“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” ~ Desmond Tutu
You’re a kind and generous person. You have empathy and compassion and you want to make it all better for everyone everywhere. It’s noble, but also a path to paralysis.
We can be overwhelmed by all of the people in the world who need what we have to offer and what we’re willing to give. We often feel like the problems we face as a society are so large that we can’t fix them. And so we wait. We stall. We hope that one day we’ll wake up with that one brilliant idea that will let us have the degree of impact we want to have.
Whenever I feel like this, and it’s more often than I’d like it to be, I remind myself of this quote by Mr. Tutu.
Today we will not fix the whole world. Tomorrow we probably won’t do that either. But today, right now, there is something we can do. Something small, right where we are. We have to remind ourselves of the ripple effect – that beautiful phenomenon that causes the kindness of one person to become contagious and inspire kind acts of others.
We also have to remember that one small good act is not any better than any other. What you do for one person right now is as valuable as what you do for 100, 1,000, or 1,000,000 people because to that one person it might just mean everything. It might just turn their day around, their life around, and there are so many people who will benefit from that, most of whom we will never know and never meet.
What you can do is enough. The important thing is that you do it. Let the Universe worry about how your goodness ripples through the world. You just make sure that the goodness exists.
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
1 thought on “Beautiful: It’s Time to Do Your Bit of Goodness”
I love this. Thank you!
When I witness something sad and then find myself overwhelmed/consumed by all the sorrows of the world, everywhere (“woe is me!” “woe are us!” etc.), I try to come back to myself. This may sound backwards, focusing on myself when what I want is to help others, but it grounds me. I ask myself: What makes ME feel better?
The answer is a long list of anecdotes, most of them small acts of kindness:
– the corner store owner who told me not to worry when I realized I didn’t have my wallet. “Pay next time, no worries,” he said.
– the guy across the street who not only took the time to jump my car, but told me where to get a new battery.
– the teenager who helped an elderly man cross the street (because being *witness* to goodness lifts my spirits, too — it doesn’t have to happen to me!).
– the man at the airport who runs after me to hand me my driver’s license and plane ticket, both of which I (like a dunce) left at the security checkpoint…
– watching my boyfriend run down the beach to help a woman carry her heavy cooler to her blanket.
The list goes on and on, and proves you completely right. It’s the tiny acts, the acts-in-passing, the acts we may not even think about, that brighten the days of others and initiate that ripple of goodness. No good is too small to do!
I love this. Thank you!
When I witness something sad and then find myself overwhelmed/consumed by all the sorrows of the world, everywhere (“woe is me!” “woe are us!” etc.), I try to come back to myself. This may sound backwards, focusing on myself when what I want is to help others, but it grounds me. I ask myself: What makes ME feel better?
The answer is a long list of anecdotes, most of them small acts of kindness:
– the corner store owner who told me not to worry when I realized I didn’t have my wallet. “Pay next time, no worries,” he said.
– the guy across the street who not only took the time to jump my car, but told me where to get a new battery.
– the teenager who helped an elderly man cross the street (because being *witness* to goodness lifts my spirits, too — it doesn’t have to happen to me!).
– the man at the airport who runs after me to hand me my driver’s license and plane ticket, both of which I (like a dunce) left at the security checkpoint…
– watching my boyfriend run down the beach to help a woman carry her heavy cooler to her blanket.
The list goes on and on, and proves you completely right. It’s the tiny acts, the acts-in-passing, the acts we may not even think about, that brighten the days of others and initiate that ripple of goodness. No good is too small to do!
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