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Teen Employee Awarded $40k Scholarship From Taco Bell So She Can Become a Doctor

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Good News Network
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Crimsyn Price with co-worker at Taco Bell - SWNS
Crimsyn Price with co-worker at Taco Bell – SWNS

A young woman has received $40,000 in scholarship funding from Taco Bell after working there during high school.

Crimsyn Price applied for a Taco Bell scholarship for workers, and was awarded $10k during each of the first four years of her undergraduate studies.

Funding from the Mexican restaurant chain made it possible for her to study Biology and Health Sciences at East Tennessee State University—allowing her to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.

The student from Athens, Tennessee, said she was “shocked” to be one of the lucky recipients of the college grants.

“I really wasn’t expecting it. I come from a rural town and a lot of people there don’t have the money for college, so I am very grateful for the opportunity.

“It has been such a major help in my ambition to become a doctor,” she told SWNS news agency.

“It certainly wasn’t something I thought was going to happen when I started working at Taco Bell at 16.”

Crimsyn worked at Taco Bell during her last two years of high school to help her mother pay the bills and was thrilled to learn that the only steps needed for the scholarship application were her academic records and a two-minute video explaining how the funds would help.

GREAT NEWS: Harvard Tuition is Now Free for Families Earning Under $200k–Includes Housing and Books for Those Below $100k

Crimsyn Price gets scholarship money from Taco Bell – SWNS

“Most other scholarship applications I had seen at that point required a lot more work and time than the Live Más scholarship. I think I ended up doing about 50 takes of the video before just deciding to go for it.”

A few months later, her supervisor’s boss, the regional manager, came to her store to announce the results.

“It felt like a really special moment.”

Soon, Crimsyn was accepted into the Honors Scholars Program at the University, meaning she received further funding from the college.

“The money also facilitated me being able to do unpaid internships during my degree, to prioritize my education over a part time job.”

FINANCIAL AID SUPERSTAR: Diligent Planning Sees Teen Accepted into 231 Schools, Winning $14.7 Million in Scholarships–Here’s Some Advice

Since entering college, Crimsyn was able to join an international excursion to Ecuador, where she assisted doctors and graduate students in providing medical care to people.

“It was such a dream to have these experiences. They reminded me why I wanted to be a doctor.

“Our team was able to assist 400-500 patients in that time from rural villages near Quito.

“None of it would have been possible without the Live Más scholarship for Taco Bell employees.”

FREE RIDE TO COLLEGE: After 8th Grader Walked to Graduation, an NFL Star and University Team-Up to Give Him a Ride to College

To mark the 10th anniversary of its Live Más Scholarship, the Taco Bell Foundation just announced it’s investing a record $14 million in passion-driven students across the country – including $4.5 million for Taco Bell restaurant Team Members, the largest team-focused distribution to date.

Crimsyn is now determined to crush her MCAT testing and get accepted into her ideal medical school—with plans to focus on the importance of communication accessibility for the deaf in local clinics.

SHARE The Opportunity With Taco Bell Employees On Social Media…

How Much Goodness Can $20 Buy? Teacher Gives Cash to Students in Annual ‘Kindness Challenge’ to Honor Sister

By
Nathan Frederick
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Courtesy of Pennsylvania English teacher Kristina Ulmer
Courtesy of Pennsylvania English teacher Kristina Ulmer

It all started with heartbreak and $100 in tips, when in 2014 Kristina Ulmer’s sister headed home with the cash earned from her breakfast tables, but never made it due to a car crash.

Because Katie was always concerned about struggling folks who were less fortunate, Kristina decided to turn the $100 from her sister’s tips into a fitting memorial that would brighten the world–just like her sister always did.

“I knew I had to do something worthwhile with it,” said Kristina, a ninth-grade English teacher near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“I had this really amazing group of students in front of me, and we were reading a dystopian novel, Fahrenheit 451,” Kristin told CBC Radio. “And in the novel, everyone’s obsessed with their screens. They walk around with earbuds in all day long (and) they lack empathy toward each other.”

It was that day, several years after her sister’s death, that she got an idea. Everyone needed a reminder about the importance of being interconnected and the value of helping each other along the way.

So the Hatboro-Horsham District teacher took the $100 she’d been saving from her sister’s purse, added a little more to it, and directed her students to go out into the world with a mission: Do something kind and make a video about it.

Her ‘Kindness Challenge’ has since attracted over $7,000 in donations—enough to sustain it for six straight years. And, it’s created more than 350 acts of kindness—each one unique.

Courtesy of the Hatboro-Horsham School District

A small Christmas tree for a shut-in elderly couple. Hygiene bags for the homeless. A Lego set bought for a random little boy at Walmart. Holiday cards for residents at a veterans home. Fresh cupcakes for teachers. A crate of toys for the dogs and cats living at a local shelter.

One student sewed hats for premature babies. Another has participated in the Kindness Challenge five times – even though she left Kristina’s class long ago.

“The first time I participated in the challenge, I didn’t think it would be possible to make a difference with $20, but I learned that’s really not true,” a student named Sydney told CBC. “You don’t have to have millions – anyone can make a difference.”

Every year, new acts of kindness move Kristina to tears as she combines the videos into a montage that shares the story of her sister, along with the magic created by her students with their $20 bills.

LOOK: Third Grade Teacher Crocheted Mini Versions of Every Student in Her Class for End-of-Year Gift

Hatboro-Horsham School District

“Everything that comes out of those kids’ mouths as they are sharing what they did and what they learned is my sister speaking,” Kristina said in a video by ABC-6. “She’s been gone 10 years now, but her spirit has lived on through all the things people are doing in her honor.”

EMPATHY GALORE: 81-year-old Waitress Couldn’t Retire, so a Stranger Raised Over $300K for Her

“They now understand the impact that something like a small act of kindness could do.”

It all started with $100 in tips—a legacy that’s not going to end anytime soon.

WATCH the ABC News video below—or a longer video of six years of kindness…

VIEW ANOTHER ONE…

SHARE THE INSPIRATION WITH TEACHERS On Social Media…

Your Weekly Horoscope – ‘Free Will Astrology’ by Rob Brezsny

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Good News Network
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Our partner Rob Brezsny, who has a new book out, Astrology Is Real: Revelations from My Life as an Oracle, provides his weekly wisdom to enlighten our thinking and motivate our mood. Rob’s Free Will Astrology, is a syndicated weekly column appearing in over a hundred publications. He is also the author of Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How All of Creation Is Conspiring To Shower You with Blessings. (A free preview of the book is available here.)

Here is your weekly horoscope…

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY – Week of April 26, 2025
Copyright by Rob Brezsny, FreeWillAstrology.com

TAURUS (April 20-May 20):
You can’t see or hold the wind, though you can feel its force and observe its effects. It scatters some seeds far and wide, dispersing them to grow in unexpected places. When harnessed by turbines, the wind is a renewable energy source. It can be utilized to pump water and fuel telecommunications equipment. Winds influence daily weather by transporting water and heat. I have summarized wind’s qualities because I see this upcoming phase of your cycle as being wind-like, Taurus. You won’t necessarily have to be vivid and obvious to spread your influence. You will be able to work behind the scenes in potent ways. Who knows where your seeds will land and germinate? There will be surprises.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
The Earth’s first big ecological crisis happened 2.5 billion years ago. Ancient bacteria became a successful life form. They proliferated. The only problem was, they produced an abundance of oxygen, which was toxic to all the other existing life forms at that time. And yet that bump in evolution was ultimately essential in the rise of complex organisms that thrive on oxygen, like us. We wouldn’t be here today without bacteria’s initially problematic intervention. Nothing as monumentally major or epic will occur for you in the coming weeks, Gemini. But I do suspect that what may initially seem disruptive could ultimately generate positive outcomes. I hope you prime yourself to transform challenging situations into opportunities for growth. For best results, set aside your fixed beliefs about what’s necessary for maximum progress.

CANCER (June 21-July 22):
From the 17th through the 19th centuries, Paris was famous for its salons. There, artists, writers, and big thinkers assembled to exchange ideas and inspire each other. The salons were often orchestrated by illustrious, educated women in their private homes. They were hotbeds of networking and cultural innovation. Listening and learning were key elements. Now would be an excellent time for you to organize, host, or encourage similar gatherings, Cancerian. You have extra power to facilitate the stellar socializing that generates zesty connections and spreads invigorating influences.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22):
Harriet Tubman (1822–1913) was one of the bravest Americans who ever lived. After escaping enslavement, she heroically returned to other southern plantations many times to help free enslaved people. To accomplish her miraculous rescues, she relied in part on her dreams and visions—what she called divine guidance—to navigate through challenging situations. I suspect you will soon have access to similar assets: extraordinary courage and help from unusual or even supernatural sources. Use these gifts wisely, Leo!

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22):
The nations of planet Earth launched 263 space flights in 2024 and are on track for over 300 in 2025. Most of the satellites and spacecraft are devoted to scientific research. A relatively small proportion is dedicated to communication, navigation, and military uses. I would love for you to have an equally high level of exploratory and experimental energy in the coming weeks, Virgo. You will align yourself with cosmic rhythms if you spend more time than usual exploring the frontiers. It’s time to expand and extend yourself!

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22):
What’s the oldest living organism on Earth? It’s a bristlecone pine tree nicknamed “Methuselah.” Almost 4,800 years old, it resides somewhere in California’s White Mountains, though its precise location is kept secret to protect it. In the spirit of shielding and nurturing valuable things, I urge you to consider maintaining similar safeguards in the coming weeks. Like Methuselah, your precious processes and creations might thrive best when allowed to grow free from undue attention. You may benefit from maintaining privacy and silence about certain matters as they develop.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21):
I love to gaze out my office window at Gallinas Creek during high tide. At certain interludes, the water is perfectly still. It almost perfectly reflects the sky in every detail, with all its clouds, birds, and hues of blue. My conscious mind knows the difference between the real sky and reflected sky, but my eyes can’t discern. That’s a helpful metaphor for all of us all the time, and especially for you in the coming weeks. It will be crucial for you to maintain an acute awareness of what’s genuine and what’s illusory.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21):
Sagittarian anthropologist Margaret Mead (1901-1978) revolutionized her field. She didn’t study other cultures from a distance with a detached scientific perspective. Instead, she learned their languages and immersed herself in their daily lives. So she earned the intimate understanding to conclude, “What people say, what people do, and what they say they do are entirely different things.” This is a crucial principle for you right now. You must directly observe people’s actions rather than simply believing what they say about themselves—or what others say about them. You must look beyond surface declarations to understand the deeper rhythms and patterns. Be a devoted participant, not an uninvolved judge.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19):
Capricorn mystic Alan Watts wrote The Book: On the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are. He proposed that each of us is far more glorious than our separate, isolated egos. It’s difficult to come to this understanding, however, since our culture conspires to hide it from us. That’s the bad news. The good news, Capricorn, is that you will have an unprecedented chance to partly shatter this taboo in the coming weeks. I have high hopes that you will discover deep truths about yourself that have previously been unavailable.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18):
Beginning in 1946, Bedouins exploring caves near the Dead Sea discovered an immense trove of ancient documents written on parchment. These manuscripts provided many new revelations into early Christianity, Biblical texts, and the history and culture of Judaism. I suspect that in the coming weeks, you may experience a metaphorical equivalent of this breakthrough and unveiling. To prepare, meditate on these questions: 1. What mysterious parts of your life story would you like to have illuminated? 2. About which aspects of your past would you like to receive new truths? 3. Is there anything missing in your understanding of who you really are?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20):
White light enters a glass prism and is translated on the other side into a rainbow of colors. That’s because each color rides its own wavelength, even while seamlessly blended in the white light, and then gets bent differently by the prism. The magic of the prism is that it reveals the hidden spectrum within, the latent diversity contained within the apparently monolithic beam of white light. In the coming weeks, Pisces, I predict that you will be like a prism, bringing out vibrancy in situations or relationships that may seem nondescript or mundane at first glance. Your ability to discern and appreciate multiple perspectives will enable you to create an intriguing kind of harmony. You will have the power to notice and reveal beauty that has been veiled or unnoticed.

ARIES (March 21-April 19):
Aries filmmaker Akira Kurosawa devoted meticulous attention to weather conditions. He would postpone shooting a particular scene for days, waiting for the influx of the exact right blend of wind, clouds, or precipitation to create the ideal ambiance. I recommend you adopt his patient sense of timing in the coming weeks, Aries. While you typically prefer direct action, now is a favorable phase to coordinate your desire to get what you need with life’s changing conditions. What advantages might you gain by waiting for the perfect moments to arrive?

WANT MORE? Listen to Rob’s EXPANDED AUDIO HOROSCOPES, 4-5 minute meditations on the current state of your destiny — or subscribe to his unique daily text message service at: RealAstrology.com

(Zodiac images by Numerologysign.com, CC license)

SHARE The Wisdom With Friends Who Are Stars in Your Life on Social Media…

“All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” – Ellen Glasgow

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Good News Network
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Quote of the Day: “All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward.” – Ellen Glasgow

Photo by: Free Walking Tour Salzburg

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

By Free Walking Tour Salzburg

Good News in History, April 26

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Good News Network
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Harlow Shapley and Heber Curtis (right)

105 years ago today, the Smithsonian Museums in the nation’s capital held the first of its “Great Debate” series, with the topic being whether spiral galaxies and nebulae were relatively small and part of the Milky Way. Arguing in the affirmative was Harlow Shapely, head of the Harvard College Observatory. Arguing in the negative was astronomer Heber Curtis. A year later the two sides of the debate were presented and expanded on in independent technical papers under the title “The Scale of the Universe.” READ more about the Great Debate… (1920)

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First Egg Laid in the Wild by Guam Kingfishers in 40 Years–Hanging on to Survival Thousands of Miles from Home

By
Andy Corbley
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First confirmed wild-laid sihek eggs in almost 40 years © Martin Kastner TNC-ZSL
First confirmed wild-laid sihek eggs in almost 40 years © Martin Kastner TNC-ZSL

In an unprecedented success for conservation efforts, a tiny population of Guam kingfishers given a new home has laid its first eggs—after 40 years of the species being extinct in the wild.

Exterminated from its Guam island home by invasive brown tree snakes, the kingfisher, known by Guam locals as a ‘sihek’, has survived entirely in captivity, managed by a global collaboration of conservationists called the Sihek Recovery Program.

The program introduced the birds to the Palmyra Atoll thousands of miles from Guam in order to create a wild-born population that can regain natural skills until their native island has been cleared of the invasive reptile—and the sihek can return to its ancestral home.

GNN reported in September of 2022 that 20 sihek eggs were set to be transferred to Hawaii to be born in an aviary with conditions and flora similar to that of Palmyra Atoll.

The journey to recovery would be long, complex, and in some ways unprecedented. In order to reduce the risk of foreign germs or parasites spreading to atoll, the resulting sihek chicks were going to be hand-reared until 9 of them could be transferred in cages to Palmyra.

After getting their “ticket to ride” by the vet traveling with them, they would finally be able to return to the wilderness. But the program teams didn’t know which of the available prey species the sihek will favor, didn’t know what time of year, considering the 365-day perfect temperatures, the birds will breed, or how far they would disperse.

But despite the miles and the unknowns, their remarkable release last autumn was a success by any reasonable metric. Four female and five male birds quickly explored their new home, learning how to forage and hunt new prey within the tropical forest.

Four pairs have since established territories, built nests, and laid eggs, marking the first time the species has bred in the wild since its extinction from Guam in the 1980s.

“Many of us spent this Easter weekend out searching high and low for eggs of a different variety—and while they might not be as shiny or brightly colored, these tiny, unassuming-looking eggs are far more exciting and precious than any of their chocolate counterparts,” said Professor John Ewen, from the Zoological Society of London and Team Chair of the Sihek Recovery Program.

“They are a remarkable milestone for the decades-long mission to rescue the sihek from the edge of extinction, and this moment for celebration is a real testament to all the dedicated work from everyone working around the clock to protect and recover this incredible bird.”

CHECK OUT: We Finally Rid An Island of 300,000 Rats – Now Everything is Blooming

With the mated pairs less than a year old, this is their first time incubating and caring for eggs, meaning it’s likely it will take a few rounds of egg laying for the birds to hone their skills and hatch chicks, a statement from ZSL read. Nonetheless, these eggs demonstrate both the tremendous resilience of these remarkable birds and the power of conservation to create a second chance for species on the brink of extinction.

“After many long days last year looking after these birds when they were just tiny eggs and chicks, it’s so rewarding to see them beginning their journey towards raising their own chicks in the forests of Palmyra Atoll,” said Charlotte James, one of the London Zoo bird keepers who hand-reared the birds.

“It’s hard not to feel like a proud parent seeing them out there thriving and making history—and an honor to be part of the ongoing mission to bring sihek back from the brink of extinction.”

MORE REMARKABLE AVIAN REVERSALS: Hawaiian Crow That Went Extinct in the Wild Decades Ago Now Released on Maui

Plans are underway for more young sihek to be released at Palmyra Atoll this summer. Egg laying season is underway at participating (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) AZA-accredited institutions across the US. As they grow to maturity, these chicks will also journey to Palmyra, with the ultimate goal of establishing ten breeding pairs there. The wild sihek at Palmyra Atoll will pave the way for a growing, wild sihek population for the first time in decades.

Then maybe, just maybe, at some point in the distant future, the descendants of these birds who’ve regained their wild skills will be able to practice them on the island of their origin once again.

SHARE This Outstanding Conservation Success On Behalf Of A Beautiful Bird…

Japanese Woman Offers to Hold New Mother’s Baby so Exhausted Travelers Can Finish Their Meal – (WATCH)

By
Andy Corbley
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credit - Maggie Boynton, retrieved from TikTok
credit – Maggie Boynton, retrieved from TikTok

The Japanese have an unjustly-bestowed-upon reputation for being cold and distant, and one new American mother who’s gone viral on TikTok discovered just how wrong that stereotype can be.

While out at a restaurant with her husband, Maggie Boynton was approached by a matronly Japanese waitress who offered to hold their fussy newborn daughter so that a couple could eat in peace.

“I was pretty shocked,” Boynton shared with People Magazine. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a stranger offer to hold my baby before. At first, I hesitated—like, should I let her? But she seemed so genuine and sweet. You just have that intuition when someone truly wants to help.”

While nothing in general was going wrong per se, Boynton, who shared the video of the waitress cradling their daughter on TikTok to the tune of 2 million views, said that flying across so many time zones is already quite the drain—as is looking after a newborn, and the two together had worn her out.

“Even just 10 minutes for us to enjoy our meal was all I needed,” to recover, she wrote in a caption on the TikTok video.

On a practical note, chopsticks are not ideal eating utensils if there’s an infant squirming around in your arms.

@maggieeboynton

Can’t explain how much this truly meant to me.

♬ What Was I Made For? (Epilogue) [Instrumental Version] - Mark Ronson & Andrew Wyatt

“It’s crazy how much you take for granted—just being able to eat without worrying about spilling on your baby or juggling everything at once. That small gesture felt like such a weight off my shoulders,” Boynton felt.

Maggie Boynton and her husband with their daughter in front of Mount Fuji – credit Maggie Boynton, retrieved from TikTok

Japan in general was very baby-friendly, and from nursing areas in various public places to bassinets on board the flight, the whole trip was very accommodating to the couple and their little sprout.

SIMILAR KINDNESS FROM STRANGERS: Grocery Worker Rescues Mom By Asking a Crying Toddler if She Wants to Scan Items (WATCH)

Boynton suggests going to Japan at any possible opportunity, and said the fact that they were traveling with a newborn was no problem.

“Keep calm and know that no one else is thinking about your baby being fussy as much as you are. Your baby feeds off your energy, so staying grounded can make such a difference,” she said.

SHARE This Young Mother’s Charming Experience With Japan’s Best On Social Media… 

After Scam Left Elderly Pittsburgh Couple with a Pile of Dirt and Excuses, Local Landscapers Donate to Finish for Free

By
Andy Corbley
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A job site of Ray Benvenuti who donated labor to help a scammed elderly couple - credit, Benvenuti Landscaping and Reconstruction, retrieved from Facebook
A job site of Ray Benvenuti who donated labor to help a scammed elderly couple – credit, Benvenuti Landscaping and Reconstruction, retrieved from Facebook

A Pittsburgh-area contractor picked up the flag for his profession after a local senior couple were scammed out of some new landscaping work they paid for.

Losing out on $6,750 for a new retaining wall for the garden-side of their driveway, the couple was shocked when someone else offered to do it for free.

The story demonstrates the power of reporting to do good, as local CBS affiliate KDKA spoke with the Ruffings of West Mifflin outside of Pittsburgh about this construction job they paid for two years ago.

For a segment called KDKA Investigates, the Ruffings explained that in exchange for an advance of $4,000, they received a pile of bricks, a pile of mud, and then a pile of excuses.

“He said his truck broke down and then he had a fire in his trailer and then… just didn’t see him,” said Pam Ruffing. “I’m just afraid it’s all going to come down with the rain.”

The Ruffings had hired Shiloh Landscaping (remember the name) out of Bedford two years ago, and contacted KDKA to see if getting their plight on the news could be the genesis of some positive change, and while Shiloh Landscaping’s contractors are still at large, the news report did bring about some good.

“[W]e actually just did a job for a lady who got scammed out of money,” said local contractor Ray Benvenuti, who told KDKA that a friend of his saw the Ruffing’s situation on TV, and told him “‘some people in West Mifflin got scammed out of money.'”

“I’m sick of seeing this stuff going on.”

Benvenuti Landscaping and Reconstruction arrived with help from a local hardware store, and together with the few materials already brought over by the previous contractors, proceeded to build the whole retaining wall with donated labor.

“It’s a little tedious because we had to start from scratch a little bit and match somebody else’s work. I mean, we’ll get it done, we’re professionals,” Benvenuti said at the time.

LOCAL HANDYMEN BEING HONEST: Contractor’s ‘Roof Goof’ Becomes Unexpected Blessing for Oklahoma Couple

And that they did—even constructing an additional corner wall to match by the steps up to the house—all in time for Easter lunch, which offered the Ruffings the added joy of dodging the need to explain to their family and friends what the giant eyesore under the blue tarp was all about.

KDKA spoke with a representative of the Better Business Bureau for advice on how to be wiser when selecting contractors, as these small businesses were the fifth-largest purveyors of scams in the state.

MORE DONATED LABOR: Chicago Bicycle Refurbishers Pedal Good to the World for 26 Years With 150,000 Bikes Saved from Landfills

The BBB spokeswoman said don’t pick the first contractor who bids on your project, but wait to hear from two or three. Request proof of insurance, and pay no more than one-third of the total cost as an advance—a right guaranteed to Pennsylvanians by law.

Additionally, in the state, if a contractor does $5,000 or more of work in a year, they are required to register with the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Attorney General’s office. If they lack this registration, that’s a clear red flag.

WATCH the story below from CBS… For International Viewers Watch HERE…

Legions of Amish Come to Help Rebuild NC Town: ‘It’s Fun Making a Difference’

By
Andy Corbley
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Amish raising a barn togehter - credit, Randy Fath on Unsplash
Amish raising a barn together – credit, Randy Fath on Unsplash

For the towns along Hurricane Helene’s path of destruction through North Carolina, rebuilding homes and stores takes time.

But thanks to an army of volunteers, rebuilding the sense of community in towns like Chimney Rock and Bat Cave has been done at light speed.

Chimney Rock Village was destroyed by Helene’s flooding, but every day the town’s residents see supplies, people, and building materials coming in from all over the country, and know that the future is bright.

A special report by WCNC writes that every store on Chimney Rock’s once-historic main street that’s being rebuilt is being done with donated materials, and the people putting it all together, more often than not, come from a legion of Pennsylvania Amish volunteers from the Great Needs Trust.

“We come out here every morning, working mostly in Chimney Rock and in Bat Cave,” Amos Stoltzfus, one such volunteer, told WCNC. “We have been cleaning the campground, also insulating a new building and organizing donated products, paper supplies and dry walling.”

In their frocks and bonnets, the women screw panels of drywall onto skeletal timbers as deftly and surely as the men in their straw hats. The famous carpentry expertise of the Amish will do the old town well, and maybe even help to add back a bit of the rustic charm lost in the floods.

“It just fills my heart with joy, watching people get their life back again,” Stoltzfus said. “Somebody that was completely devastated through the storm … somebody who didn’t have anything … it is just so encouraging to see them get back on their feet.”

MORE HELENE RECOVERY: Community Praises Contractor for Free Construction Work Since Hurricane Helene Hit

WCNC reports that between Great Needs Trust and local contemporary volunteers, 2,000 pairs of willing hands have circulated in and out of Chimney Rock.

“It was really great being here … and working,” another volunteer Susan Miller said. “It is definitely something I would love to come back [for], like how it is in a couple of years … it is fun making a difference.”

WATCH the story below from WCNC…

SHARE This Incredible Demonstration Of Recovery With Your Friends… 

“I would hope you support who we are, not who we are not. This is your team.” – Coach Norman Dale in ‘Hoosiers’ (Happy NFL Draft Day)

By
Good News Network
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Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin – ©GWC / GNN

Quote of the Day: “I would hope you support who we are, not who we are not. This is your team.” – Coach Norman Dale, Hoosiers film (Happy NFL Draft Day!)

Photo by: GWC ©2024 (Lambeau Field in Green Bay, site of the 2025 Draft)

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

Lambeau Field in Green Bay Wisconsin – ©GWC / GNN

Good News in History, April 25

By
Good News Network
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GAF Energy

71 years ago today, Bell Labs finished the first functional solar cell, allowing for a panel of metal and glass to refract light and heat from the sun into it and generate a current of electricity. The inventors were Calvin Souther Fuller, Daryl Chapin, and Gerald Pearson, and their intention was to power a satellite in space where it could not have its batteries changed. Today, the photovoltaic cell is revolutionizing energy provision for humanity, with a large chunk of scientists and industrialists believing they are a key part of trying to maintain the Earth’s climate as we experience it today. READ more… (1954)

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Man Gets Stuck in Lake Michigan Quicksand and Comes Out with New Girlfriend

By
Andy Corbley
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O'Brien being rescued from the sand - credit Breanne Sika, released
O’Brien being rescued from the sand – credit Breanne Sika, released

Everyone in a relationship will know how love often works in mysterious ways, but quicksand isn’t typically involved, right?

Typically, no; but never? Also no. Just ask Mitchell O’Brien and Breanne Sika, a new couple, for whom falling in love first meant falling in quicksand.

Mitchell O’Brien and Breanne Sika – credit Breanne Sika, released

O’Brien, 37, and Sika, 36, were both single and interested in the other, but under impressions the feeling wasn’t reciprocal. This carried on until a mutual friend asked them why they didn’t go out on a date together?

Deciding to visit Van’s Beach, located in Leelanau County north of Traverse City, the perspective couple were hoping to find Leland blue stones—a bizarre and seemingly natural beach treasure and relic of Michigan’s industrial past made up of blue glass and various chemicals.

“At one point, Bre points to a spot on the beach which was right next to the water, and she goes, ‘That looks really dangerous,'” O’Brien told The Detroit News. “I didn’t realize she was referring to a singular spot; I thought she meant the whole area. I ended up turning around and walking straight to that spot to see if there were any stones in the water.”

Sinking immediately up to his waist, it was the second time O’Brien had been caught in quicksand in his life. He was fortunately able to remain calm enough to think of a plan.

After trying to dig the sand out from under his waist only for it to be replenished with every cold wave that splashed onto his back, Sika tried to help pull the man out. This also failed, and the two were left trying to call 911 with spotty cell service.

At one point, Detroit News reports that the operator thought they were telemarketers and hung up on them, but eventually they received connection enough to explain the situation.

“At the end of me telling them what’s going on and where we are, I said ‘I think my girlfriend is calling as well,'” O’Brien said. “She’s like 20 feet away, and she was saying ‘My boyfriend is here, stuck in the sand.’ It was the first time we had called each other that.”

With rope, pushing, digging, and pulling, three rescuers eventually got O’Brien free from the soup that appeared to be a mixture of sand and Jello.

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Quicksand or quickmud occurs in sandy or muddy areas where the understory—whether of rock, seabed, leaflitter, or something else—has eroded away, usually due to water running beneath it. The hole creates a vacuum that quickly fills with material, and any disturbance, for example from a footfall, creates further vacuums that suck the material and the disturbing object down into it.

This is why the number 1 rule if stuck in mud or quicksand is not to fight it or try to struggle free, since every jerking movement will pull you down further, faster.

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To survive this ordeal, always seek to escape in the same direction you entered from. You won’t be able to take a step, jump, or generate any forward motion, so the best option is usually to simply allow yourself to fall flat onto your stomach. If you have a backpack or a walking stick, hold it in your hands and reach them towards the ground where you want to move to, then began to wriggle your waist and torso until you can free your legs.

When O’Brien got trapped, the weather had been in the 40s, and in mid-April, the water temperature was below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Though shivering in the cold, O’Brien retained his sense of humor, and asked Sika to take a picture of him since “nobody’s gonna believe us.”

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Sweltering Athens Finally Plants Thousands of Trees and Renovates Iconic Acropolis Hills with Greenery

By
Andy Corbley
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A 700-year-old olive tree being relocated to crown the tree-planting efforts - credit, City of Athens
A 700-year-old olive tree being relocated to crown the tree-planting efforts – credit, City of Athens

Throughout 2024, the city of Athens focused on expanding urban greenery in key areas in response to several sweltering summers in a row.

Featuring the planting of the city’s first micro-forest, greening has occurred in six neighborhoods as well as on the famous Acropolis.

The goal was to plant 5,000 trees and shrubs in the city by the end of 2024, and was launched by the recently-elected mayor Haris Doukas. Summer temperatures and overcrowding causes the city to bake under one of the most extreme urban heat island effects in Europe.

To wit, Athens was for many years the holder of the World Meteorological Organization record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe with 48.0°C (118.4°F). It was the first city in Europe to appoint a “chief heat officer” to deal with severe heat waves.

Athens is home to double the population of the next 9 largest Greek cities combined, and greenery, as well as space to put it, are severely lacking.

But things are looking up in the old city these days now that the first greening project has been completed, the results of which can be found in Athens Trees mobile app.

The efforts, which included the planting of a micro-forest on Alepotrypa Hill and the creation of the new Kalvos and Degleri Park, culminated in the relocation of a 700-year-old olive tree from the Aigio region to grace the Old Parliament building on Stadiou Street.

Moving forward, Mr. Doukas’ efforts will continue with the hopes that 5,000 trees can become 25,000 trees by the time he leaves office. Work has already begun on future additions—targeting the Western Hills of the Acropolis.

€2 million from the country’s Green Fund was secured to support the restoration and enhancement of the iconic Filopappos Hill and elsewhere.

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“This funding will enable critical studies, infrastructure improvements, and the revitalization of Filopappos Hill, while enhancing its urban amenities,” Mayor Doukas announced. “We’re addressing a long-standing issue, creating a greener, safer space for Athenians and visitors alike.”

The project is spearheaded by GREEN ATHENS, a municipal company collaborating with the Municipality’s Green Department. Work has already been completed on the Acropolis, including the clearing of slopes and unclogging of storm drains, as well as the planting of 100 new shrubs and trees at the Acropolis-side entrance and the removal of 400 dead ones.

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Doukas believes that by the time the work is finished, the birthplace of democracy will have shed 3 degrees off of annual temperatures, as well as providing shade to thousands of people, streets, and homes.

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NIH to Work with Food Companies to Get Harmful Synthetic Food Dyes, Approved for Decades, Out of US Grocery Stores

By
Andy Corbley
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A variety of sugary cereals that contain or once contained one or more food colorings - credit, unsplash
A variety of sugary cereals that contain or once contained one or more food colorings – credit, unsplash

The US National Institute of Health has announced it will work with food industry giants to eliminate 6 synthetic food dyes from their products as fast as possible.

To be led by the FDA, the work will target Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, Blue 2, Citrus Red 2, and Orange B, which have been linked in children to hyperactivity and mood disruption, diabetes and obesity, and even cancer.

FDA has set a deadline for the end of 2026, and the agency has added that it will also ask the industry to eliminate Red 3 by the same date, a year earlier than an order passed under the Biden Administration.

Under a new White House mandate to address the root causes of America’s obesity and chronic disease epidemic, the NIH is starting with synthetic food dyes, which for years have been targeted by consumer safety organizations and advocates as one of the best and simplest things the US could do to improve the health of the nation’s children.

In Europe, natural dyes like turmeric (yellow) spirulina (blue/green) and carotenoids (orange/red) are used to provide the color for food products. Turmeric is a veritable superfood, while spirulina is rich in iron and one of the most-studied dietary chelators.

By contrast, synthetic dyes add no nutritional value and are simply there to make ultra-processed food products like Kellogg’s Froot Loops (which contains 4 of the 6 synthetic dyes) more visually bright and appealing.

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The FDA said it would be quick to authorize the use of these natural dyes, including a strong blue and purple coloring from butterfly pea flower—contained in herbal teas in China for millennia.

Though commonly called synthetic ‘food’ dyes, these compounds are also found in certain children’s medicine, such as multi-vitamins, toothpaste, and cough syrup.

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Chicago Bicycle Refurbishers Pedal Good to the World for 26 Years With 150,000 Bikes Saved from Landfills

By
Andy Corbley
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The Working Bikes workshop in action during the pandemic - credit, Working Bikes
The Working Bikes workshop in action during the pandemic – credit, Working Bikes

For 25 years, a local nonprofit has been refurbishing bikes for resale or donation to communities in need in Chicago and the world.

Over the years, its horizons have continued to expand beyond the Windy City and out to the farthest corners of the world.

Working Bikes, located at 2434 S. Western Ave in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, has seen an awful lot of bikes pass through its doors; pulling them from landfills, picking them up off the curbside, or accepting them from community members. Over 150,000 have been repaired since the registered 501(c)3 got its wheels turning in 1999.

12% of all the bikes they restored are sold in the Working Bikes storefront. 15% meanwhile are donated right back to the people of Chicago through local program partners that will ensure they arrive in the hands of people in need of transportation.

The whole operation is volunteer-supported: anyone can come in and fix a bike or learn how. A few dedicated employees ensure that salable models are in excellent condition, or boast unique designs and features.

“I think there’s, there’s always a need in Chicago,” said Trevor Clarke, current director of Working Bikes, in an interview with CBS Chicago.

“There are disinvested communities here who really lack access to transportation, and we saw that spike in with the new arrival population, so we had an acute need for people who were just coming to Chicago.”

Thousands more bikes—the majority, in fact—await delivery to Working Bikes’ overseas partners, in Mexico, Venezuela, Albania, Uganda, Angola, Egypt, Cuba, and many, many more countries besides.

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Working Bikes provides not only the bicycles and spare parts, but also the training, to the Bwindi Bicycle Program in rural Uganda that trains women to repair and maintain bikes, just one of many local organizations supported by Working Bikes.

“The focus is really on employment for the ladies,” Clarke said. “They set up the shops, we help provide the training, we continue to provide the bikes—and the ladies who were trained eight years ago train this new group for a new shop.”

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100,000 of the 150,000 bikes refurbished by the Working Bikes team have gone to these overseas difference-makers. They arrive unridable, but with the training and tools to repair them. Each bike is then sold for prices relevant to the local economy, and many of these partners provide microloans to perspective buyers.

WATCH the story from CBS below… or for viewers outside the US, WATCH HERE…

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“One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.” – William Feather

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Good News Network
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Justin Jensen, CC License

Quote of the Day: “One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.” – William Feather

Photo by: Justin Jensen, CC License

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

Justin Jensen, CC License

Good News in History, April 24

By
Good News Network
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On this day 35 years ago, the famed Hubble Space Telescope was launched into low Earth orbit by the Space Shuttle Discovery. Built by NASA with help from the European Space Agency, Hubble is still in operation today, as one of the largest and most versatile of its kind. WATCH a 30th anniversary video… (1990)

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New Kind of Antibiotic Is First in 30 Years to Treat UTIs That Keep Coming Back

By
Andy Corbley
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For the millions of American women and girls who will get a UTI at some point in the next few years, they may be able to treat it with the first new medication approved for the purpose in 3 decades.

The new class of targeted, oral antibiotic for urinary tract infections is designed to bypass developing antibiotic resistance in UTIs and eliminate recurrence of UTIs in women who experience them frequently.

According to CNN, the drug, gepotidacin, will be sold under the brand name Blujepa and is expected to be available in the second half of 2025.

Blujepa is the first new oral antibiotic to treat UTIs to gain approval in more than 20 years, but it’s been almost 30 since the critical bacteria-fighting function of such a treatment has been redesigned.

“We are proud to have developed Blujepa, the first in a new class of oral antibiotics for [uncomplicated UTIs] in nearly three decades, and to bring another option to patients given recurrent infections and rising rates of resistance to existing treatments,” read a statement from GSK, which developed the drug.

Gepotidacin works by targeting two enzymes that bacteria need to copy themselves.

Women contract these infections at a much higher rate than men. About half of all women will experience a UTI at some point in their lives. One third of these women will have a UTI that returns multiple times.

UTIs are the cause of roughly 8 million emergency room visits and 100,000 hospitalizations in the US each year, GSK said.

It was funded in part by grants from the US government’s Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

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3,000 women and girls took part in the clinical trials which led to the drug’s approval, with the results demonstrating increased efficacy compared to nitrofurantoin, the most commonly-prescribed antibiotic for UTIs.

Side effects including diarrhea and nausea were reported in 16% and 9% of the females respectively, much of which was described as “mild.”

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While many Americans prefer to treat such infections homeopathically, there are times when infections are more aggressive, or when homeopathic options are not available—for example, if one is traveling. In these cases, a more effective backup is a welcomed option.

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Man Revives Iconic Indian Lake by Converting Lake Weed Infestation into Organic Fertilizer Business

By
Andy Corbley
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Weed clearence on Dal Lake - photo provided to The Better India by Maninder Singh
Weed clearance on Dal Lake – photo provided to The Better India by Maninder Singh

From Northern India comes the story of an entrepreneur’s efforts to clean up a historically-beautiful lakefront by turning an infestation of weeds into rich natural fertilizer.

Being something along the lines of the Lake Como of India, Dal Lake in the nation’s northerly city of Srinagar is surrounded by palaces, temples, fog-cloaked forested hills, and is iconic in the country for its houseboat culture.

View of an island in Dal Lake, Srinagar – credit, Prateek – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Yet for all its natural and historic beauty, Dal Lake was sick—sick with lake weeds.

“These aquatic plants had accumulated near Dal Lake over the years, creating an unsightly mess and posing a threat to the local ecosystem,” Maninder Singh tells The Better India.

Singh is the founder of Clean ‘Effen’ Tech (CET), a local-government partner company that harvests thousands of tons of those lake weeds every year, dries and enriches them, then grinds them into fertilizer to sell to local farmers.

Maninder was first inspired to find a solution for clearing the lake weed when visiting Indian-administered Kashmir for his first wedding anniversary. Having already launched an IT startup in his native Uttar Pradesh, Singh would eventually change his focus to creating a social enterprise to tackle the challenges of our age.

The sight of the lake weed marring Dal Lake’s beauty immediately came into his head, and he began an 8-year process to construct a value chain that would see the lake, the local ecology, the global ecology, the local economy, and his own economy, all flourish together.

“Our project is designed to process up to 70,000 [metric] tonnes of lake weed each year, which yields between 20,000 to 22,000 tonnes of organic manure. This large-scale effort is expected to lead to an annual reduction of around 50,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions,” Singh tells The Better India.

“We have made an impact by enriching over 4,400 acres of land, improving soil health, and supporting sustainable agriculture practices.”

Local workers harvest the lake weed using large machines and transport it to CET’s production plant. There the lake water is drained and treated for heavy metals and other pollutants before it’s released.

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The lake weed is dried, shredded, enriched, and pulverized before being sold for 25% less than chemical fertilizers imported from other states like UP and Haryana, saving more emissions from transportation.

Local farmers have benefited from the cost savings and from the lack of soil amending. Harvests are up, as are soil nutrient concentrations. Also in an economic sense, the local tourism industry will no doubt benefit from the 14,800 metric tons of lake weed pulled in by Singh’s partners last year, not least because during the hotter summer months the mounds of weeds decay and putrefy the air.

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Looking to the future, Singh aims to replicate this success in other Indian lakes—starting in the states of Odisha and Rajasthan. Anywhere there’s a beautiful fresh water body overrun with aquatic plants, Singh hopes to see some Clean ‘Effen’ Tech brought in to clean it the eff up.

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Scientists Define a Color Never Before Seen by Human Eyes, Called ‘Olo’–a Blue-Green of Intense Saturation

By
Andy Corbley
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Photo by Hamish on Unsplash
Photo by Hamish on Unsplash

An experiment in human photoreceptors allowed scientists to recently define a new color, imperceptible by the human eye, that lies along the blue-green spectrum but is different from the two.

The team, who experimented on themselves and others, hope their findings could one day help improve tools for studying color blindness or lead to new technologies for creating colors in digital imagery.

“Theoretically, novel colors are possible through bypassing the constraints set by the cone spectral sensitivities…” the authors write in their abstract. “In practice, we confirm a partial expansion of colorspace toward that theoretical ideal.”

The team from University of California, Berkeley and the University of Washington used pioneering laser technology which they called “Oz” to “directly control the human eye’s photoreceptor activity via cell-by-cell light delivery.”

Color is generated in our vision through the transmission of light in cells called photoreceptors. Eye tissue contain a series of cones for this task, and the cones are labeled as L, S, or M cones.

In normal color vision, the authors explain, any light that stimulates an M cone cell must also stimulate its neighboring L and/or S cones because the M cone spectral response function lies between that of the L and S cones.

“However, Oz stimulation can by definition target light to only M cones and not L or S, which in principle would send a color signal to the brain that never occurs in natural vision,” they add.

Described as a kind of blue-green with “unprecedented saturation” the new color, which the researchers named “olo” was confirmed as being beyond the normal blue-green spectrum by each participant who saw it, as they needed to add substantial amounts of white for olo to fit somewhere within that spectrum.

“The Oz system represents a new experimental platform in vision science, aiming to control photo receptor activation with great precision,” the study says.

Although the authors are confidant that olo has never been seen before by humans, the spectrum of blue-green has received international attention before as a field of vision discovery.

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A groundbreaking study of the Himba people in Namibia conducted in 2005 and published in journal of the American Psychological Association demonstrated that these traditional landowners seemed to perceive various colors as the same because they used the same word for them. A grouping of colors we in the West would separate into pink, red, and orange, is all serandu to them.

That was only half of the cause for fascination with the study. The other half came from the Himba people’s unbelievable sensitivity to the blue-green spectrum, such that they could reliably pick out the fainest differences in green that Western viewers by comparison missed.

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This also corresponded with more words for shades of green which Westerners would never bother specifying, and in fact, the Himba had a harder time pointing out that a blue square was different from green squares when shown a chart, but could reliably select the square of a slightly different shade of green to the rest.

But then it got even stranger. Further studies in the following years included genetic testing on the Himba, and it showed they possess an increased number of cone cells in their eyes. This higher density of cones enables them to perceive more shades and nuances of color than the average person, according to the lead author of the genetic research.

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