The internet can be a noisy place. Sometimes just logging into social media feels like stepping onto a battlefield, except nobody knows who’s on which team and what the teams even mean anymore.

Maybe it shouldn’t be that surprising. After all, there really are pressing social problems that deserve attention. But the endless stream of rants, complaints, and calls for government to step in and solve this or that can get exhausting. Solutions are rarely offered, and when they are, it is often just a call to join a protest or sign onto a specific political agenda.

But people are not helpless. Individuals, whether on their own or with others in their community, are actually quite capable, and can meet society’s challenges when empowered to do so. That’s where Catalyst comes in.

As a new generation enters the workforce for the first time, issues of student debt, educational choices, job prospects, and personal privacy suddenly become vitally important. Whether it’s re-thinking the way our healthcare system works or figuring out how to make housing affordable, Catalyst offers a positive, solutions-oriented alternative source of commentary on the issues that matter most.

As Catalyst grows, we will continuously strive to present readers with new ideas, independent thinking, and real-world stories of those individuals and communities quietly working hard to address the very issues that we are so often told can only be solved through external intervention. Every individual has the potential to change things for the better, to be a catalyst.