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What the Dying Can Teach the Living: The Five Invitations

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The Lesson: Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death – which is why Frank Ostaseski has distilled everything he has learned from dealing with over 1,000 dying people into five key lessons: don’t wait; welcome everything; bring your whole self into every experience; find a place of rest; and cultivate a ‘don’t know’ mindset.

Notable Excerpt: “Dying is inevitable and intimate. And … dying people, people like you and I, the people in these photos, they find a way to meet the unbearable, the unimaginable, in remarkable ways, actually. This isn’t a fairy tale or some happy ending story, you know? It’s a transformation of tragedy. This discovery happens regularly in people. They find something that allows them to be larger than the small separate self they’ve taken themselves to be. Now you might think, ‘too late’ and I would agree it’s too late; too late to do that work then. But here’s the thing: if that possibility for transformation exists at the time of dying, then it exists now. We don’t have to wait till the time of our dying to learn the lessons it has to teach.”

The Speaker: Frank Ostaseski is the co-founder of The Zen Hospice Project, which is the first Buddhist hospice in America. An expert on dealing with death and end-of-life issues, Ostaseski has taught dozens of workshops on how to deal with the challenges faced by the dying. Not only that, the Dalai Lama honored Ostaseski for the compassion that he has shown dying Americans. His book, “The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully” has been published in different languages across five continents.

(LISTEN to the inspiring talk below) – Photo by Frank Ostaseski

Good Advice? SHARE It – Or Check Out More On Our Good Talks Page…

This Epic Town Wrote a Manual On How to Take Care of Each Other

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This story was submitted as a nomination to the Reader’s Digest “Top 10 Nicest Places in America” contest: a crowd-sourced effort to uncover nooks where people are still kind and respectful in an era of cultural and political divides. If you know of a community, business, or nonprofit where kindness prevails, then be sure to submit a testimony or anecdote here before the June 5th deadline.

There is no competition when it comes to the village of North Riverside.

Neighbors, strangers and village staff are more than fun and nice: They are genuinely caring, compassionate and concerned about those around them, 24/7. From sharing garden vegetables; shoveling snow; mowing lawns; driving to doctor appointments; donating unused items; paying utility bills; kids writing cards to the elderly; giving struggling, depressed residents a reason to smile; and hosting youth scholarships where no one is turned away – no place in the country comes close.

For more than 25 years, residents have made the Golden Rule the town mantra and it has changed lives, including my own — and I don’t live there. I wish I did. God bless 3,000 of the most caring people in the USA.

LOOK: When Elderly Woman Fell Ill, Her 7-Year-old Bestie Began Checking Up On Her 5 Times a Day

The town even has an active Neighborhood Services committee that helps all residents in need — they’ve even written a manual on how to do so!

Stories About North Riverside

One time, a captain chose to give a little live Christmas tree to a man who was very ill. The sick man was touched by the little tree since he had no decorations in his room and always remained in bed. The next day, we received a phone call from his niece. She said, “Thank you so much for what you have done. After the captain left, my uncle asked if we could drive him around town to see all the decorations. We had been asking him to do this, but he refused to try and now he wanted to go out.” She said she had tears in her eyes. A few months later, we learned he passed away, but we felt great joy that we had made his last Christmas on Earth a little happier.

RELATED: Japanese Bus Drivers Strike by Continuing to Run and Refusing to Take Anyone’s Money

Another time, there was a power outage on one side of a neighborhood block that lasted for over 30 hours. A neighbor ran borrowed extension cords to her neighbors on the other side of the street so they could get power to turn her oxygen on. The Public Works then employees stopped by to place two protective barriers to protect the cord that was running across the street. Other neighbors stored food in their refrigerators – and another neighbor started a generator for a family with frail individuals.

Finally, there was a block party get together and a couple on the block was invited for three years and had never come. But for the third year, they came out. All the neighbors gave them a round of applause. Even the mailman was invited and came to that party. No one is left out.

There are hundreds of other stories as well, such as the villagers helping each other around the holidays, and the neighborhood committee that helps community members connect with each other.

Reprinted with permission from Reader’s Digest. To learn more about GNN’s part in searching for the Top 10 Nicest Places, click here.

Share The Sweet Testimony Of Neighborly Kindness With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by Tina Valentino

Harry and Meghan Donate Royal Wedding Leftovers to Cheer Up Hospice Patients

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Instead of letting their beautiful bouquets go to waste, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle put their floral arrangements to good use.

After the Royal Wedding at Windsor Castle on Saturday, the nuptials donated all of the decorative flowers used in the ceremony to St. Joseph’s Hospice in London.

The facility published a Facebook post featuring one of their delighted patients cradling a bouquet of the donated flowers on Sunday.

LOOK: Prince William Shares Kind Words with Grieving Boy: “It’s okay to miss her.”

“Today we got a very special delivery… beautiful bouquets made from the #royalwedding flowers which we gave to our patients,” says the hospice. “A big thank you to Harry and Meghan and florist Philippa Craddock. Our hospice smells and looks gorgeous. Such a lovely gesture.”

 

The flowers that were used in the ceremony included white garden roses and forget-me-nots, both of which were favorites of the late Princess Diana.

Additionally, Markle – who is now officially the Duchess of Sussex, sent her wedding bouquet to rest on top of the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, which has become a tradition for the Royal Family.

RELATED: Princess Diana’s Mansion to be Rented Out on Weekends to Benefit Orphans

The grave is a memorial to the soldiers who fought and died during World War I and other military conflicts.

“This is a tradition which was begun by HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, at her marriage to King George VI in memory of her brother Fergus who was killed in 1915 at the Battle of Loos during the First World War,” the Abbey said in a press release.

Share The Sweet Gesture With Your Friends – Photo by St. Josheph’s Hospice

World is Encouraged to Ditch Trans Fats By 2023, Thanks to New Plan

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A new initiative launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) has the potential to save millions of lives from the dangers of unhealthy food.

On Monday, WHO outlined a plan that will urge governments around the world to eliminate trans fats from ingredients lists by 2023, which would save roughly 10 million people from preventable deaths.

Industrially-produced trans-fats have long been valued for their inexpensive price tag and resilient shelf life. According to WHO, the ingredient is commonly “found in baked and fried foods (e.g. doughnuts, cookies, crackers and pies), pre-packaged snacks and food, and partially hydrogenated cooking oils and fats which are often used at home, in restaurants, or in the informal sector, such as street vendors.”

Additionally, trans fats have been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which was the number one leading cause of the world’s noncommunicable deaths in 2016.

RELATED: California Becomes First State to Feed Chronically Ill With Specially Prescribed Meals

WHO’s new set of guidelines, which are currently available for public comment until June 1st as they undergo peer review, were created as a means of encouraging international policy makers to pass legislation that will limit trans fat intake for children and adults.

According to The New York Times, the guidelines were created in collaboration with Vital Strategies, a health organization that is backed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who also passed America’s first municipal ban on trans fats in 2006.

“If the world replaces trans fats, people won’t taste the difference, food won’t cost more, but your heart will know the difference,” former New York City health commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden told The Times.

Happiness Is Healthier: So Be Sure To Share The Good News With Your Friends

Couple Discovers Buried Treasure Worth $52,000 in Their Backyard and Returns it All to the Owners

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McKinley Corbley
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Most people tend to associate buried treasure with pirates and fairytales – which is why this New York couple was flabbergasted to find themselves in the possession of a rusty old safe containing roughly $52,000 in cash and valuables.

Additionally, the safe had been sitting in their backyard for years.

Matthew and Maria Colonna-Emanuel of Staten Island had always known that there was a metal box hiding amongst the foliage in their backyard, but they had assumed that it was just an electrical box of some kind.

Recently, the foliage had been chewed away by wildlife, so they hired a landscaper to replace the greenery. It was then that the landscaper found the box, hauled it onto the couple’s porch, and found that it was actually a 100-pound safe.

WATCH: Man Living in a Shack is Saved By His ‘Worthless’ Blanket That Spurs $1.5 Million Bidding War

Matthew and Maria pried the safe door open and were shocked to find that it was filled with cash and priceless gems.

“And there are all these bags with hundreds and jewelry, diamonds, engagement rings, dozens of rings, gold with jade,” Matthew told CBS News. “It was stunning.”

Since the safe’s contents had become smelly and dampened by their years spent in the garden, the couple peeled apart the $100 bills to dry. They then found a piece of paper with their neighbor’s address written on it.

RELATED: An Amazing Story of Synchronicity as Heirloom Ring is Found by Strangers in Time for Marriage Proposal

Matthew went over to their house, knocked on their door, and asked if they had ever been robbed – and they said that they had been.

According to the NYPD, the neighbors had filed a report for a stolen safe back in 2011 that had contained $52,000 in valuables. Officers also told the neighbors that they would most likely never see their property ever again.

Maria and Matthew then gave the safe to their neighbors who were “shaking” with emotion over the return of their nest egg.

CHECK OUT: Fire Forces Man To Sell Good Luck Pearl, Turns Out To Be Worth $100Mil

Though Matthew says that they have not been rewarded for the safe’s return, they say that they are happy enough to enjoy their “good karma” for the deed.

“A couple of people asked us, ‘Why did you return it?’,” Maria told CBS. “It wasn’t even a question. It wasn’t ours.”

(WATCH the video below – or our international viewers can watch the footage on the CBS News website)

Share This Precious Story Of Kindness With Your Friends – Photos by Matthew Emanuel

When Teen Sees Senior Sitting Outside in Hot Sun, He Grabs an Umbrella and Runs to Help

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A young man is going viral for all the right reasons after he shaded a woman from the sun for over an hour and forty-five minutes.

Louis Jordan was picking his mother up from work in downtown Houston, Texas when he saw an older woman named Michelle sitting in a wheelchair waiting for the bus.

While most people would have just kept walking, Louis got an umbrella from his car and spent almost two hours using it to protect Michelle from the sun.

“It was unbearably hot. I wouldn’t want to be out there in the sun,” Louis told KTRK.

LOOK: Youth Melts Internet Hearts, Escorting Fearful Senior Down the Escalator

As they stood there waiting for the bus, Michelle and Louis laughed and chatted until her bus finally arrived. Louis says that they now enjoy each other’s company so much, he grabs his umbrella every time he sees her sitting at the bus stop so they can have a conversation while she waits.

Louis’s mom, Bernette Botts, snapped the photo and posted it to social media where it has since been shared thousands of times.

“I am one proud mama,” Botts said.

(WATCH the video below)

Protect Your Friends From Negativity And Share This Sweet Story To Social Media – Photo by Bernette Botts

“Real generosity toward the future consists in giving all to what is present.” – Albert Camus

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Quote of the Day: “Real generosity toward the future consists in giving all to what is present.” – Albert Camus

Photo: Jeffrey, CC Flickr

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Husband’s Hunch Saves Woman Who Fell Asleep Watching TV (Podcast)

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Hear the incredible story of a pair of coincidences, along with a husband’s hunch, that saved a woman from possible brain damage. Hear The Good News Guru tell the inspiring story (from the May 18, 2018 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5 radio).

READ the full story on Good News Network…

Husband’s Hunch Saves Woman Who Fell Asleep Watching TV

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McKinley Corbley
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LISTEN to this Good News Guru story, broadcast on the radio May 18th with Ellen K and Geri on KOST-103.5. (Subscribe to our new podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean) — or READ the story below…

It was a seemingly normal evening in Cincinnati when Bobbi Byrd fell asleep watching TV with her husband Ron—but it would turn out to be anything but normal.

He heard Bobbi suddenly make a strange sound even though she was asleep—he also heeded a voice telling him to call 911 – and it’s a good thing he did, because Bobbi was suffering a stroke.

As fate would have it, Dr. Andy Ringer was on call that night at TriHealth Good Samaritan Hospital.

As Bobbi was taken into the emergency room, Ron prayed for help.

RELATED: This One Peptide Could Treat MS, Alzheimer’s, Crohn’s, and More

“I’m thinking to myself this isn’t real,” Ron told WKRC. “I said ‘Lord, I know you are here, but I need some reassurance that this is going to be okay.’”

About 20 minutes later, in a strange turn of events, Dr. Ringer came walking in. He said, “‘I’m Andy, your niece’s husband.’”

When the neurosurgeon had earlier seen his patient’s name, he realized that the woman he was about to save was his wife’s aunt whom he’d never met.

Not only that, but Andy is one of just a few surgeons in the country trained to perform a groundbreaking procedure that can reverse the onset of effects from a stroke.

CHECK OUT: Magnetic Brain Treatment Erases Suicidal Thoughts in Huge Portion of Depressed Patients, Study

Using a device called a Stent Retriever, Andy’s team was able to extract the blockage that caused the brain injury and restore the crucial blood flow.

It’s the first advancement in stroke patient care in twenty years—and it is monumental: it’s been likened to the advent of penicillin.

Before that, the disabling blockage almost consistently resulted in paralysis, brain damage, speech problems, or death.

MORE: Alzheimer’s Gene is Neutralized in Human Brain Cells for the First Time

“These procedures reverse otherwise fatal or severely disabling strokes,” said Alexander Khalessi, vice chairman of neurological surgery at University of California San Diego Medical Center. “The magnitude of the advance cannot be overstated.”

Not many people can say they’ve suffered a stroke and emerged to return to their normal lives, but now Bobbie can—thanks to a family member she never knew, and a husband who heeds to his hunches.

Save Your Friends From Negativity And Share The Incredible Story – Photo by Tareq Salahuddin, CC

New Zealand Has Produced Yet Another Amusing PSA Video On Why You Oughta Visit Their Country

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New Zealand has made headlines in the past for their side-splitting public service announcement videos – and their most recent short film is no exception.

As a means of drawing in tourists to their little country, Tourism New Zealand recently produced a viral clip about a dastardly nationwide conspiracy: New Zealand is “disappearing” from world maps.

Comedic actor Rhys Darby and New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern immediately tackle the case so they can investigate exactly why Kiwis are being left off the globe.

WATCH: New Zealand Needs Police Officers– and Their Recruitment Video is Hilariously Compelling

The dynamic duo uncovers several clues as to the country’s disappearance, and they mostly have to do with the jealousy of other nations – from England feeling covetous of their rugby glory to France trying to steal the title for “best wine”.

Regardless, the video’s dry humor is just another example of why more people actually ought to visit New Zealand – but if you need a bit more motivation, Tourism New Zealand also provided ten more reasons why they deserve to be on everyone’s map.

(WATCH the amusing video below)

Remember To Share This Clip With Your Fellow Kiwis – Photo by New Zealand Tourism

Beautiful Moment for Depressed Dog Who Actually Found Closure Saying a Final Goodbye at the Funeral

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It’s amazing what some closure can do for a person – or for a dog.

Sadie, a 13-year-old border collie-dalmatian-shepherd mutt, had been mourning the loss of her best friend and owner who recently passed away from a heart attack.

Sadie had been the man’s loyal companion since he adopted her as an 8-week-old puppy.

The man’s wife, Julie Beaulieu, says that the senior dog had become depressed following the death of her husband. For the ten days following Mr. Beaulieu’s death, Sadie lost ten pounds because she refused to eat.

RELATED: Dying Man Pleads on FB to Find Home For His Dog, the Response is Overwhelming

“She was so distraught and lost. Around 2:30 or three o’clock she’d listen for his truck, she’d go stand at the window and look. She was waiting for him to come home,” she told Global News.

So when Sadie and Julie went to her husband’s memorial service, she invited the dog to say goodbye.

“She hadn’t eaten since he passed, so I thought by letting her see inside the coffin and seeing him there, maybe it was going to give her some closure as it did for me,” she said.

LOOK: Paramedic Crew Goes Out of Their Way to Grant Patient’s Last Wish at the Beach

“I let her stand up and look and she had almost a look of shock on her face. She stood there… and was quite puzzled by it and then she just seemed to relax and just stood there with me.”

The director of the funeral home snapped a photo of the peaceful moment, which Julie now uses as a source of comfort and affection.

As for Sadie, Julie says that the dog went home after the service and ate two full meals – and she has gone back to enjoying her normal routine ever since.

Share This Pawesomely Sweet Story Of Companionship With Your Friends – Photo by Elements Cremation, Pre-planning and Burial

When Elderly Woman Fell Ill, Her 7-Year-old Bestie Began Checking Up On Her 5 Times a Day

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While some youngsters might be outside playing with other kids their age, this 7-year-old boy is ‘going viral’ for his unique friendship with a neighbor.

Young Caleb from Jackson, Tennessee is best friends with an elderly woman who has been fighting breast and lung cancer for the last two years.

The woman’s granddaughter, Darien Middleton, says that, while Caleb has always walked over to see her grandmother in the past, he now visits the woman 5 to 7 times every day after she became sick.

The granddaughter told KTVU’s Frank Somerville, “She refuses to move in with me because she loves her independence and her home.”

RELATED: Grieving Man Can Finally Sleep Again After Girl Reaches Out in Grocery Store

She was so touched by the boy’s devoted friendship, she snapped a photo of the two multi-generational besties sitting on the porch in the sunlight – and the picture has been shared thousands of times.

She also adds that while the rest of the community has made an effort to watch over the senior, Caleb has forged the most significant bond with her ailing grandmother.

MORE: She Wanted to Thank 2 Strangers Who Talked on a Train–Her Note Goes Viral

“They are best friends. Caleb is a stand-out kid who has been handed a difficult situation and he has helped my grandmother through hers.”

“She lights up when she talks about it!” she added. “[And] our families have become so close!”

 

Remember To Share The Sweet Story With Your Friends – Photo by Darien Middleton

“There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.” – Freya Stark

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Quote of the Day: “There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do.” – Freya Stark

Photo: by Evan M I S C H E L L, CC license

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Woman Accidentally Buys the Same Book She Sold 5 Years Ago and Finds Mother’s Last Words

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McKinley Corbley
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It’s been five years since Sarah-Raspberry’s mother committed suicide while in jail—and, while the young woman has mostly healed from the tragedy, she finally found the last bit of closure that she needed when a strange twist of synchronicity brought back one of her mother’s old possessions with a hidden message.

Now 19 years old, Ms. Farmer says that her mother, Christine Sexton, had taken her own life in February 2013 when her addiction to crystal meth led her down a destructive spiral.

“She was a very loving mother,” Farmer told The Dallas News. “A lot of people didn’t see that toward the end.”

Before her suicide, Sexton had already been in and out of prison several times. During her first stint behind bars, she specifically made an effort to reach out to her daughter in a special way.

RELATED: Sudden Urge for a Slurpee Puts Woman in Place to Save Man’s Life

“She was there for 9 months and after she got out, she gave me a bag of books to read,” says Farmer. “Books that might help me get why she was there—or things she thought I would love.

“She would read them and highlight specific passages in pink highlighter. Things she wanted to say to me, but didn’t know how.”

After her mom’s death, Farmer committed to reading every single book – except for one that had flecks of blue paint on the cover and a chewed-up corner.

MORE: Because She Missed her Flight, a Distraught Pregnant Woman Found the Perfect Mom to Adopt Her Baby Boy

It was her mother’s copy of a book called House of Leaves, a complex and unconventional horror story written by Mark Danielewski that is resplendent with weird text formatting and intricately creepy plot lines.

In 2014, Farmer gave up on reading the book and sold it to a book store near her home in Fort Worth, Texas. She thought that would be the end of it…

CONTINUE READING BELOW…

How to Fix Group Photos With Ex-Boyfriends: Replace Him With the Family Cat

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Why remember a wedding with your former lover when you can giggle at the family cat instead?

A kind sister trying to be helpful edited some recent family photos as a means of cheering up her newly-single sibling.

27-year-old Chloe Forsberg of Southampton, England had been in a committed four-year relationship with her boyfriend until she recently broke things off. Unfortunately, her ex was featured prominently in a lot of family photos, particularly some wedding shots.

“My cousin got married and my boyfriend was in all the official pictures,” Forsberg told TODAY. “When we broke up six months (after the wedding), my sister thought it’d be fun to replace him with a picture of my cat.”

RELATED: Ryan Reynolds Schemes With Dumped Teen After She Posts Hilarious Prom Photos

Emily uploaded all the photos into Microsoft Paint and replaced Chloe’s ex with images of Woof.

“I felt a bit bad to have the pictures ruined with photos of him,” says Chloe. “But my sister made me feel a bit better about it.”

The amusing re-dos were so purrrrfectly done, BBC 1 Radio host Greg James retweeted the photos to his 1.6 million followers.

LOOK: Twitter Cracks Up When Dad Accidentally Asks A-List Celebrity to Step Out of His Photo With Matthew Broderick

Social media users were tickled by the DIY photo prank, including Chloe’s ex, who was delighted by the effort.

“We spoke about it and we had a laugh,” Forsberg said. “Some people thought it was a bit of a cruel thing, but he found it funny!”

Be Sure And Share The Pawesome Photos With Your Friends

How a Tinder Hack Led to Thousands of Women Becoming Best Friends Around the World

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McKinley Corbley
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One woman’s compulsion to find fun-loving peers has led to over 100,000 blossoming friendships around the world – and it is already leading to thousands more.

It was a Friday night in 2014 when the woman in question, Elva Carri, wanted to take advantage of the weekend and go out dancing.

But according to her business partner and friend, Aine Mulloy, Carri had to use more unconventional methods of finding platonic dance partners.

Mulloy told Good News Network: “Unfortunately, all her friends and family were either busy or tired, and she didn’t want to go out alone. So she turned to Tinder, which she had been using for dating purposes.

MORE: Sorority Grants World War II Veteran’s Final Wish to Dance with a Beautiful Woman

“She changed her gender settings on the app, so she would appear as a man, and thus would show up to other women on the app.”

Carri then changed her feature photo to a bright pink graphic that explained her predicament to the female users who would see her profile.

CONTINUE READING BELOW…

Former Student Repays School Staff by Surprising Them With Their Own Vacations

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You never know when you are making a difference, inspiring someone to be a better person – moreover, you may be surprised about how they come back to repay you in later years.

The staff at Lindley Elementary School in Greensboro, North Carolina experienced this repayment with gratitude when a former student gifted every employee a well-deserved vacation destination with their family.

RELATED: Humble Waitress Who Sliced Ham for Senior is Rewarded For Her Kindness With Holiday, Scholarship

The anonymous student, who became an adult and launched their own travel agency, donated dozens of travel vouchers that can be redeemed for 7-days of lodging anywhere in the continental US.

The gift is worth roughly $96,000.

When WFMY reported the story, the student’s identity was not revealed, but Lindley Elementary principal Tracy Roof says that surprising the staff with the vouchers was a moment that she “will never, ever forget.”

(WATCH the principal talk about the moment below)

“The life which is unexamined is not worth living.” – Plato

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Quote of the Day: “The life which is unexamined is not worth living.” – Plato

With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?

Marine Raises Thousands for WWII Vet He Met in a Parking Lot

By
McKinley Corbley
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It’s rare to hear about someone who is willing to give thousands of dollars to a total stranger – but that is essentially what Guido Filippone insists on doing for a fellow American hero he just met.

Filippone, a US Marine who served between 2004 and 2008, was attending an appointment at a Veterans Administration Hospital near his home in Pflugerville, Texas when he saw an elderly man walking across the hot parking lot all by himself.

“I immediately approached him, shook his hand and thanked him for service and asked if anyone was coming to pick him up or if he had a ride,” says Filippone.

When the veteran said that he was parked on the other side of the lot – and there was no one around with a golf cart to escort him across – he was content to just use his walker.

LOOK: When a WWII Veteran Couldn’t Walk to His Wife’s Grave, Two Men Carried Him There

“Now, the heat here in Texas is enough to make anyone feel it and today was no different,” says the Marine. “I didn’t feel concerned because we know how tough our WW2 veterans are, but you never know. So, I asked if I could at least walk with him towards his car… and so we did.”

As they walked, the senior said he was a WWII veteran named Mike Gazella who had been stationed in Germany when the war ended.

Gazella then went on to say that he was at the VA because he had $4,000 worth of medical bills that needed to be paid for recent operations.

RELATED: Sorority Grants World War II Veteran’s Final Wish to Dance with a Beautiful Woman

“Medicare covered most of it, but the remnants was up to the VA, and we all know how long that takes,” says Filippone. “As time went on, his medical bills keep coming and he’s trying to work through the red tape.”

“If I had a checkbook, I would have given the money to him right there. I wouldn’t want a World War II vet to move on to the next phase of life in debt,” Filippone told Fox News.

While he did offer to help the veteran while they were in the parking lot, Gazella humbly declined. Filippone, on the other hand, was determined to help, anyway.

WATCH: Veteran Bursts into Tears When Dentist Sees His Teeth and Gives $15K of Work For Free

He created a GoFundMe page with the intention of raising at least $4,000 in seven days – and he donated the first $1,000. Within 48 hours of creating the page, he has already raised over $13,000.

Filippone says that he is now working on tracking down Gazella so he can hand him the check.

“I could have easily just walked away and moved on. It’s nice to give back when you can,” Filippone told Fox. “I always say we already have the Greatest Generation—we should be the better generation. Never miss a chance to thank a veteran.”

Remember To Share The Good News With Your Friends – Photo by Guido Filippone

Young Girl Who Survived Manchester Attack is ‘Speechless’ Over Invite to Royal Wedding -WATCH

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Good News Network
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If anyone deserves to be given the royal treatment, it’s this sweet 12-year-old.

Amelia Thompson was one of the young spectators at the Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester, England last year. After the incident, she started raising money for bombing victims and sought healing through sessions with a therapy horse.

It’s for these reasons that her loving mother secretly nominated Amelia as a potential guest to the Royal Wedding between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at Windsor Castle.

But when she finally got an email saying that Amelia had been invited to the event, neither of them could believe their eyes.

LOOK: Prince William Shares Kind Words with Grieving Boy: “It’s okay to miss her.”

“I started reading it and thought it was fake,” Amelia told CBC. “I was just saying to my mom, ‘“This isn’t real. This can’t be real.’”

Amelisa says that even though she would love to bring her mother as a plus one, she wants to bring Sharon Goodman – a woman who lost her 15-year-old granddaughter in the attack.

Overwhelmed by the exquisite honor, Amelia is now excitedly spending her days thinking about what to wear for the wedding – which is just another thing to help her heal from the past.

MORE: Princess Diana’s Mansion to be Rented Out on Weekends to Benefit Orphans

Not only that, but Amelia says that she has been especially inspired by Prince Harry’s noble example of coping with grief since he lost his mother, Princess Diana, in a car crash when he was young.

“He was open about his mum, which is why it kind of made me feel a bit more open about my feelings and how I might feel in life after the bombing.”

(WATCH the sweet video below)

Say ‘I Do’, and Share The Heartwarming News With Your Friends – Image via BBC video screenshot

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