The Boston Globe

Peter Singer is on a crusade to convince Americans that they can play a vital role in ending world poverty, without undue sacrifice.

To raise enough money to participate in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, a two-day charity bike trip across Massachusetts, Rachel Gabriel started an unusual fund-raising event of her own, an evening of belly dancing performances. Her "Shimmy Fund" raised nearly $4,700 last year for the Jimmy Fund and put her in the Pan-Mass Challenge.

The windows leak at the Mattapan Community Health Center, which serves thousands of people in one of Boston's most impoverished neighborhoods. The foundation of Freedom House in Dorchester is cracked so badly that water pours in and flows down a hallway when it rains. The elevator breaks once a month at Family Service of Greater Boston in Jamaica Plain, sometimes stranding the center's clients.