July 22, 2018

A person’s wedding day might be one of most memorable days of their entire life – so it can be pretty devastating if something goes wrong. Dulce Gonzalez was experiencing this kind of devastation when a monstrous thunderstorm started pouring rain on her beach wedding. Gonzalez and dozens of other wedding guests watched the rain come down from their cars, hoping that it would stop – but thankfully, there was someone else who was watching the situation unfold as well. Throughout the day, 67-year-old Cynthia Strunk and her husband had been watching the Gonzalez wedding preparations from their beach house. Since the Strunks first moved into the house in 1999, they have seen dozens of weddings take place on the beach, but they had never seen one get rained out before.

Heartbroken by the predicament, Cynthia ran up to the bride’s car, soaking wet and without an umbrella, and told Dulce to simply host the wedding in her beach home. “The bride’s mother started crying at that point and [Gonzalez] said ‘thank you’ and she had tears in her eyes,” Strunk told The Washington Post. Cynthia arranged and decorated one of their larger rooms “as if it was her own daughter” who was getting married. When all of the wedding guests were escorted into the house, sheltered from the rain with umbrellas in hand, Dulce was “shocked” by what she saw.

“They had everything set as if we actually planned it,” Gonzalez said. “It was perfect. I told my husband that [the Strunks] were little angels that God sent us.”

July 20, 2018

A hero rescue dog who helped rescue people following last year's deadly earthquake in Mexico City got to see a new statue this week erected in her honor, CBS Los Angeles reports. Frida the Labrador retriever -- wearing her protective googles, blue booties and vest -- pressed her nose against the nose of her bronze likeness during a ceremony at an ecological park in Puebla City, Remezcla reported. A plaque in front of the duo reads: "Memorable symbols of the strength Mexicans can have when we decide to come together for great causes." Frida and her trainer were deployed in the wake of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that rocked Mexico City and its surrounding areas on September 19. Nearly 400 people died in the temblor and its aftershocks. Of those deaths, 228 were in the capital city. The 8-year-old pup, who works as a sniffer with the Mexican navy's canine unit, is credited with saving at least 12 lives as she searched the rubble following the quake, according to CBS Los Angeles. Throughout her career, Frida has been deployed to natural disaster areas across the world, helping save 52 lives in various natural disasters, according to the Mexican office of the presidency. 

Thousands of sea birds and sea turtles die every year after getting unintentionally netted by fishermen, stumping scientists who are trying to strike a balance between conservation and protecting people's livelihoods, The Independent reports. After observing the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's success with attaching LED lights to nets to reduce sea turtle bycatch, Dr. Jeffrey Mangel tested the technology at fisheries in Peru and found the lights reduced turtle bycatch by two-thirds. Fishermen also caught 85 percent fewer diving birds, while still collecting their same-sized catch. The finding is especially significant because it is such a cheap and simple fix. "We need to find ways for coastal peoples to fish with the least impact on the rest of the biodiversity in their seas," said one of the researchers, Professor Brendan Godley. [The Independent]What's this item about? What makes it interesting? Write a catchy description to grab your audience's attention...

January 18, 2018

A woman in Chicago riding the subway home last Friday evening witnessed an act of kindness that brought tears to her eyes. "So I'm headed home on the CTA Redline and there's a homeless man sitting across from me. He's older, weathered, minding his own business. His feet are so swollen he's wearing the tattered gym shoes he has with the back folded down, like slip-ons. There's another man on the other side of the doors; he's younger, carrying a satchel and a suitcase, also minding his own business. He's wearing a pair of big black snow boots. They look new; they look expensive; they're built for a Chicago winter. Quietly, in a blink and you'll miss it fashion, the younger man takes off the boots he's wearing and passes them to the old man. He opens his suitcase and gives him a pair of socks as well. The young man puts on a spare pair of shoes from the suitcase. These shoes are nice too, but not as nice as the boots. They would have fit the old man just as well, but they were not what this old man needed. Those of us who are close enough to see and hear the exchange are floored. The shoes off his feet." Source: https://www.sunnyskyz.com/good-news/2596/Man-Gives-The-Boots-Off-His-Feet-To-A-Homeless-Man-On-The-Subway

December 29, 2019

"Twenty Georgia shelter dogs don’t have permanent homes yet, but that won’t stop them from celebrating Thanksgiving in style. Lifeline Animal Project, a nonprofit that runs multiple shelters in the Atlanta area, launched its first annual “Home for the Pawlidays” program this year. For the week surrounding Thanksgiving, the 20 dogs are staying as special guests in people’s homes. “We chose the dogs who had either been at the shelter the longest or who needed a break from the stress of the shelter the most... all the dogs we chose are good candidates, because they adore people.” Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/home-for-the-pawlidays-shelter-dogs-thanksgiving_us_5a14ae81e4b03dec8248e7fd?utm_hp_ref=good-news

January 12, 2018

A 12-year-old Syrian refugee was offered a free lifetime gym membership, after a photo of him staring longingly at exercise equipment went viral on social media. “A boy, looking through the gym window, wearing slippers in the middle of winter and carrying his backpack. Our aim was to find him and offer him a lifetime membership here. And, we did it. He is one of our members now,” state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Engin Dogan, the gym co-owner, as saying. Halit fled the brutal war in Syria four years ago and has been working as a shoe-shiner ever since. He lives with his father who makes a living by collecting scrap. Halit was thrilled with media attention and said, “I had always dreamed of losing weight and now I believe I can do that by working out,” said the boy. Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/in-pics-turkish-gym-gives-12-year-old-syrian-refugee-gazing-through-window-free-lifetime-pass/story-w5WiXcYTFov63KGSxyd66M.html

January 12, 2018

A man in a remote eastern Indian village has single-handedly carved a five-mile (8km) road through hilly terrain to help his children attend school. It had been taking Jalandhar Nayak’s three sons about three hours each way to navigate the narrow, rocky route to class. So two years ago the vegetable seller from Odisha state picked up a chisel, a garden hoe and pickaxe and began building a shorter route. “My children found it hard to walk on the narrow and stony path while going to their school. I often saw them stumbling against the rocks and decided to carve a road through the mountain so that they can walk more easily,” he told News World Odisha. 

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January 01, 2020

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.

Donna Hoagland wasn’t even supposed to be Troy Volk’s fourth-grade teacher -- she was just filling in while his regular teacher was on maternity leave -- but the two are forever linked, now that she gave a kidney that’s keeping his mother alive. “Three weeks out of my life to sacrifice, to be a little bit uncomfortable, to help her have a normal, healthy life is nothing to ask,” Hoagland said. “She never asked me for my kidney. I just kind of said, ‘Hey, I can give you mine.’” Volk is blown away by the gift of life and the second chance with her boys that Hoagland has given her. “The amazing amount of selflessness this woman has is inspiring,” she said.

December 03, 2017

"After living in her Hudson, Florida home for 35 years, Angie Tyma was evicted last month due to an unfortunate misunderstanding. You see, Tyma sold her house several years earlier to someone who became her landlord, but when that person stopped paying the mortgage out of nowhere, it went into foreclosure. 

Without anywhere to go, Tyma was forced to live in a Days Inn hotel, until one of her neighbors did something unheard of: Danielle Calder bought the house back for Tyma for $167,500. As for Calder, she says the reason behind her decision to help was simple: "It was the right thing to do," she says. "We're family — the whole neighborhood."   Source: http://www.womansday.com/life/inspirational-stories/a57254/woman-buys-evicted-neighbors-house/

December 19, 2017

Texas Rangers pitcher Cole Hamels and his wife, Heidi, are donating their $9 million mansion and 100 acres of land in southwest Missouri to a charity that provides camps for children with special needs and chronic illnesses. The Hamels are gifting the 32,000-square-foot home located near Table Rock Lake to Camp Barnabas. "There are tons of amazing charities in Southwest Missouri. Out of all of these, Barnabas really pulled on our heartstrings," Cole Hamels said. "Seeing the faces, hearing the laughter, reading the stories of the kids they serve; there is truly nothing like it. Barnabas makes dreams come true, and we felt called to help them in a big way." Camp Barnabas said the gift was the largest donation in the history of the organization. 

December 27, 2017

When a young single mother overheard another woman saying that she hates this time of year because she feels lonely, she decided to do something about it. Taylor Barnes, 22, of Greenock, Scotland, organized a Christmas dinner for 60 strangers that included a three-course meal, presents, and live music.

"I had been thinking about Christmas Day, because me and my wee girl were going to be lonely this year as I don't really have support," Barnes told the Daily Record.  "Then I heard this woman saying that she hates this time of year because she remembers how lonely she is. I was quite upset. I couldn't sleep that night. I went online looking for ideas of what I could do. Then the idea for the Christmas dinner just popped into my head. I thought it would be great to have a community event to bring other people who will be on their own together."

December 27, 2017

"As we live in a world where co-existence of religions and communal harmony seem to be declining, a heart-warming post is going viral in Pakistan, which shows members of Sikh community distributing refreshments to fasting people. This kind gesture highlights the lesser known side of communal harmony in Pakistan. A Facebook user shared two pictures of a Sikh man from Peshawar distributing packets of what seems to be rooh afza doodh with a caption, “This is the true face of my Pakistan”. 

December 31, 2017

When Spencer Sleyon, a 22-year-old black man paired up with Rosalind Guttman, an 80-year-old white woman for regular games of “Words with Friends,” the pair created a cross-generational, interstate friendship. After competing in over 324 games of crossword puzzle, Words With Friends, Sleyon and Guttman texted each other and soon became friends. They got to meet in person for the first time in December, when Sleyon flew from Harlem, New York City to Florida.

December 28, 2017

In Victoria, British Columbia, the government asks you to pay parking fines by making a donation to a food bank or local charity. A photo of the ticket was posted on Reddit, with the caption "My 'parking ticket' from yesterday, courtesy of the city of Victoria."

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January 03, 2018

What'A London hairdresser has been giving free haircuts to homeless people during his off time. Joshua Coombes has been giving as many as seven free haircuts a day! He’s also started a larger #DoSomethingForNothing campaign to increase compassion for the homeless community.s this item about? What makes it interesting? Write a catchy description to grab your audience's attention...

January 03, 2018

When 10 people, including a family of 6, was hit by powerful rip currents on the Panama City Beach in Florida on July 8, beach-goers formed a human chain stretching from the sand to the swimmers and rescued them even before the police could take any necessary action.  (Image not representative of event)

January 01, 2018

A mosque is seen in Winsdor, Ont. The community of a mosque in Fort Smith, Arkansas paid the fine of a man who vandalized their walls with racist grafitti in 2016, after the man wrote a letter expressing his remorse over the incident. (Meg Roberts/CBC)

January 02, 2018

An elderly woman is making sure children stay warm in this bitter cold. The 87-year-old woman, who wants to remain a mystery, has knitted 75 hats for kids. “I like doing them. I think it’s fun. I just like to stay in the background,” she said. “Just because it makes me feel good that I can do something for someone.” She wants no recognition for the 75 hats she has made for kids in need this winter. It takes her a full day to make just one hat and has been hard at work for months before the holidays. 

January 03, 2018

The announcement came in December 2016, but it was in March this year that the world’s largest ivory market closed 67 of its licensed ivory facilities, including 12 of its 35 ivory carving factories and several dozen of its more than 130 ivory retailers. The move is hailed as a major step in wildlife conservation, as market demands result in poaching of 20,000 elephants annually. China plans to phase out all registered ivory traders by the end of the year.