so many? Communication. It sent 12 million text messages to voters facing ID barriers and 1.6 million Voter ID Info Cards. It mailed over 156,000 handwritten letters to at-risk voters and had over 29,000 in-person conversations with people about voter ID requirements.
As voter ID laws have become increasingly prominent in the national discourse, VoteRiders has established itself as a leading voice through its innovative multichannel communications strategy, its leveraging of influencers and through the dramatic expansion of its online presence.
The impact has been significant. Traffic to VoteRiders.org reached almost half a million visits between June and November 2024 and VoteRiders digital campaigns reached over 3.5 million users on Instagram and 1.3 million on Twitter. VoteRiders was featured 50 times in the national and local press, including NPR, Time magazine, the Associated Press, USA Today, Teen Vogue and many community newspapers.
New campaigns will support all voters
VoteRiders plays a unique and powerful part in voter ID-related advocacy. Recently it launched a new advocacy campaign that leverages research and on-the-ground perspectives to inform policy decisions. Its top federal priority now is stopping the suppressive SAVE Act and related proof-of-citizenship bills. It’s also doing state-level advocacy on growing efforts to restrict access to the ballot.
VoteRiders also joined its first court case, partnering with the NAACP of Georgia and the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda to file a suit to overturn provisions of Georgia’s SB 189 because it discriminates against people who are unhoused by requiring them to receive all election mail (including absentee ballots) at their county election office.
VoteRiders will continue working to ensure that no eligible voter is prevented from casting a ballot that counts because of voter ID laws—either directly, due to lack of an acceptable ID, or indirectly, due to voter confusion.
CREDO Mobile members made it happen
VoteRiders was able to do all these things because our members do one thing: use our service. When they support us, we can support VoteRiders—and the dozens of other progressive nonprofits we fund every year. These donations cost our members nothing but they mean everything to the groups that rely on us.
If you’re a CREDO Mobile member, thank you. If you’re not a member yet, please join us. You’ll get all you want from your mobile service: money-saving data plans, great deals on new devices and superfast coverage on the nation’s largest 5G network.
And you’ll get much more. You’ll get a powerful way to support the causes you care about whenever you use your phone. Causes like voting rights, reproductive freedom, climate action and an economy that works for everyone.
Switching is easy. You can bring your current device and your current number. Go to CREDOMobile.com to learn more.
Posted on May 8, 2025
Donations Spotlight: How Brady: United Against Gun Violence fights to make a difference
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This May, Brady: United Against Gun Violence is among three amazing nonprofits that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will support Brady in its fight to free America from gun violence.
Read this important blog post from Brady, then visit CREDO Donations and cast your vote to help send vital grant money to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding May grantees.
Gun violence is a uniquely American crisis that devastates communities nationwide. Every day, more than 300 people are shot, and of those shot, over 100 are killed. For the third consecutive year, gun violence is the leading cause of death for children in America and it has long been the leading cause of death for Black children. And if the physical toll isn’t enough, gun violence costs the United States $557 billion annually.
But despite what the gun industry claims, this public health crisis is preventable if we enact comprehensive, evidence-based solutions.
Since our founding in 1974, Brady has led the charge on solutions to free America from gun violence. Inspired by the roadmap behind successful movements to curb youth smoking, promote seatbelt use, and prevent drunk driving, we focus our efforts across three critical areas:
- Change the laws
- Change the industry
- Change the culture
Holding the Line in D.C. While Securing Big Wins in Statehouses Nationwide
It’s no secret that we find ourselves up against a presidential administration that is determined to undermine public safety. After the election where gun lobby-backed politicians won the Senate and House, they immediately set to work trying to roll back hard-won progress and pass dangerous legislation. Brady is fighting harder than ever to protect life-saving gun policies and stop the NRA’s deadly “guns everywhere” agenda. Under Trump’s first administration, gun homicides rose 34% and gun violence became the leading cause of death for children and teens. Brady is fighting to stop another deadly four years.
The Attorney General has been tasked with examining all progress made on guns by the Biden administration and do away with any policies that “infringed” on Second Amendment rights. The truth is, all the consequential progress we made in the last four years never threatened the rights of law-abiding gun owners; it was directed at closing deadly loopholes that allowed rogue gun dealers to stay in business and preventing prohibited purchasers — like gun traffickers, domestic abusers, and youth — from illegally obtaining weapons.
Meanwhile in Congress, gun lobby-backed lawmakers have introduced their top legislative priority, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. This legislation would dramatically increase the number of people carrying hidden, loaded firearms anywhere, regardless of state or local law.
It’s no shock that legislation like this is proven to increase gun violence — in some cases by as much as 15%. Brady’s policy team and our grassroots organizers are fighting tooth and nail against this bill, which we successfully stopped during Trump’s first term. We are educating the public on the risks of a concealed carry mandate and sending messages to lawmakers to show that more guns in public is not the country that most Americans want, including the majority of Republican voters.
While we face lawmakers who are more beholden to the gun lobby than the American people, Brady is still making progress in state legislatures across the country. In 2024, there were 73 Brady priority bills that were passed by state legislatures, 42 of which were signed into law. These laws take a comprehensive approach to address gun violence in all its forms. So far in 2025, Karina’s Bill was signed into law in Illinois, which will ensure that firearms are relinquished by those subject to a domestic violence restraining order. This is a life-saving measure that will protect those experiencing domestic violence. In Hawai’i, key gun safety bills — including a secure storage requirement, strengthening the state’s assault weapons ban, and the creation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention — are advancing in the legislature. This is just a snapshot of our wins in statehouses nationwide, but each victory reaffirms that even when Congress is gridlocked, we can make vital progress in communities across the country.
Changing Cultural Norms and Promoting Secure Firearm Storage
Every day in America, eight kids are unintentionally injured or killed as a result of family fire, a shooting that results from someone misusing an unsecured firearm from the home.
Our non-partisan, award-winning End Family Fire program promotes responsible gun ownership, spreading awareness about the life-saving role of secure firearm storage to prevent such tragedies. Family fire, which includes unintentional shootings, firearm suicide, and many intentional shootings, impacts youth, veterans, gun owners, and more in America. But our program — which is the only national program that uses the power of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) to bring gun owners into the conversation to reduce firearm deaths — is making a real, lasting impact in communities across the country.
In fact, research shows that 71% of gun owners who have seen our safe gun storage PSAs agree that storing all of their guns locked and unloaded reduces the risk of someone dying by suicide in their home — a stark increase from when we launched the program seven years ago. Additionally, according to a study from our partners at the Ad Council, over half of gun owners or adults in gun-owning households who are aware of End Family Fire report that they have taken steps to store their firearms more safely. So whether or not you own a firearm, we can all be part of the solution. By simply sharing our PSAs, you will help prevent incidents of family fire and save lives.
Changing Attitudes and Behaviors Around Firearms by Engaging Creatives to #Show Gun Safety
Culture-makers, like writers, directors, and actors, have always had a deep influence on how we think of ourselves, what we value, and how we act. They’ve helped shift attitudes around public health crises, like smoking, drunk driving, and seatbelt usage.
Brady’s Show Gun Safety campaign works with leaders in Hollywood to spark positive behavior change and reshape America’s relationship with guns.
For more than two years, Brady has worked with the creative community — including Emmy and Academy Award winners — to harness the power of culture-makers to model gun safety on screen. Our campaign has already made a significant impact in Hollywood, working with 12 studios, streamers, and networks — three of which have formally incorporated our principles into their writers’ manuals or materials. We have influenced over 150 million viewers, with approximately 46 million directly exposed to scripts that have been modified to include gun safety, and we’ve also engaged more than 1,000 members of the TV and film industry (including 12 writers’ rooms for major TV shows) in conversations about responsible gun portrayals. By integrating accurate depictions of gun safety practices and emphasizing accountability, Brady’s Show Gun Safety campaign helps shape public perceptions of firearms and complements the End Family Fire program’s goal of making secure gun storage the cultural norm.
Today, there are more firearms than people in America, and we know it’s likely they will always have a role in the shows and films we watch. Our Show Gun Safety campaign does not ask anyone to stop showing guns on screen. But our nation’s content creators and storytellers have the power to model safety norms and show the consequences of reckless gun use — depictions that help guide us to a safer America free of gun violence. Learn more about Brady’s Show Gun Safety campaign today.
Winning Legal Reforms and Taking the Gun Industry to Court
Brady Legal takes on the gun industry in court to secure justice for the victims and survivors of gun violence, pro bono. Brady’s litigation centers on limiting the gun industry’s special protections and reforming the practices of irresponsible industry actors.
Recently, with the support of Brady’s legal team, the family members of 3 victims of gun violence, reached a settlement of more than $2.4 million against Academy Sports + Outdoors, one of the nation’s largest gun dealers. In 2016, three people were found shot and killed on the property of a now-convicted serial killer. The killer, who was legally prohibited from buying a firearm, used a firearm sold by Academy Sports + Outdoors in an illegal straw purchase. Had Academy Sports + Outdoors acted responsibly they may still be alive today. And while we cannot bring them back, we at Brady are proud to have represented their families and to work toward ensuring no other family suffers in this way.
This settlement also sends a clear message to members of the gun industry that if they choose to participate in negligent and unlawful business practices, they will be held accountable. To date, our legal team has won over $70 million dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of victims and survivors of gun violence.
Posted on May 5, 2025
Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Free Press Action and Rainforest Action Network are the 3 nonprofits CREDO Mobile is supporting this May.
This May, CREDO Mobile is thrilled to be supporting Brady: United Against Gun Violence, Free Press Action, and Rainforest Action Network. The donations will be allocated at the end of the month based on the number of votes for each organization. You can vote for 1, 2 or all 3 nonprofits at www.credodonations.com.
Brady: United Against Gun Violence
Brady changes the laws, the industry, and the culture to free America from gun violence. For more than 50 years, Brady has united gun owners and non-gun owners alike in the fight against gun violence. With targeted programs designed to tackle the root causes of gun violence in America, Brady works to ensure that every community is safer. Brady fights to change the laws, the industry, and the culture of firearms in America. Support from CREDO will bolster Brady’s on-the-ground programs in areas most impacted by gun violence, help us take the gun industry to court, promote safe gun storage, and so much more.
Free Press Action
Free Press Action advocates for free speech and press freedom, affordable internet access and Net Neutrality, privacy and digital civil rights, and to revive local journalism. Free Press Action fights for your rights to connect and communicate. Free Press Action works to hold Big Media and Big Tech accountable to the people. Your support helps Free Press Action protect free speech and press freedom, safeguard the open Internet and promote digital civil rights. We hold media/tech companies accountable, push for policies that curb corporate power and protect the public.
Rainforest Action Network
Rainforest Action Network preserves forests, protects the climate, and upholds human rights. RAN challenges corporate power exploiting forests, the climate, and human rights, through campaigns based on meticulous research, creative strategy, direct action, and fierce solidarity with communities fighting for justice all over the world. RAN takes on the world’s biggest banks, insurers, and brands, to fight for policy shifts ending finance for fossil fuels and forest-risk commodities destroying rainforests, and centering the demands of Indigenous and frontline communities.
Now more than ever, progressive nonprofits need all the help they can get. These donations are funded by our CREDO Mobile customers. If you are a CREDO Mobile customer, thank you. If you are not, check out CREDO Mobile and see how your mobile phone can make a difference in the world.
Posted on May 1, 2025
Donations spotlight: Support Rainforest Action Network in its fight against forest destroyers
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This May, Rainforest Action Network is among three amazing nonprofits that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will support the group in its fight to preserve forests, protect the climate and uphold human rights by challenging corporate power and systemic injustice.
Read this important blog post from Rainforest Action Network about its efforts to save orangutans from deforestation, then visit CREDO Donations and cast your vote to help send vital grant money to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding May grantees.
Satellites get up close and personal with forest destroyers in the orangutan capital of the world
Intact forests cover about a tenth of the world’s surface. That’s a lot of vegetation for deforestation-watchers to keep track of, but recent leaps in satellite imagery have made the job much easier.
Far from the grainy Landsat 5 and 7 satellite images of the past—which were nonetheless essential to saving the Amazon from total destruction in the late 90s—modern satellites can basically spy on orangutans from space.
But our latest investigation doesn’t zoom in on orangutans as they forage for lychee or use simple tools. Instead, we get up close and personal with illegal oil palm producers in Indonesia’s Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, the orangutan capital of the world.
The high level of detail in these images helps us show that these oil palm producers are cutting down forests within time periods that corporations and even the E.U. care about, which we can determine based on the age of individual oil palms.
The following ultra-high resolution images, provided by the Airbus Pléiades Neo, are the first of their kind for the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, and can be found in full on Nusantara Atlas.
- Before and after images show differences in forest cover between 2016 and 2024 in a small boundary section of the Rawa Singkil Wildlife Reserve, a process happening across the park’s periphery. These images helped us determine that 1,915 hectares of forest clearing happened after key regulatory cut off dates.
- The zoomed-in tile at the bottom of this image shows an oil palm plantation with an “open canopy,” meaning its oil palms are young, between .5 and 3 meters in diameter, and not yet producing fruit. We discovered 652 hectares of active oil palm plantations inside the reserve.
- A nearby plot shows oil palms with a “semi-closed canopy,” which are about 3-years-old, 4-6 meters in diameter, and starting to bear fruit. We determined that there are 453 hectares of productive plantations in the reserve—a sign that illegal oil palm is already entering global supply chains.
- Zooming in even more, the satellite captures an excavator next to an illegal canal. Excavators dig canals to drain peatlands, creating drier conditions for planting oil palms—a practice that releases high concentrations of trapped carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Previous satellites could not achieve this level of resolution.
Images like these are not just cool, they’re essential to exposing the elites tearing down standing rainforests in remote parts of Indonesia—often illegally, and always with a sense of impunity that comes from anonymity.
Credits: Imagery provided by Airbus DS Pléiades Neo (July 2024) and Triple Satellites @21 (June 2016)
Posted on April 28, 2025
10 ways to live more sustainably and help save our planet
Here’s the bad news. Earth is in trouble. Multiple environmental crises are threatening to damage our world beyond repair. In fact, if we continue on our current course, we’re pretty much done. And no, we’re not going to Mars, for a lot of reasons. There is no planet B.
Now here’s the good news. We can do this. We can save our home. How? Well, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so that’s what we can do: take that step. Then another, then another. Some will be big, many will be small, all will help.
Ready to get started? Here are 10 everyday, totally doable steps you can take to help save our world.
Eat less meat
A plant-based diet is hugely beneficial for the environment. Research shows that a vegan diet cuts emissions, water pollution and land use by 75% compared to diets that include over 100 grams of meat per day. A plant-based diet reduces wildlife destruction by 66% and water use by 54%.
Buy local
Shopping for local products, especially foods, is good for the planet. Not so much directly (transport is a small part of most foods’ carbon footprint) but indirectly, because buying local will divert your dollars from the agribusiness corporations that cause deforestation, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Think your spending can’t make a difference? It can. When Target abandoned its DEI programs, consumers launched a boycott and store visits to Target declined for eight consecutive weeks. Meanwhile, at Costco, which ignored political pressure to end DEI, store traffic is way up and Costco is now America’s most popular store.
Avoid Amazon
Amazon is a massive emitter of CO2 and a huge contributor to the world’s plastic problem. In 2021, Amazon generated enough plastic waste to cover the Earth in 800 layers, despite the fact that Amazon “would have no problem” switching to plastic-free packaging, according to former Amazon executive Rachel Johnson Greer. “It’s really a question of will.”
If you don’t want a moral compromise packed in bubble wrap, try an Amazon alternative. There are a lot out there, like DoneGood, EarthHero and Hive. For a full list, check out our post on Amazon options.
Bag the single-use plastics
Our planet is choking on plastic. Around the world, 2,000 truckloads of plastic are dumped in the ocean every day. By 2050, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish. Indeed, there is already a lot of plastic in fish. 99% of seafood is now contaminated with microplastics.
Don’t drink bottled water
Discarded water bottles are a big part of the plastic problem. They’re also a problem for anyone who drinks from them. The average liter of bottled water contains a quarter-million plastic particles, 90% of which are small enough to enter your bloodstream and affect your organs. Chemicals found in plastics are known to cause a variety of health problems, including cancer, metabolic disorders, ADD and low fertility.
Ditch fast fashion
The planet pays a huge price for cheap clothing. Fast fashion is the world’s second-largest consumer of water and it produces 10% of global carbon emissions, pumping out more CO2 than international flights and maritime shipping combined. In fact, it’s the world’s second most polluting industry, after oil and gas.
Reduce energy use at home
You can save a lot of electricity at home with a few simple changes. You can turn down your thermostat at night, which can cut your consumption by 10% per year. You can insulate your water heater, which could reduce heat loss by up to 45% and save you up to 16% in water-heating costs. For a longer list of energy-saving tips, see our post on saving energy at home. Also see our post on saving power in the summer months.
Get a better air conditioner
As the climate warms and heat waves bake the planet, a lot of people resort to the immediate and obvious answer: they switch on the air conditioner.
But while AC is a solution in the here and now, it’s a big problem for the future. Already, 9 out of 10 U.S. households have air conditioning and, as more people around the globe buy AC, the units will rapidly accelerate climate change. The number of air conditioners worldwide is predicted to triple by 2050, to almost 6 billion. By century’s end, air conditioning emissions alone will cause as much as a 0.5-degree Celsius increase in global temperature.
It’s a feedback loop with a hellish output. More heat brings more air conditioning, more air conditioning brings more heat. For a climate-friendly air conditioner, have a look at Gradient, a newcomer to the market making ethical, aesthetic window units that are 30% more efficient.
Choose fair trade
Fair trade is booming. Sales have grown over 10-fold since 2004. This provides a big boost for the environment, because fair trade standards promote soil and water quality, reduce greenhouse gases, protect biodiversity, and limit the use of pesticides and genetically modified organisms.
If your local store doesn’t stock fair trade products, many are available online. The Fair Trade Certified website will point you to a wide range of fair trade products, including flowers, foods, home goods, health and beauty. For fair trade coffee, try Equal Exchange or Trade Coffee.
If you like chocolate, you should absolutely check out Slave Free Chocolate, which has a list of chocolate makers that don’t use child slaves and a list of those that almost certainly support child slavery, i.e. most of the big manufacturers. 70% of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa and many of the cocoa plantations there use child laborers or child slaves.
Use ethical-shopping apps
There are a number of phone apps that will help you buy more ethical, ecofriendly products. Buycott is an app that scans barcodes and provides details on products and manufacturers so you can make an informed decision.
Ethical Barcode scans the barcodes on supermarket items and gives you information on the companies that make them. It provides ratings so you can learn if the products you’re buying do damage to the environment or animals.
Good on You scores over 3,000 fashion brands according to their impact on people, animals and the planet. It researches companies extensively and gives you an easy-to-understand rating, from “Great” to “We avoid.”
Switch to CREDO Mobile
Here’s one more step you can take to help our planet: join CREDO Mobile, the one mobile service that cares about Earth as much as you do.
To date, we’ve donated over $95 million to progressive nonprofits fighting for the causes you believe in. We’ve given over $21 million to dozens of environmental groups, including Friends of the Earth, Rainforest Action Network and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Switch to CREDO Mobile and you’ll get all you want from your mobile service: money-saving data plans, great deals on new devices and superfast coverage on the nation’s largest 5G network.
And you’ll get much more. You’ll get an easy, effective way to make our world a more sustainable place.
Posted on April 16, 2025
CREDO Mobile Customers Supported Nine Projects in Schools with DonorsChoose
With the help of new CREDO Mobile customers, we were able to support nine school projects, helping teachers across the country to provide a better education to their students. Too often, teachers have to spend their own money in their classrooms. We were thrilled to be able to help out. One hundred percent of these projects have an Equity focus and directly impact historically underfunded classrooms. We were able to support teachers and students across the country: from Florida to California; from Michigan to Texas. We were able to help purchase art supplies, reading materials, costumes for a play, STEM materials and even a chicken egg incubator. You can read more about each project that was funded below:
Construction Kits for Art Class | Gastonia, NC | Grades 3-5
With these kits, not only can I introduce them to sculpture and architecture, but they would be able to create their own 3D pieces. All while learning how to share and collaborate with others, which teaches them team building skills.
I am so excited to offer my students this opportunity to unleash their creativity as they are using problem solving skills and social skills of collaboration and sharing. They will be so excited to engage and care for this generous gift. Thank you for loving my kiddos as much as I do.
Costumes for Shrek, the Musical | New York, NY | Grades 6-8
Our school is excited to share that our scholars are preparing for an upcoming production of Shrek: The Musical. This is an awesome opportunity for our students to showcase their talents and hard work to the entire school community.
Thank you for your amazing donation towards this year’s production. The students are so excited and this will – for sure – brighten up their day. Thank you for taking the time to donate to our production.
Chickens and Eggs | Henderson, TX | PreK – Grade 2
A chicken egg incubator, along with educational books and hands-on activities related to the life cycle of a chicken. This project will provide an engaging, hands-on learning experience for students, fostering their curiosity about nature, life sciences, and responsibility.
I can’t fully express my thanks and gratitude for your donation. My students will greatly benefit from the supplies you have provided. With this, my students can continue and reinforce their science concepts and learning about chickens. Your donation helps me connect to students while teaching in a technology driven world. The materials provided will help each Spring come to life. Thanks again for helping me provide the most and best that I can as a teacher!!!
Environmental Education for High Schoolers | Camden, NJ | Grade 9-12
This project allows students from an urban setting to participate in caring and growing food while learning about the importance of conservation of the environment, while also promoting healthy lifestyles and activities for our young scholars.
Thank you for supporting this project and contributing to students finding value in science , gardening and chemistry . Your donation will not only provide a learning opportunity for so many students but will also provide fresh produce that students will enjoy knowing they played an important part in growing while learning about the chemistry of gardening .
Art Supplies for Middle School Students | Miami, FL | Grades 6-8
A Cricut machine will be an invaluable tool for my students, fostering creativity and hands-on learning. It allows us to create precise, professional-quality designs for classroom projects, from personalized name tags and bulletin board decorations to intricate models for science and art lessons.
We are incredibly grateful for your generous donation toward our new Cricut machine! Your support means so much to us and will open up endless creative possibilities for our students. Thanks to you, we can’t wait to dive into exciting projects, from personalized gifts to classroom decorations and so much more. This machine will spark creativity, hands-on learning, and new skills that will benefit our students for years to come. Thank you again for your kindness and generosity. We can’t wait to share our creations with you!
Inventor Kits and Education | Washington, DC | Grades 3-5
Included in this project are a variety of STEM activities ranging from a coding robot, magna tiles, LEGO building blocks and several STEM kits. There is no better way for students to understand the process of discovery by having students “tinker” with materials as they create and build.
Words can not express the appreciation I have for all of you. I began to doubt this proposal would receive enough support to earn full funding. Your belief in the work that we do has saved this project. My Scholars and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your contributions. Donors like you make it possible for me to do my job effectively and give students an experience that they can remember for a lifetime. Thank you.
Whiteboards for Economics Classes | Detroit, MI | Grades 9-12
These whiteboards & markers are essential for practicing graphing and help to add learning elements to our Econ classroom experience.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We so appreciate every donor for their contributions to our classroom. We are always so excited to have projects funded and thank you for your contribution to make that happen!
Adaptive Learning Materials | Madera, CA | PreK – Grade 2
My goals for this project are to provide my students with adaptive learning materials, some students are non-verbal and TPT offers resources that I can use in the classroom to better communicate with my students.
Thank you for your generous donation towards our adaptive learning needs. I am so grateful, but most importantly our students and parents will be very grateful as well. Your generosity, support and investment to our SDC classroom is so appreciated.
Books for Young Readers | Chicago, IL | Grades 3-5
My students absolutely love to read! They cannot get enough! In order to continue to foster this love of learning, we are in need of additional books that can go home with the students. Many of my students do not have access to quality books or to books at their individual reading level.
Thank you so much for your generous donation to our classroom. The students will love these new books for our library. The books will be a welcome addition for all of my students. They will be thrilled to be able to take these books home and share them with their families. Thank you again – we are so very grateful!
Thank you for your help in supporting these teachers, their classrooms and DonorsChoose.
Posted on April 15, 2025
For a cooler climate: CREDO Mobile makes a difference
Recently, CREDO Mobile sent a grant to Planet Reimagined, which uses an innovative action-research strategy to create effective solutions to our most urgent climate problems.
CREDO Mobile is proud to support Planet Reimagined as it brings together researchers and advocates from around the world to take on all aspects of the climate crisis: energy, waste, water, farming, finance, production, transportation, environmental justice and more.
Pushing sensible policy to make real progress
Research by Planet Reimagined contributed to the bipartisan Co-Location Energy Act recently introduced by Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO). If passed, the legislation will allow federal land leased for oil and gas production to be evaluated for renewable energy development. It also streamlines environmental review and permitting to accelerate timelines and reduce costs. With the Bureau of Land Management prioritizing fossil fuels leasing over the next four years, co-location is a viable solution that aligns with the administration’s goals.
However it fares, this bill’s introduction is a major win for Planet Reimagined’s Common Grounds initiative. Common Grounds is an effort to ease the co-location of wind and solar power on federal oil and gas lands. Planet Reimagined hired a new clean energy environmental justice advisor who oversaw completion of the Common Grounds Environmental Justice Brief, which ensures project-implementation priorities like community consent, benefit agreements and participatory decision-making to advance equity in energy transitions. After an extensive and targeted search, Planet Reimagined also successfully recruited an energy lease analyst with expertise in land acquisition, mineral rights and renewable energy. With over a decade of experience in land management, the new analyst has swiftly initiated engagement with oil and gas stakeholders in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
Harmonizing people nationwide to promote climate solutions
Planet Reimagined’s Amplify project also made notable progress in its effort to mobilize public support for policy-level climate solutions. Fully three-quarters of Americans attend music concerts every year, which makes the events a rich opportunity to bring communities together and remind them of their collective ability to produce change. Amplify partnered with multiplatinum indie-pop band AJR to enact this strategy across AJR’s sold-out nationwide arena tour—25 shows in 21 cities—with stops including Madison Square Garden and the Forum in L.A. 35,000 fans took high-impact actions at the shows. They signed letters and petitions, called their representatives and signed up to join environmental and climate groups in their hometowns. Yes, the 2024 election showed that celebrity endorsements of a candidate don’t guarantee success but Amplify’s locally focused, issue-based approach has achieved many wins. It helped pass seven state ballot measures and notched rare victories for climate-related measures, including Washington’s No on 2117, California’s Proposition 4 and Wisconsin’s No on Questions 1 & 2.
Upon completion of its inaugural Climate Active fellowship, Planet Reimagined brought both participating fellows into permanent roles to continue their work on Amplify by launching phase two of the initiative in early 2025 and expanding the program to maximize onsite engagement with event audiences. This will mobilize support for local and state policy initiatives that can be implemented without national-level political support, such as: electrifying city vehicles and expanding public transit, increasing air and water quality standards, ensuring that climate change is taught in schools and investing in core infrastructure and incentives for sustainable agriculture, resilient construction and renewable energy production. In preparation for the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, Amplify will work alongside strategic partners and collaborators including the Environmental Defense Fund, Live Nation and REVERB to effectively activate people, cities and states to promote and adopt transformative climate policies and to increase public support for national action.
Making an impact with new projects
Through its innovative action-research method to incubate and scale creative solutions to our most pressing climate problems, Planet Reimagined advanced a compelling fellowship theme for its third impact project. This is an organization-wide commitment to multiyear implementation of Delta Connective: Bridging Global River Communities for Local Climate Action. This new pillar of Planet Reimagined’s work supports urgent efforts to protect river systems that sustain livelihoods, with local community involvement in restoring three key river deltas: the Danube, the Mekong and the Mississippi. One standout advocacy product from this project is the viral blog post by fellow Jessica Sirois. First published on WWF’s Freshwater blog series, it’s titled Bummerland or Thriving Wetland? The Mississippi River Delta Is at a Crossroads. The blog spurred enough dialogue and attention to be republished in Medium’s New Climate series, with 11,000 followers. Sirois is one of three Planet Reimagined fellows who have stayed on in consultant roles to continue making progress on the project and extend it into 2025. All three are currently helping recruit the new 2025 fellows to focus on the Mekong, Danube and Mississippi River deltas and to identify current and upcoming advocacy opportunities.
In addition to the seven newly onboarded staff and consulting fellows noted above, Planet Reimagined has been able to grow its team with three additional staff members. All of this rapid growth is a direct result of the significant media exposure and public engagement the group achieved in 2024 through diverse platforms, including print, radio, television, digital media, podcasts and conferences. The campaign successfully reached millions, influencing public opinion, policy and practice—and prompting generous philanthropic actors like CREDO Mobile to get involved. Based on aggregated data, the estimated total media reach is approximately 7.19 million impressions, with a unique reach conservatively estimated at 4.31 million individuals (assuming 60% unique impressions). This could not have been achieved without the support of partners like CREDO Mobile for Planet Reimagined’s effort to ignite conversion and inspire action.
Making a difference with CREDO Mobile
We could not support organizations like Planet Reimagined without the support of our loyal customers.
If you’re a CREDO Mobile customer, thank you. If you’re not a customer, please consider joining us now. You’ll get all you want from your mobile service: the nation’s largest 5G network, competitive plans, great deals on new devices and friendly customer service.
And you’ll get much more. You’ll get a powerful way to support the causes you care about. Causes like climate action, women’s rights, reproductive freedom and an economy that works for everyone.
Switching is easy. You can bring your current device and your current number. Go to CREDOMobile.com to learn more.
Posted on April 15, 2025
Donations spotlight: Support Democracy Now!, news made by the people, not the powerful
Note from the CREDO Mobile team: This April, Democracy Now! is among three amazing nonprofits that will receive a share of our monthly grant. Funding from the CREDO Mobile community will be critical to the group as it continues to produce a much-needed independent news program featuring journalists, grassroots leaders and independent analysts, as well as ordinary people directly affected by world events and U.S. policy.
Read this important blog post from Democracy Now!, then visit CREDO Donations and cast your vote to help send vital grant money to the group to assist its efforts—and the efforts of our other outstanding April grantees.
Going to where the silence is. That’s the responsibility of a journalist: giving a voice to those who have been forgotten, forsaken and beaten down by the powerful. It’s the best reason I know to carry our pens, cameras and microphones out into the world.
When you hear people speaking for themselves, it challenges the stereotypes that fuel division and hate. You don’t have to agree with what you hear. How often do we agree with our own family members? But when you listen, you start to understand where a person is coming from. And that understanding is the beginning of peace.
Taking the media back from special interests
The media can be the greatest force for peace on Earth. Instead, all too often, it’s wielded as a weapon of war.
That’s why Democracy Now! is fighting to take the media back from government interests and corporations that, in the words of George Gerbner, late dean of the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, “have nothing to tell and everything to sell.”
On February 19, 1996, Democracy Now! aired for the first time on nine community radio stations. It was the only show in public broadcasting that focused daily on the national election. When that 1996 election wrapped up, with Bill Clinton winning the presidency over Bob Dole, we thought Democracy Now! would wrap up as well.
But there was more demand for the show after the election than before. Why? Because people are hungry for real solutions and authentic voices—not just the same handful of pundits on the network shows who know so little about so much, explaining the world to us and getting it so wrong.
Producing journalism powered by the people
This year Democracy Now! is celebrating 29 years of independent reporting. Over the past quarter-century, we’ve become one of the leading independent news outlets in the world, reaching tens of millions of people in English and Spanish through our website, newsletters, social media channels from YouTube to Instagram, apps, and audio and video podcasts.
When we report on the climate emergency, our coverage isn’t brought to you by the oil, gas, coal and nuclear companies. When we cover war, our reporting isn’t sponsored by the weapons manufacturers. Our journalism is powered by the people, which gives us the editorial freedom to report on the issues that matter most: war and peace, the climate crisis, abortion rights, gun control, immigration, racism and police brutality, wealth inequality, LGBTQ rights, healthcare and much more.
In these challenging times, as we face innumerable threats to our democracy, we need a media that covers power, not a media that covers for power. We need a media that is the fourth estate, not for the state. We need a media that covers the movements causing static and making history.
That’s the power of independent media. And that’s the media that will save us.
Posted on April 15, 2025
This Earth Day, Earth needs you
Let’s work together—because there is no planet B.
April 22 is Earth Day. It’s now the largest civic event in the world, with billions of people joining Earth Day activities and pushing for solutions to our planet’s problems.
This year, many of those activities will focus on climate change. Which, on the long list of threats we face, certainly belongs at the top. It’s existential. We solve it or we’re done. There is no plan B—there is no planet B.
The crisis we’ve long feared is here. So what can we do? Well, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so that’s what we can do: take that step. Then another, then another. Some will be big, many will be small, all will help.
A good place to start is EarthDay.org, where you’ll find resources you can use to educate, advocate and mobilize. One easy, meaningful step you can take is to pledge an Earth Action on social media: share what you’re doing on Earth Day and encourage others to get involved.
Here’s another step you can take. Switch to CREDO Mobile, the one phone company that cares about our planet as much as you do. To date, we’ve donated over $95 million to progressive nonprofits dedicated to positive change, with a large share of it going to environmental groups like 350.org, Inside Climate News, Earth Guardians and Defenders of Wildlife.
Join CREDO Mobile and you’ll get all you want from your mobile service: money-saving data plans, great deals on new devices and superfast coverage on the nation’s largest 5G network.
And you’ll get much more. You’ll get an easy, effective way to create positive change, just by using your phone.
Working together, we can make our world better. We can and we must. As noted above, there is no planet B. Yes, there are those who think we can just trash Earth and move to Mars. But this would require “terraforming” the red planet—which is the stuff of science fiction.
Here’s a better idea. Let’s terraform Earth. Everybody’s favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, puts it this way: “If we can turn Mars, from what it is today, into Earth, then we can turn Earth back into Earth! Ya think?”
We think he’s right. And we think Earth Day is a great time to start. Join us.
