Inspired

Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon Raises $58.9 Million

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:31:23 GMT

Despite the struggling economy, officials with the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon say contributions and pledges from this weekend's 45th annual Labor Day event totaled $58.9 million.

"I'm heartened by the unique ability of Americans to help others in need, when they themselves are likely struggling financially," said Lewis, national chairman of MDA.

Through Lewis's telethons, more than 2.5 billion dollars has been raised to help fight

Students Reenact Day When 720 Pupils Walked Out to Protest Inferior Black School

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:31:29 GMT

Nearly 60 years ago, and without telling their parents, five high school students led 720 of their fellow pupils on a walkout to protest the inferior facilities at their all-black school in segregated Kinston, North Carolina.

Some mark that peaceful march to the courthouse by Adkin High School students in November 1951 as the start of the Civil Rights Movement.

Over the weekend, a reunion of original students reenacted

German Woman Gets to Thank American in Person for Post-WWII CARE Packages

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:41:05 GMT

A now-67-year-old German woman finally got to thank in person an 88-year-old American woman for her middle-class family's generosity toward 'the enemy' after World War II.

The American family had made sure that life was just a bit more bearable for a German war widow and her young daughter, by sending 70 boxes of clothes, food and supplies --one every month,

First Generation Not Ravaged by War in Russia, China, Japan, Europe

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 07:33:25 GMT

Something to think about, from a Letter to the Editor in the Daily Record...

Since the end of World War II 65 years ago, this is the first generation of (Western) Europeans in about 1,600 years to reach their 60's without being ravaged by war.

This is also the first generation of Russians to reach their 60's without being ravaged by war.

Read more...

Big Donors Join Forces to Help Close City Schools Gap

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 06:09:43 GMT

In what could be a first for the nation, the largest philanthropic groups in Charlotte, North Carolina have joined forces to pour millions of dollars into helping Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools solve the achievement gap.

It's called the CMS Investment Study Group, and its goal is to find a way to pool corporate and private donations for a bigger impact on student performance.

Within the region's school districts, just
Read more...

Japanese Man Invents Machine to Turn Plastic Back into Oil

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:21:59 GMT

Out of his love for the environment and concern about over-flowing landfills, Akinori Ito, from the Japanese company Blest, developed a machine capable of transforming plastic back into oil for use as gasoline or kerosine.

While the process is easy to understand the results are pretty impressive: For every 1kg of plastic, 1 liter of oil can be harvested. Aside from the obvious advantage
Read more...

Farmer's Roadside Stand Thrives on Honor System

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:12:45 GMT

Since 1946, a roadside honey stand has survived as a monument to the proposition that people are basically good.

That's because it runs on the honor system.

Its shelves are crowded with jars of golden honey. Next to this is a weathered, steel strongbox with the words "PAY HERE/THANK YOU" written in marker.

As an economic proposition, does it work?

"Works great. It's been there 63 years," said David C.
Read more...

Relax, Just Do It: Stress Reduction For Everyone

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:00:16 GMT

You probably have a routine for when you get home from work. You might go through your mail, change out of your work clothes, spend a few minutes checking in with your spouse or maybe grab something to drink. You get the idea.

You basically have a handful of automatic responses designed to help you physically and emotionally recover from your day. And it
Read more...

Clean River Crusader is Named Hardest Working Man in America (Video)

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:13:35 GMT

The winner of Mitchum's Hardest Working Man in America contest was awarded $100,000 last month for his labor of love: hauling tires, trash and even rusty cars out of the nation's rivers on behalf of his non-profit conservation group.

Chad Pregracke has worked for twelve years to clean up America's rivers – retrieving over six million pounds of debris including 775 refrigerators
Read more...

Haitian-Canadian Singer Quits Career to Construct Shipping Container Homes in Haiti

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:22:57 GMT

A Haitian-born Canadian singer has taken leave from a successful musical career to help the earthquake-displaced people in his homeland by spearheading the building of a village.

But Luck Mervil wants to build homes that will withstand any natural disaster by using retired shipping containers as the main building blocks.

Mervil plans to use 900 retrofitted containers to construct a new village fit
Read more...

Good News From New Orleans on 5th Anniversary of Katrina Disaster

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 14:41:54 GMT
On this anniversary of Hurrican Katrina, you will see articles that report New Orleans is still struggling, but today, five years later, recovery is also evident in spades.

January's Super Bowl victory by the home team helped set the tone for what the newly elected mayor is calling "the new New Orleans.”

Here are four signs of major progress
Read more...

Random Act of Kindness for 93 Dollars Sparks $100,000 In Donations To Food Bank

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 13:53:17 GMT

When Jenni Ware found herself unable to locate her wallet as she stood in front of the cash register at Trader Joe's market, a stranger stepped forward to pay her entire $207 bill.

The next day, Jenni sent a check in the mail for $300 to cover the Good Samaritan's deed enclosing an additional $93.

A Facebook discussion propelled Carolee Hazard
Read more...

School Heroes Mark 20th Anniversary of Devastating Tornadoes With Call for Everyday Acts of Heroism

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:11:44 GMT

20 years ago today, several Plainfield High School teachers, staff members and students became heroes.

Some student athletes carried teammates out of harm's way as harrowing twisters approached. Teachers led students to safe hallways as the bricks popped around them "like a popcorn machine."

But, as members of the school community mark the anniversary of the devastating tornadoes, a former counselor and football coach came
Read more...

Biloxi Church Was Beacon of Hope During Storm, and Feeding People After Katrina

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 10:46:42 GMT

The Rev. Kenneth Haynes knelt in prayer in the baptismal pool inside Main St. Missionary Baptist Church as Hurricane Katrina started to rip apart the roof.

More than 120 members of his congregation who had come to the church for shelter huddled nearby in a multipurpose room on the second floor. The first story of the church already was filled with water and Haynes
Read more...

Pakistan Thanks World for Opening Wallets

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:23:45 GMT

Pakistan thanked the world Friday for opening its wallets and said more than 20 million flood victims now know that nations and people around the globe are standing with them during the worst disaster the country has ever faced.

Pakistan's U.N. Ambassador Abdullah Haroon said the initial outpouring from some 70 countries was 'indeed heartening' and 'a good beginning,' reports the AP
Read more...

Bill Gates' Favorite Teacher

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:49:53 GMT

Sal Khan, you can count Bill Gates as your newest fan. Gates is a voracious consumer of online education. This past spring a colleague e-mailed him about the nonprofit KhanAcademy.org, a vast digital trove of free mini-lectures all narrated by Khan, an ebullient, articulate Harvard MBA and former hedge fund manager.

Gates replied within minutes. "This guy is amazing," he wrote. "It is awesome
Read more...

Generous Lottery Winner Donates Ticket to Charity

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 14:20:22 GMT

Somewhere in Kansas a Powerball lottery player shines as a hero for sending their winning ticket anonymously by mail to a local hospital.

The only message from the generous donor was, "Please accept this gift for the Mitchell County Regional Medical Foundation for the good work you do. God Bless!"

The hospital staff had no idea how much money the ticket might represent so they checked online
Read more...

Motivational Speaker Trades Talking for Finding Jobs for Homeless

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:42:50 GMT

"My stereotype of homeless people was so far from the truth," admitted Frank Kelly, who was invited to speak to them, presenting his motivational talk.

He discovered that they are simply "everyday Americans" who ultimately inspired him to stop "talking" and help to get them jobs.

He founded Project Vacant Streets in Miami, an intense program
Read more...

Hero Saved 30 Neighbors From Brutality in Kyrgyz-Uzbek Conflict

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:32:28 GMT

There were many horror stories coming out of the Kyrgyz-Uzbek conflict this summer, but at least one hero emerged, who risked his life to save his neighbors.

A group of Uzbek women credited him with saving many lives that day.

I was in an Uzbek neighborhood in Osh one day, speaking with people who had fled the violence. They returned and had
Read more...

Trail Honors Forestry Hero who Saved Dozens of Firefighters from Great Inferno

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 15:22:42 GMT

The summer of 1910 in Idaho was a crackling-dry, hot powder keg of rampant forest fires. The U.S. Forest Service was scrambling to stay ahead of them.

But scrambling gave way to panic, when western gales pushed dozens of fires into one huge self-feeding furnace.

The death toll would have been far higher if it weren't for Edward
Read more...