Robin Williams’ Compassion Lives On Through Son’s Service in Prisons

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Aug 11, 2015

A year after Robin Williams’ death, his son Zak is carrying on the comedian’s legacy of humanitarian service.

The actor’s oldest child is using his business education to teach prison inmates how to manage their finances after they’re released.

Zak Williams, by his own estimate, could have coasted through life, riding on the wealth of his famous father. Instead, he wanted to “take pride and joy” in his work, using his MBA degree from Columbia to give something back.

To do that, the 32-year-old started teaching a finance class at California’s San Quentin Prison last October.

Williams teaches the weekly course alongside one of the inmates, Curtis Carroll, whose prison nickname is “Wall Street” because he has studied stocks and predicts which ones will do well. Their course teaches inmates how to write resumes, look for a job, manage finances, and plan for retirement. Williams hopes to develop the program into one that will work outside prison, expanding it to low-income neighborhoods.

MORE: Michael J. Fox Climbs North Dakota Mountain to Fund Parkinson’s Research

“It’s not hard to be compassionate,” Williams told TODAY.

Robin Williams once told a forum on Reddit: “My children give me a great sense of wonder. Just to see them develop into these extraordinary human beings.”

Photos: Eva Rinaldi, CC; and Twitter, @zakwilliams

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California Restores Voting Rights for 60,000 Former Felons

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Terry Turner

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Aug 11, 2015

A court settlement has just given 60,000 felony offenders the right to vote again in California.

They all committed low-level offenses and were released, placed under community supervision to ease prison overcrowding. They never regained their right to vote and a lawsuit was filed on their behalf to get those voting rights back.

A Superior Court Judge agreed back in May saying the idea of the community supervision sentence “was to reintroduce felons into the community, which is consistent with restoring their right to vote.” After initially appealing the case, the state agreed to a settlement last week.

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California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said, “If we are serious about slowing the revolving door at our jails and prisons, and serious about reducing recidivism, we need to engage—not shun—former offenders.”

Inmates Grow Along With the Gardens They Tend Behind Bars

The Sentencing Project says roughly six million Americans are not allowed to vote because of criminal convictions in their past. A bill before Congress and a possible referendum in Florida may restore voting rights to thousands more ex-offenders who’ve completed their sentences.

(READ more at Mother Jones) — Photo: FutUndBeidl, CC

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Stranger Pays Unpaid Court Fines to Break Cycle of Jail for Ex-Con

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Terry Turner

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Aug 11, 2015

A good Samaritan has volunteered to pay off a former convict’s debt to the court — long after the man had finished paying his debt to society.

Shaunte “Tay” Rowe had been struggling for 11 years to pay off $4,700 in court fees and restitution in Spokane, Washington. After reading a news article about his plight, a stranger paid off the remaining $1,200 owed by Rowe.

It can be hard for an ex-offender to find a steady job, and Rowe has been sent to jail four times because he didn’t have enough money to make payments. While in jail, Rowe can’t earn the money needed to pay off his debt to the court, plus he runs up more fees — with the 12% interest rate.

Hundreds of Strangers Help Innocent Man After 24 Years in Prison

Jim Moses, an Arizona archaeologist and owner of Antigua Archaeology, LLC, told Good News Network he decided to help immediately after reading about Rowe’s struggle to gain a fresh start.

“The thought of charging released felons 12% interest on their administrative costs is appalling,” he said in an email today. “These people do their time… and then struggle to re-enter the world while laboring under an oppressive interest rate in an era of near 0% interest from the Federal Reserve. It is a horrible practice that must end.”

Moses believes debt is the biggest cause of economic inequality and thought helping Rowe would finally allow him a chance to start a new life.

The archeologist has not spoken or communicated with Mr. Rowe, yet, but said he may try to contact him to say hello.

SEE More Inspiring Stories About Ex-Offenders

(READ the full story at Aljazeera America) Story tip: Gal Adam Spinrad – Photo submitted, and Facebook

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Mom Starts Dog Treat Biz So Special Needs Adults Can Bake for Bucks

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Good News Network

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Aug 11, 2015

The chefs at this local Greensboro, North Carolina kitchen only work with a few ingredients: peanut butter, oats, oil, flour…and, of course, love.

Pat Clapp started ArcBARKS Dog Treat Company as a way to help her son, David, and other special needs adults find a fulfilling way to spend their time.

David has Down Syndrome, and Clapp says that opportunities for him are few, and far between, in their community.

“One of my chefs told me, ‘If ArcBARKS wasn’t here, I’d be sitting at home like a couch potato right now,’” said Clapp. “We have fun every single day, and the pickiest of picky dogs eat our treats.”

All of the 18 ArcBARKS chefs may have development disabilities, but it’s not even close to being a setback for the amateur treat chefs who hand-craft these natural, locally sourced biscuits.

Their treats are distributed at nearly 150 locations across North and South Carolina from grocery stores to animal hospitals.

ArcBARKS also prepares the young adults for careers outside of the treat-making business, training them in the art of collaborations, sales, customer service, and eye-contact.

Happiness, confidence, and acceptance are also amazing by-products of their work.

The company gets help from Arc of Greensboro, whose mission is to create opportunities for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Find out how to buy the treats, here.

(WATCH the video below from WFMY) Photos: ArcBARKS Facebook

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Photographer Finds Estranged Father While Documenting Homelessness

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Terry Turner

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Aug 11, 2015

A photographer documenting Hawaii’s homeless stumbled upon someone she never expected to see among them — her dad.

Diana Kim’s father had owned a photography studio when she was a little girl, and she grew up with a deep interest in the art form. Her parents separated when she was five and her father grew more distant until she lost touch with him completely.

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Kim began documenting Honolulu’s homeless in 2003 as a student and has been doing it ever since. One day in 2012, she spotted her father among the people she was photographing. She tried talking to him, but he wouldn’t respond. Kim kept trying to engage him in conversation for a year-and-a-half, but was unable to get him to make eye contact.

She documented their encounters in photos, and, when it seemed darkest, her father turned a corner and Kim was finally able to enroll him in mental health care.

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“Our paths crossed for whatever reason,” Kim told NBC News, “And I truly believe it was because we were truly meant to help each other and grow together.”

While the pictures from her father’s homeless days are stark black and white images, today, the pictures are in bright color, and imbued with smiling faces.

(WATCH the NBC News video and READ more at NBC News) – Photo: NBC News video

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Son Builds A ‘Tank’ Wheelchair to Delight His WWII Veteran Dad (WATCH)

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Linda Hernandez

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Aug 11, 2015

A World War II veteran who came under enemy fire by German tanks in the 1940’s now has his own tank-like transportation – his wheelchair.

It had become tough for Peter Shaw to push his 96-year-old father’s wheelchair around the grounds of his Shropshire home in the UK, so he decided to invent something a little more hardcore.

With the help of locals who donated the materials and a local welder, Eddie Shaw’s son adapted a motorized wheelbarrow and a van seat to resemble an armored tank – complete with caterpillar tracks.

The all-terrain wheelchair took about 30 hours to build, and can reach speeds of up to 8 miles per hour.

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The elder Shaw, who served as a Sergeant with 918 General Transport Company in the 8th British Army Division during World War II, told The Daily Mail, “It brings backs memories of the war. I came under fire from tanks but never got to drive one – now I finally can.”

Typical wheelchairs offer limited mobility on unstable terrain, but that’s no longer an issue for this father-son duo, who plan on test-driving the custom wheelchair on trips to the beach.

Until then, Eddie is happily cruising around the English countryside.

(WATCH the video below and READ more at Daily Mail) – Photo: Daily Mail video

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Bulletproof, Fireproof, Eco-friendly Homes Are Made of Plastic Bottles

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Terry Turner

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Aug 10, 2015

People from Africa to Latin America are recycling bottles and using them to build fireproof, bulletproof, environmentally-friendly homes.

For about a quarter the cost of a conventional home, folks can build a two-bedroom house from 14,000 recycled plastic bottles by using the technique known as “bottle walls.”

The idea addresses both homelessness and pollution at the same time. Nigeria, for instance, has a housing shortage — 16 million people are homeless — and they have no manageable way to deal with plastic waste piling up across the country.

Nigerians have been getting help from Ecotec Environmental Solutions, a German firm since 2011, which is teaching them how to build with this model.

The bottles are filled with sand and stacked on their sides using cement filling frames to create solid walls – a foot or more thick – that insulate and protect the people inside.

The video below shows how the U.S. Peace Corps has been using a similar method to build houses in Guatemala with discarded bottles.

(WATCH the Peace Corps video below and READ more at The Plaid Zebra) — Photo: Andreas Froese, Facebook

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4 Year-old Advertises to be Flower Girl and Lands a Wedding at Courthouse

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Terry Turner

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Aug 10, 2015

A four-year-old girl made a wish and her mom devised a brilliant plan to make it come true. It would involve a fancy dress, a basket of flowers, and a sign that read: “Can I be your flower girl?”

Don’t worry. Her mother didn’t suggest she stand in the streets–not this clever parent.

Annabelle whispered her wish to Yoko Ono’s “Wishing Tree” at the Smithsonian Institution’s sculpture garden earlier this year. When her mother, Kim Earl, asked what it was, Annabelle told her it was to be a flower girl in a wedding.

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The problem was that none of her parents’ friends or relatives were planning weddings anytime soon, but Kim hit on an idea when the family got home to New York.

She took Annabelle to the City Clerk’s office all dressed up with a basket of flowers and the sign volunteering the little girl’s services for a quick wedding service.

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About 20,000 people pay $25 for a no-frills wedding at the clerk’s office every year, so Mom figured the odds were in their favor that someone would agree to help Annabelle out. They did — on just the second try — and Annabelle’s wish came true.

Annabelle even got a slice of wedding cake afterwards.

(WATCH the video and READ more at TODAY) – Story tip from Lindsay Murray

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Arizona City Mandates All Dogs Sold in Pet Stores Will Come From Shelters

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Terry Turner

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Aug 10, 2015

For the longest time, rescue groups, shelter volunteers, and animal lovers everywhere have hoped the day would come when pet stores would sell shelter pups exclusively, as a way to cut the profit from “puppy mills”.

Last week a federal judge in Phoenix, Arizona upheld a city law requiring that all dogs sold in pet stores come from shelters.

Photo of Shelter Pups Hugging Lands Them Home Together, Just In Time

Phoenix is one of about 60 cities in the U.S. that have similar laws designed to put an end to puppy mills by driving potential pet buyers toward homeless animals and reputable breeders.

An estimated 23,000 dogs are sold in Phoenix area pet stores every year, and shelter dogs can spend months or even years waiting for adoption.

Laws like the one in Phoenix are believed to cut that wait time and end overcrowding in animal shelters.

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“We have so many dogs in Arizona that need homes, we don’t need to import them,” Phoenix City Councilwoman Thelda Williams, who helped champion the ordinance, told the Arizona Republic.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, The Pets Plus Natural pet store chain announced that, after being approached by the Humane Society of the United States’ Stop Puppy Mills Campaign, they will be converting all of their stores by December of this year.

The chain’s store in Bensalem, Pennsylvania converted and hosted a grand reopening on August 8.

(READ more at the Phoenix Business Journal) – Photo: pocketwiley, CC

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Elderly Man’s Home is Repainted by Strangers After Kids Make Fun Of It

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Good News Network

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Aug 10, 2015

Leonard Bullock is one of those guys who sits on his porch every day. And a railroad track inspector named Josh Cyganik has made it a point to wave to the 75-year-old every day for four years.

Josh and his fellow workers begin every day in the railroad yard across the street from Leonard’s run-down home in Pendleton, Oregon.

One day last month, Josh overhead some kids making rude remarks about how the house should just “be burned down” because it was in such bad shape. Leonard overhead them, too, and looked visibly hurt.

SEE More Headlines About Community Kindness in Good News – Community

Determined to erase that hurt with something positive, Josh asked a few fellow railroaders to help out. He also asked his friend, Brian Christensen, manager of Tum-a-Lum lumber, if he could donate some paint and supplies. They were all happy to help–and when Josh asked Leonard if it would be alright to paint his house, “he was ecstatic.”

Worried he wouldn’t have enough helping hands with only a week’s notice, Josh posted his plea on Facebook. “The post blew up like wildfire,” and was shared more than 6,000 times.

One week later, more than 100 people showed up to help paint, and others sent donations of money, food and drinks.

Starbucks even sent the crew water and iced tea.

“It was a random act of kindness, but to me it’s more about respect,” Josh said. “I was raised to respect the people who came before you, to help others out who don’t have much. Leonard can now sit on his front porch for the rest of his years while feeling good about his home.”

Thanks to more donations from Tum-a-Lum Lumber, construction of a new porch is underway. Volunteers have purchased new outdoor furniture, and–because the retired fork-lift driver doesn’t have the funds for a new roof–Josh is looking for a company willing to donate time to complete the renovation.

Photos courtesy of Union Pacific

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Stranger Works for Decades to Return Family’s Purple Heart Found in Trash

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Terry Turner

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Aug 10, 2015

Tech Sergeant Wiljo Matalamaki never came home from World War II, but a medal recognizing his sacrifice made an incredible journey after it disappeared 49 years ago and finally–after decades of research by a compassionate stranger– made its way back to his family.

Matalamaki received his Purple Heart—a medal given to American service members killed or wounded in combat—after his bomber was shot down over Europe in 1944. None of the crew were ever found.

His family held onto the Purple Heart as a prized reminder of his life and heroism, but after his mother died in 1966 the medal disappeared. No one in the family could find it.

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30 years later, a woman aptly named Tami Heart was digging through a dump and found the medal, still in its case, tucked into a box of old clothes. Matalamaki’s name was engraved on the back, and a neighbor realized Heart’s own mother was living in the very cabin where the soldier grew up.

Heart spent more than 20 years trying to find the owners, doing everything from researching the airman and his family, tracking down his headstone, and taking the medal to veterans’ events in hopes of returning the medal to its owner.

When Heart’s mother died, she actually moved into the old Matalamaki cabin.

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Heart had lived there for ten years before a knock at the door came from people who were visiting old family landmarks and wanted to stop by the old cabin. It was the Matalamaki family.

After Heart’s decades-long search, she had a hard time letting go of the bond she’d formed with a young man she’d never met, but she knew it was time to “turn him over.”

The Purple Heart was formally presented to the family in a ceremony Sunday at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.

(WATCH the WCCO video below or READ more at the Star Tribune) Photo by oregonmildep, CC

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Swipe Right For Unconditional Love: App Pairs You With Adoptable Pets

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Good News Network

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Aug 10, 2015

Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew that whoever you “swiped right” for would love you back, unconditionally?

With the new AllPaws app, that nicety is a reality.

The app, available for iPhone and iPad, helps prospective pet owners filter through adoptable pups and kittens in shelters across the U.S. and Canada to help find their perfect match. For those who don’t use Apple, the main website serves the same purpose.

Darrell Lerner, the app’s founder, describes it as “Very Tinder-like in its interface,” allowing people to swipe easily and quickly through photos and profile details and to easily share the profile on Facebook. They can also contact the shelter directly to inquire about a possible match.

The idea to create AllPaws came after Lerner and his brother founded the development firm Snap Interactive, the parent company of human dating app AreYouInterested. A coworker was trying to find an adoptable dog of her own.

“I said, ‘We can rebuild the same product we’ve spent two years working on–and build a much better version,’” Lerner said.

A Whopping 5,200 Shelter Pets Were Adopted in One Weekend Event

Adopt-A-Pet and PetFinder are currently the most popular national online search engines, but AllPaws, says Lerner, uses a more modern perspective by utilizing more visible profile characteristics, and a deeper social integration.

They also take a more mobile direction—half of their traffic comes from iPhones and iPads.

While it’s difficult to track adoption rates because they happen “offline,” Lerner can verify that thousands of matches have already been made since the app’s hard launch last October.

The website has topped 500,000 visits per month, 335,000 registered users and displays 204,957 available pets.

“We’ve heard from a number of shelters and rescues that we drive a lot of adoptions to them. They love that we offer a custom Facebook tab which they can run for free to display adoptable pets. So far 500 shelters have installed it.”

Photos: All Paws Facebook

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National S’mores Day: Animal Activists Now Have Vegan Marshmallows

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Good News Network

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Aug 10, 2015

Vegans now have a gelatin-free marshmallow to celebrate with on National S’mores Day.

Besides being vegan, Dandies are the first non-GMO verified marshmallows on the market, and are produced in a facility free of dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree-nuts, and, of course, gelatin.

They are also free of artificial ingredients, high fructose corn syrup, and grains.

Plus, Dandies Vegan Marshmallows come in packaging so retro and cute you just have to squeeze it.

The manufacturer, Chicago Vegan Foods, has put together some “next level” S’mores recipes as well.

“We’re making products smarter and more humanely,” said Chicago Vegan Foods founder Dan Ziegler, who hopes the company will become a new avenue for people to understand and support animal rights.

If you’re not near a Whole Foods, you might have trouble finding these marshmallows, which are fluffier than traditional ones. But with that sweet little bow-tie wearing dude on the package—you might want to just order online.

Oh, and if you’re craving pumpkin-everything for fall, they’ve got you covered with a new variety—keep your eyes peeled for them this October.

CHECK Out More Inspiring Food Stories Here

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Astronaut Reveals His 1969 Customs Form: Places Visited – “Moon”

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Terry Turner

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Aug 9, 2015

46 years after men first walked on the moon, we are reminded that while rocket fuel powered the Apollo 11 spacecraft, governments still run on paperwork.

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, still has the US Customs form from his return trip back to Earth and recently shared it on Twitter.

You have to smile at how “Moon” was dropped into his “Places visited on route” as if it were no big deal. “Moon rocks and moon dust” were also listed as items to declare.

Aldrin also turned in a travel voucher for $33.31 when he returned to earth. Most of his expenses were for car trips to and from airports and driving around the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Posted by Buzz Aldrin on Thursday, July 30, 2015

At the bottom of the Customs form it asks traveler to list “Any other condition on board which may lead to the spread of disease,” which the astronauts ominously answered: “To be determined.”

(READ more at the Financial Express) – Photo from Buzz Aldrin via Twitter

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Frances Kelsey: Hero Who Saved a Nation From Thalidomide (1914-2015)

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Good News Network

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Aug 9, 2015

Tributes are hailing Frances Kelsey as a hero after her death at the age of 101 on Friday.

The Canadian pharmacologist fought tenaciously in the 1960s as a medical officer for the Food and Drug Administration to keep the crippling drug thalidomide out of the U.S. market.

The drug was being used in Europe and other countries to treat morning sickness and insomnia in pregnant women, but hundreds of children were being born with horrible birth defects as a result.

Kelsey was the second woman to be awarded the President’s Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service by President John F. Kennedy.

(READ the obituary in the Washington Post) – Photo from FDA

Comfortable High Heels For Women Designed by Orthopedic Nurse

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Good News Network

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Aug 9, 2015

Uncomfortable high heels in your closet may soon get the boot, once you’ve seen the innovative shoes by an orthopedic nurse turned Italian shoe designer.

The defining step came for Julie Lopez at her daughter’s wedding when her feet, which have bunions, hurt so much she ended up going barefoot during the reception.

Hand crafted in Italy, her Julie Lopez Shoes are wider in the fore-foot but still look great. She added padding, got rid of interior seams that press on toes, and added tiny slits in the sides that offer a bit of expansion that she calls Flex Innovation Technology.

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“In the process of creating a heel that looks and feels great on the feet of women with bunions, we inadvertently got a comfortable, fashionable heel for all women!” said Julie’s daughter Erin, on the company blog.

Their product lines are sold online only, to keep retail markups from driving the cost well over the $250-$300 they wanted to charge for the hand-made Italian shoes.

(WATCH the video below from NBC News) Story tip from Carilyn

Carbon Pollution From U.S. Power Plants Hits 27-Year Low

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Good News Network

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Aug 9, 2015

Electric power plants in the US spewed 128 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in April 2015, the lowest for any month since April 1988, according a government report.

The US Energy Information Administration said renewable energy generation increased by 2% in the first quarter, over the same period in 2014.

Comparing the 27-year period between April 1988 and April 2015, natural gas consumption more than tripled and renewable energy consumption more than doubled, while coal consumption decreased 17%.

(READ the AP report via MSNBC) Photo by Why 137, CC license – Story tip from Carilyn

Denver Police Rewarding Law-abiding Citizens with Free Pizza

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Good News Network

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Aug 9, 2015

Who doesn’t appreciate a pat on the back, now and then? In that spirit, the Denver Police Department launched an initiative aimed at acknowledging people and rewarding them with pizza gift cards for their courteous actions, for helping others and for obeying the law.

On July 29, patrol officers downtown began giving out 500 vouchers that say, “You Got Caught Doing Something Right.”

The cards were given out to people who were using trash bins rather than littering, obeying walk signals at traffic lights and walking their bikes in busy pedestrian malls.

(WATCH the video below from the Denver PD, or READ more at Fox News) –Story tip from Peggy

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From Chemo Chair Man Raises $74K Tweeting for Stem Cell Charity

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Sheila Key

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Aug 8, 2015

John Underwood knew he might someday need a bone-marrow transplant.

Diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, Underwood said that his best shot at an eventual recovery will “probably” rest with an organization whose mission is to recruit people willing to donate some of their stem cells.

So, as he sat down for his first chemotherapy treatment last month, he decided to do a little fundraising for the UK charity, Anthony Nolan. While still connected to the IV drip, Underwood constructed a JustGiving page, setting a modest goal of £1,000 and tweeting the link to his 1,934 followers.

Stem cells are the most omnipotent of human cells and literally the lifeblood for such patients. But, as amazing as stem cells are, they are like other human tissue when it comes to transplantation: there needs to be a good match between donor and patient. The bigger the donor pool, the better your chances of finding a match.

Michael J. Fox Climbs North Dakota Mountain to Fund Parkinson’s Research

Within an hour he had reached his goal and by the day’s end he was declaring himself “pretty solidly chuffed” that donations had swelled past £16,400 with donations from over 650 people.

“And every person who has chipped in… is properly saving lives. 166 new funded donors, right there,” Underwood tweeted, citing an estimate from Anthony Nolan that it spends about £100 for each stem-cell donor it recruits.

Underwood’s JustGiving total has now passed £48,000 because of the generosity of more than two thousand strangers and friends.

Photo: John Underwood on Twitter

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Record Number of Tourists Flocking to Greece Provide Needed Cash

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Good News Network

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Aug 8, 2015

Despite the economic crisis in Greece that brought it to the brink of leaving the Euro–or perhaps because of it, in a show of support–millions of tourists are flocking to Athens providing a needed boost for local businesses.

Aegean Airlines, Greece’s largest airline, told Reuters that passenger traffic was up 19 percent in July compared with the same month last year.

The country’s economy ministry estimates that arrivals this year could total around 25 million, about four million more than last year.

(READ the full report from Reuters)