Z
    Zoe Mintz

    Zoe Mintz

    Huffington Post Impact intern

  • Heartbreaking Stories Of Hunger Among America's Elderly

    Seven years ago, Eddie Cantrell was a recent retiree with time on his hands. Looking for a way to pass the days and give back to his local community, he helped start a food bank for seniors in his tiny, bedroom retirement community of Dibble in the Oklahoma countryside.

  • VAWA Offers New Protections, But What's Next?

    The vote by Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Thursday is a major step forward for women’s human rights. While the VAWA has been law since 1994, the reauthorization expands protections for Native American women, immigrant women and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community—a key victory toward ending violence against all women. Although Native American and Alaska Native women experience sexual violence at a much higher rate than other women in the United States—two and a half times higher—and although Department of Justice studies show that 86 percent of perpetrators are non-Native men, tribal authorities had had no jurisdiction to prosecute and mete out justice.

  • PHOTO: Father With Advanced Lung Cancer Does Charity Polar Plunge

    More than two years into his fight against stage 3B lung cancer, Robert Litten did something courageous, altruistic -- and a little downright crazy to help others with the disease. The 59-year-old from Cleveland, who has undergone almost 30 radiation treatments, different kinds of chemotherapy and other medical procedures, recently took part in a Polar Bear Plunge, going knee-deep into icy waters to raise money for the American Lung Association. “He’s a normal dad who likes sports with a terrible sense of humor,” Litten told the Huffington Post, adding that his father has remained positive and continues to go to work everyday throughout his battle with the disease.

  • Oscar's 6 Biggest Winners (Even if They Don’t Go Home With Trophies)

    Win or lose on Sunday, these half dozen Academy Award-nominated films have already made waves of social change. Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. It may have been a strategic move by awards season maestro Harvey Weinstein that thrust mental health into the spotlight rather than the boy-girl content of David O. Russell’s romantic comedy about a bipolar man (Bradley Cooper) recently released from a mental institution who battles against his own instincts to find love with a fellow neurotic (Jennifer Lawrence).

  • 4-Year-Old Girl Rescues Sister From Car Wreck After Mom Dies

    Jessica Rath, of Astoria, Ore., was driving along the Washington coastline with her two daughters late Tuesday night to pick up her fisherman husband when she presumably fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into a tree, KPTV reports. The two shivered together trying to keep warm for about six hours until two passersby noticed the fresh gash in a tree, King5 reports. Arianna was released from the hospital and the 2-year-old is being treated for a collapsed lung, head injury and broken legs, according to King5.

  • How Many Wakeup Calls Will It Take For Vets To Get The Help They Deserve?

    Corey Wynn was among the thousands of returning Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans who had trouble finding work after leaving the military in 2010. The former Alabama Army National Guardsman was laid off from a security company, which had been his only steady job since leaving the service. It wasn’t until last summer when he met Bob Gossett, a specialist with the Alabama Disabled Veterans Outreach Program, that his luck changed.

  • UN Still Waiting For $1.5 Billion Pledged For Syrian Refugees

    The U.N. refugee agency says it has not yet received the funds recently pledged for Syrian refugees and is struggling to help rising numbers fleeing the country's nearly 2-year-old civil war. Jordan says it hosts more than 368,000 of the 787,000 Syrians displaced in the region. Speaking by telephone from Geneva, Harper says U.N. agencies in Jordan are spending $1 million a day to help the refugees.

  • Nonprofit Leaders Testify To Keep Charitable Tax Breaks

    Extending the charitable deduction to all taxpayers – not just itemizers – and allowing donations until April 15 to be counted in the previous tax year were among the proposals by nonprofits to incentive charitable giving even more. Nonprofit leaders raced to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., today to provide input on potential tax reform and remind legislators to keep the charitable deduction intact as the House Ways and Means Committee began discussion on comprehensive tax reform.

  • LOOK: Gaga Visits Terminally Sick Girl Despite Canceling Tour

    Lady Gaga may have canceled her tour, but she made one "little monster" -- as she lovingly calls her fans -- very happy. Kayleigh Gurbynski, a 5-year-old who has terminal congenital heart disease and Turner’s Syndrome, a genetic disorder,had tickets to meet Lady Gaga at her Chicago concert on Feb. 13, WSAU reports. After the pop star canceled her tour due to a hip injury, the "Born This Way Star" made time to visit Kayleigh who traveled from Wisconsin to see the show, according to the news outlet.

  • Young Woman Becomes Guardian Angel To NYC Street Kids

    Since the early ’80s, Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan’s East Village has been a primary hub for New York’s homeless. Immortalized as the Tompkins Square Riot, a military-style assault by the city and police to occupy the park resulted in the unintended consequence of uniting the homeless park dwellers and the agents of gentrification. The young street kids in New York are not your traditional homeless.

  • On National Organ Donor Day, 5 People Who Have Given The Gift Of Life

    February 14 isn't just a day to celebrate your main squeeze -- it's also National Organ Donor Day, raising awareness for a way to spread love to someone who really needs it. In the U.S. alone, 18 people die each day day waiting for an organ, and every 10 minutes someone new is added to a waiting list of 117,112 nationwide according to organdonor.gov. To illustrate this kind of selfless giving, we've compiled a list of five amazingly inspiring organ donor stories.

  • Nonprofit Saves 14 Million Pounds Of Wasted Veggies

    Christy Porter believes in second chances. Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. Porter’s solution to the high cost of produce and the fact that 40 percent of what American farmers grow gets thrown away, was to start a local anti-hunger initiative, she told NBC News.

  • Fund For Slain Navy SEAL Sniper Helps Vets With PTSD

    Chris Kyle was a dedicated father, a decorated former Navy SEAL sniper and generous man. Kyle and his friend, Chad Littlefield, were killed by a troubled veteran at a North Texas gun range last weekend, the AP reports. Kyle's funeral was held Tuesday.

  • TRAGIC: Mother Admits To Killing Baby Boy, Asks For Funeral Donations

    A Florida mother who admitted to killing her 6-month-old son, asked for donations on Facebook to pay for his funeral, WTSP reports. Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today. Arnett of Inverness, Fla., was arrested for first-degree murder on Feb. 4, according to ABC Action News.

  • Homeless Pregnant Vet Gets Help From Local Bikers

    In Bakersfield, Calif., a group of bikers have rallied for a good cause. The biker buddies, many of whom are veterans themselves, heard about a homeless pregnant veteran who came to the California Veterans Assistance Foundation. The do-gooders then took action to galvanize efforts and offer her support, 23 ABC reports. "We don't know if it's a boy or girl, we just know it's a baby who needs our help," Ben Patten of the Bakersfield Harley-Davidson, which gathered donations, told the news outlet.

  • 5 World Cancer Day Stories That Will Make You Laugh And Cry

    Talia Joy Castellano, a 13-year-old and battling two aggressive forms of cancer, was named the "honorary face" of Cover Girl after her makeup tutorial videos went viral on YouTube. On World Cancer Day, stories like Castellano’s remind us of the courageous faces behind a cancer diagnosis. The annual event, observed on Feb. 4, spreads awareness about a disease that kills more people worldwide than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined, USA Today reports.

  • Ways To Help On World Cancer Day

    Two-time cancer survivor Sean Swarner  is one such story. In April, Leland Camara, a 5-year-old battling leukemia, decided to use one of his wishes from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to feed children in need in his Anchorage, Alaska, community, he told kls.com. "When I asked him if he was sure he wants to serve other kids, he says, ‘So many people helped me so I want to help others,'" Laure Bruce of the Make-A-Wish Foundation told kls.com.

  • NFL PLayers Host Fundraisers During Super Bowl Week

    With the Super Bowl around the corner, New Orleans is not only hosting the big game but also several fundraisers in its honor. On Wednesday, current and former New Orleans Saints players hosted a charity flag football game with wounded war veterans as the opposing team. The friendly match honored retired Saints safety Steve Gleason, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2011, WWLTV reports.

  • Pilot Delivers Letter To 'Heaven' For Boy's Fallen Soldier Dad

    MacAidan Gallegos was just five years old when his father was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. Four years later, 9-year-old ‘Mac’ had a special request in honor of his father’s birthday on Jan. 24 . "I wanted to write a letter because I wanted to know more about my dad and to show that I didn't forget him and to show that I also love him," Mac, who lives in Anchorage, Alaska, told the news outlet.

  • Prison Inmates Save 3 Boys From Drowning

    “We just thought it was some kids screaming until we seen their two heads bobbing in the water with the canoe upside down," 37-year-old Nelson Pettis, an inmate at Larch Corrections Center told KPTV. The boys, ages 8, 10 and 16 years old, were canoeing when their boat capsized at around 12:30 p.m., firefighters told the news outlet. Once he grabbed the boys, he got them to a strainer and waited for the rescue crew, he told the news outlet.