Star Football Player Gives Up Big Money Contract to Be of Service

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Nov 19, 2014

Jason Brown had a five-year, $37 million contract with the St. Louis Rams but decided it was all meaningless – and just walked away from football.

Brown quit the sport he worked his life to master so he could become a farmer, even though he had never farmed a day in his life. What he was thinking? He was thinking about service.

In 2012, he “decided to step out on faith” starting a farm in Louisburg, North Carolina called First Fruits Farm that donates the first fruits of every harvest to food pantries.

“We were blessed with gleaning and harvest opportunities… where more than 10,000 pounds of cucumbers and 100,000 pounds of sweet potatoes were donated for local hunger relief efforts,” he wrote on his website.

“More than 600 volunteers lent a helping hand.”

(WATCH the video below or READ the story at CBS) *NOTE the auto-playing audio!

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An Angel On Earth! Shirley Richardson

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Starr Emerson

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Nov 19, 2014

I would love to share with the world this amazing woman, Shirley Richardson of Richmond, Virginia.

She is the executive director of the program, Building the Fire Within and the Carl Gordon House. She has been donating her time to rebuild this house to help women.

She has served on the YMCA board of directors and has mentored middle school girls in the Mirror Me program.

She is an ordained elder at the James Cleveland gospel ministry, too. Since 1995 she has served as a spiritual leader in Kairos Prison Ministry.

Before that, she served 30 years as a law enforcement officer for the Richmond Police Department.

Shirley is an angel on this earth. She has dedicated her life to helping and serving others and inspires everyone she meets.

Anonymous Philanthropist Mysteriously Leaves $1000 Donations Around Detroit

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Nov 19, 2014

Over the last seven weeks an anonymous benefactor has given out five envelopes full of cash to communities groups in Redford, Michigan.

Envelopes containing $1000, in ten crisp hundred-dollar bills, were mailed to the local library, the Tail-waggers Animal Clinic, a civic group, a credit union and to the Goodfellows, an organization that donates holiday meals and gifts to needy families.

The one clue that ties all letters together, written on each – four digits, 1679.

But no one can figure out what the numbers mean. They do know the donations mean a lot in the Detroit suburb where 20,000 households could be served by such generosity.

(WATCH the video above from WJBK-2 Detroit)

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Africa’s Largest Solar Farm is Now Fully Operational

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Nov 19, 2014

Construction was completed last month on a huge clean energy facility in South Africa that holds the new record as the continent’s largest solar power project.

The first of two giant projects by SolarReserve in South Africa,A huge project in South Africa, the Jasper solar farm, is now fully operational as the continent’s largest solar power project.

The Jasper Project generated about 1 million man-hours of paid work during its year of construction and used 45% locally sourced content.

(READ more at Tree Hugger)

Beautiful WWI-themed Christmas Ad Reenacts Truce of 1914

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Nov 19, 2014

A new Christmas television ad inspired by real events from 100 years ago has touched the hearts of ten million viewers on YouTube and many more watching in the UK.

Sainsbury’s, the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, partnered with The Royal British Legion to portray the extraordinary events of Christmas Day, 1914, when the guns fell silent and two armies met in no-man’s land, after voices rang out singing Silent Night.

Commemorating the truce’s 100-year anniversary, the ad features the football match that some witnesses say took place between British and German forces during the two-day truce called by commanders along some sections of the front lines on December 24.

Soldiers also widely exchanged gifts, whatever they had — small tools, cigarettes, chocolate, schnapps — and sang Auld Lang Syne before returning to their foxholes.

The chocolate bar seen in the ad is raising funds for military families at Sainsbury’s, with all profits (50p per bar) going to The Royal British Legion to benefit Great Britain’s armed forces and veterans.

(WATCH the video below, and a short film about the story behind the ad)

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Wounded Veteran Thanks His Mom With the Gift of a Lifetime

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Nov 18, 2014

Specialist Tyler Jeffries, a veteran who lost both of his legs fighting in Afghanistan, didn’t even want to walk again. He thought there was nothing more in life for him, but his mother Pamela was by his side every day, encouraging him.

Since he returned from combat, and throughout his recovery at Walter Reed Medical Center, and later at home, she has provided 24-hour care for him.

Walking again, Tyler wanted nothing more than to thank his mom for all she’s done for him.

With the help of Dreams Resorts and Spas, Jeffries and nine other wounded warriors were able to gift their mothers with a dream vacation.

The resort sent a video crew to Tyler’s home to surprise Pamela, surrounded by her family, with her much-deserved all expenses paid trip.

The company is looking for other nominations for people who need a break. They are giving away 10 more vacations to deserving individuals. Submit your stories at www.dreamsresorts.com/giveaway.

(WATCH the video below)

Watch Strangers in China Lift Car to Save Woman Trapped After Bike Crash

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Nov 18, 2014

Video from China shows the goodness of strangers as 20 people rush to the aid of a woman run over by a car following a motorbike crash.

She and her husband were assisted by over 20 complete strangers while surveillance cameras record them raising the vehicle and pull the trapped woman to safety.

(WATCH the video below)

$2.4 Million Given to 8 Groups Helping Kids Thrive in Inner Cities

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Nov 18, 2014

For their innovative strategies to help mold positive youth, eight organizations that mentor urban youth in six cities will share grants totaling $2.4 million.

The Thrive Foundation for Youth in Silicon Valley announced the awards today, which will continue their mission of helping guide disadvantaged young people to reach their full potential. Each of the outstanding groups will receive unrestricted grants of $300,000 over the next two years.

“Our grantees have discovered ways to create a constellation of competent, caring adults who are making a difference in the lives of children,” said Nicole Taylor, President and CEO of the Thrive.

These eight grantees have professional staff members who serve as primary “caring adults” day-to-day, and are role models who provide a consistent, compassionate and trustworthy presence. Collectively, these eight organizations impact the lives of approximately 15,000 young people throughout the United States.

New York City

The Brotherhood/Sister Sol helps keep youth ages 8-22 focused on educational achievement and leadership with multi-year support five day a week providing after school care, counseling, summer camps, job training, employment, and college preparation.

Denver

Colorado UpLift helps urban youth overcome significant obstacles through long-term, life-changing relationships starting in the 2nd and 3rd grade. Salaried teacher/mentors build success through character education, with a focus on high school graduation and post-secondary engagement.

Portland, OR

Friends of the Children selects the highest risk children and commits to working with them from kindergarten to graduation. Friends works through chapters and affiliates nationwide.

Self Enhancement, Inc. guides underserved youth and families to reach their full potential. Their work with more than 7,500 students and families results in stable, supported families and an enhanced community.

Oakland, CA

Girls Inc. of Alameda County supports girls in becoming strong through healthy living and smart through education by providing girls with continuous, strength-based, youth development programming and strong adult role models to identify and nurture the potential for success in every girl.

Youth Radio is the nation’s leading syndicator of youth voices and a national model for media and technology education. The organization provides thousands of low-income youth with innovative media and technology training, paid employment, and wraparound support services to launch them into college and family-sustaining careers.

Washington, D.C.

Latin American Youth Center empowers a diverse population of youth to achieve a successful transition to adulthood through multi-cultural and innovative programs that address youths’ needs at all levels.

Chicago

Youth Guidance works through the schools to enable at-risk youth to overcome obstacles. Youth Guidance’s Becoming a Man (B.A.M.) program is a dropout and violence prevention program for at-risk male students in grades 7-12, and includes in-school courses and after-school sports.

The Thrive Foundation for Youth was founded in 1995 by Silicon Valley investor Bob King and his wife Dottie, who have given away $16.7 million from their offices in Menlo Park, California. Learn more at: www.thrivefoundation.org

Photo (top) courtesy of Thrive Foundation for Youth/iStock Ima

The Most Delightful Therapy Ever Offered Was Free for the Stressed-out (WATCH!)

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Good News Network

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Nov 18, 2014

What is the secret to stress relief?

These people chosen at random on the street didn’t know how a big, clean plexiglass room would solve their stress but decided to step inside, close their eyes and give it a try. What happened next was an absolute delight.

Inside the “therapy” office they were surprised by adorable tiny kittens emerging through hidden doors. It was time to play!

The video was created by Soul Pancake, who brought us Kid President, and other fine glimpses into the art of making happiness.

Story tip from Julia Frerichs, LMT

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Andrew White, ‘The Vicar of Baghdad,’ Aids Iraqis of All Faiths

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Nov 18, 2014

“The Baghdad church run by the Anglican priest provides food, education, and medical services to nearly 5,000 Iraqis in need.”

(READ the story from CS Monitor)

8-Year-old’s ‘Buddy Bench’ for Lonely Kids in the Schoolyard is Catching On

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Nov 17, 2014

“Sometimes it’s the really simple ideas that can make the biggest difference.”

A second grader in York, Pennsylvania came up with an idea last year after his father showed him a photo of a bench placed by a German school on their playground specifically so that lonely or shy children could be offered friendship.

Christian Buck wanted to put such a bench at his school, Roundtown Elementary, and the principal agreed. In the year since that one bench was put outside to foster relationship-building, others like it have popped up at schools across the country.

More than 200 schools around the world have since installed ‘Buddy Benches’ — both across the United States, and in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Italy and Canada, according to Christian’s family, which has kept track of the growth, says the York Daily Record, which first reported the story in December and followed up six months later.

This week, the latest pair of ‘Buddy Benches’ were dedicated outside two schools in Ashland, Wisconsin for children to sit on as a signal that they would like someone to play with or talk to.

The benches were funded by the Parent-Teacher Organization as a tool to teach kindness after counselors realized it would be great “for several kids who feel like they don’t have friends,” reported The Daily Press.

The students have “greeted the idea with enthusiasm” after being taught that the benches are a way for kids to reach out to their lonelier peers.

Christian-Buck-Buddy-Bench-8yo-submitted to press — Christian Buck Speaks to Rotary Club

“It really builds their self-esteem to ask others to play with them,” said Intermediate School Counselor Kelly Sundeen.

Resources are now online to help schools personalize their own kindness corner.

The simple idea has certainly made a difference in the life of Christian Buck, who has traveled to California and Connecticut to speak in front of groups about his inspiring project —while still only eight years old.

(READ the recent story from The Daily Press)

Photo (top) by Travis Powell, submitted to AshlandWi.com – Lake Superior Intermediate School students Margurite Ranta, Isaac Pearce, Dewey Zinnecker and Meghan Moffitt

Chilean Students Design a ‘Bike That Can’t Be Stolen’

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Good News Network

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Nov 17, 2014

The “Yerka,” a prototype designed by three young Chilean engineering students, is a bike that can be locked using its own lower frame.

It opens up into two arms that are then connected to the seat post around a rack, tree or lamp post.

The genius comes when a thief discovers that the bike will have to be destroyed in order to to get it unlocked, thus “leaving it valueless”.

(WATCH the video below – READ the full AP story from the Detroit Free Press)

Story tip Mike McGinley

11 World Cup Stars, Like Ronaldo and Neymar, Make Ebola Safety Video

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Good News Network

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Nov 17, 2014

Doctors have inspired top international football players to join together to promote and raise awareness of simple preventative measures in the fight against Ebola.

The “11 against Ebola” campaign, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, Philipp Lahm and others, promotes 11 simple health messages touted by doctors who are tackling the outbreak in West Africa.

Under the slogan “Together, we can beat Ebola” (#wecanbeatebola), players share the 11 health tips in animated films, radio spots, and posters in a multimedia campaign launched today.

“It is so important that we get the right information to those affected by the Ebola outbreak,” said Neymar Jr. “We all hope this positive campaign will improve people’s understanding of the Ebola virus and help us to reduce the chances of it spreading. Let’s all get behind this campaign to help our brothers and sisters in the worst-hit regions.

Each health message, such as “Report unusual illnesses” and “Cook meat properly”, has been chosen to improve public understanding about how the virus spreads, and to provide clear information that can be used to reduce the chances of the virus spreading in affected communities. Here are the rules for remaining Ebola-free;

The 11 Against Ebola Messages:

Wash your hands often and disinfect anything touched by suspected Ebola sufferers
Cook meat thoroughly before eating
Avoid contact with wild animals and bats, which can carry the Ebola virus
Always practice safe sex
Know the symptoms: fever with a loss of appetite, headache, fatigue, pain, vomiting, bleeding or diarrhea
Report unusual illnesses in your community
Seek immediate medical help if you have a fever with additional symptoms
Avoid skin or body contact with anyone suffering from Ebola
Wear proper protection if you are caring for an Ebola sufferer
Do not touch the dead or anyone who has died from a strange disease
Seek help for safe burials from local authorities

See links to all eleven individual videos, featuring the three above, plus Gareth Bale, Jérôme Boateng, Didier Drogba, George Davies, John Obi Mikel, Gerard Piqué, Raphaël Varane, Xavi, and Pep Guardiola, at the World Bank.

(WATCH the FIFA promotional video below)

Photo courtesy of FIFA

Acting On a Hunch, Man Checks Out Car, Saves a Life

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Nov 17, 2014

When Gonzalo Outeiro saw the car from the California freeway, he wondered if it had been abandoned, or perhaps in a mishap the night before.

“He got off the freeway, and instead of turning left towards his office, he turned right, acting on a hunch,” reports Oakland’s KTVU-2 News.

That hunch ended up saving the life of a 60-year-old Marin County man who was unconscious while the car was beginning to smoke.

“I was a heartbeat away from going to work,” he told the reporter. “At the last second, I don’t know why, I just said I’ve got to check it out.”

By the time he began pulling the man from the car a fire began growing fast.

(WATCH the video below or READ the story from KTVU *NOTE: adjust your speakers for auto-play ads)

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New Version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” Raises Million for Ebola

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Nov 17, 2014

30 years ago, Bob Geldof organized the first charity supergroup (Band Aid) to record “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” — a highly successful song that raised more than $24,000,000 to “feed the world” during the famine in Ethiopia.

A new version of the song recorded over the weekend with some of the biggest-selling British pop acts, including One Direction, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and Bono, is set to raise millions, this time for the Ebola crisis in West Africa.

The Song Has Already Gone Bonkers

Since it’s debut Sunday night on British television’s The X Factor, Geldof said “Band Aid 30” sales have ‘gone manic.’ Pre-orders raised £1million in just minutes following the debut — and the single is already No1 on iTunes.

Government officials confirmed they would waive all VAT taxes on the record, so that 100 percent of the money raised would go towards the cause.

Singers who gathered in the same studio as Band Aid’s first group included Sam Smith, Ed Sheeran, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Elbow, Sinead O’Connor and Seal.

They sang the same iconic song, except with the lyrics tweaked to reflect the current Ebola virus, which the Irish musician-producer Geldof described as a “particularly pernicious illness because it renders humans untouchable.”

Like the original, the music video (below) ends on a high note, but it opens with a 15 second quiet, yet gruesome, scene of a gaunt Ebola victim being moved from her death bed.

Donate online at www.bandaid30.com
UK residents can donate £5 by mobile phone: Text AID to 70060
Buy the Single now on iTunes
Pre-order the CD here, on Amazon US –or on Amazon UK

(WATCH the video below – READ more, w/ photos, at Daily Mail)

Band Aid 30 lyrics:

It’s Christmas time, and there’s no need to be afraid
At Christmas time, we let in light and banish shade

And in our world of plenty, we can spread a smile of joy
Throw your arms around the world
At Christmas time

But say a prayer, pray for the other ones
At Christmas time, it’s hard but while you’re having fun

There’s a world outside your window, and it’s a world of dread and fear
Where a kiss of love can kill you, and there’s death in every tear

And the Christmas bells that ring there are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight we’re reaching out and touching you

Bring peace and joy this Christmas to West Africa
A song of hope where there’s no hope tonight

Where to comfort is to fear – Where to touch is to be scared

How can they know it’s Christmas time at all

Here’s to you
Raise a glass to everyone
And here’s to them
And all their years to come

How do they know it’s Christmas time at all

Feed the world, let them know it’s Christmas time again
Feel the world, let them know it’s Christmas time again
Heal the world, let them know it’s Christmas time again

An Algae Farm Designed To Suck Up Highway Pollution

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Good News Network

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Nov 16, 2014

A highway overpass might seem like an unlikely place to grow algae, but actually it’s ideal: Car exhaust turns out to be the perfect fertilizer for multiplying the green stuff.

“In a prototype built above a busy Geneva highway this year, architects tested a system for growing algae in tubes… (which) can be used (eventually) to make biofuel or green electricity.”

A closed system of transparent tubes is used for the production of algae, which grow on sunlight and CO2, both abundantly present on the site.

The functioning of this bioreactor symbolizes the green practices of the future: food production in an urban environment, the conservation of green space, cleaning up emissions, and new types of energy.

(READ the story from Fast Coexist)

Photos via the Cloud Collective

Google Asks Users To Help Fight Ebola — And They Answer With Cash

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Good News Network

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Nov 16, 2014

For the first time Google has asked its users to donate money to support a cause – the fight to contain Ebola.

The company pledged to give $2 for every dollar donated by its users to Doctors Without Borders and other non-profits working in West Africa.

And users responded. Google raised $7.5 million — with $2.5 million from donors, reports NPR News.

Google’s CEO Larry Page already donated $15 million through his family foundation and the company will add $10 million to its matching donations.

(READ the story from NPR News) Photo from Google ad

Teenager Saves 11-Month-Old After Baby Stopped Breathing

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Good News Network

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Nov 16, 2014

A St. Louis teen was in the dressing room of her local Walmart Wednesday when she heard a call for emergency services go out over an employee’s radio.

A baby had stopped breathing.

When Abby Snodgrass ran over to the group surrounding the 11-month old, she pushed through and asked if anyone knew CPR.

It turns out Abby had recently learned all about it in her school’s health class, thanks to a year-old initiative that brings EMTs to teach the skill to every high school student in the Hillsboro district.

(WATCH the video below, or READ the story from KSDK – *NOTE: Adjust your speakers for the auto-playing audio)

Story tip from Kelly Harrington

Bike Path Inspired by Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ Opens in Netherlands

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Good News Network

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Nov 16, 2014

Inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s work, “Starry Night,” a new twinkling bike path evokes the color and light within the world-famous painting, while also connecting cultural sites important to the artist born there.

The opening of the cycle path in the Dutch city of Eindhoven November 12 marked the start of an international year of festivities focused on the inspiring career of van Gogh, which ended with his 1890 death.

Artist Daan Roosegaarde‘s poetic vision was brought to life by the construction company, Heijmans, which used innovative technology and thousands of twinkling stones to illuminate the route.

“I wanted to create a place that people will experience in a special way, the technical combined with experience, that’s what techno-poetry means to me,” said Roosegaarde.

The new starry path links two watermills that were featured in his paintings, and will complete a cycling route that connects Vincent’s family home in Brabant, with Nuenen, the place where his first masterpiece, The Potato Eaters, was created.

The entire route in North Brabant, where the artist was born and raised, is 335 kilometers (208 miles) long and split into five individual round trips, which can each be cycled in a day.

The community of Eindhoven and partners have jointly invested €700,000 in the Van Gogh-Roosegaarde cycle path, with half coming in a subsidy from the province of Noord-Brabant.

The overall cultural program on the theme of 125 years of inspiration was spearheaded by Van Gogh Europe, comprised of the Van Gogh Museum, Kröller-Müller Museum, Van Gogh Brabant, Mons 2015, and others. Activities will span the Netherlands, Belgium and France.

Roosegaarde and Heijmans Infrastructure also teamed up to create the Smart Highways Project which is developing interactive roads using light, energy and road signs that interact with the traffic situation.

(WATCH the cyclists on the starry path, below)

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Dog Hitches 20 Mile Ride on Side of Ambulance to Stay With Owner

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Nov 16, 2014

In Texas last month, emergency responders witnessed the touching animal loyalty that perhaps only a dog can exemplify.

A Mason County ambulance was transporting an 85-year-old rancher to the hospital, when 20 miles into their journey EMS technician Tanner Brown said a driver flagged them down and told them there was a dog hanging onto the side of the vehicle.

The San Angelo Times reports that Buddy, a small Beagle mix, had “hitched a ride on the small side step of the ambulance to be with his owner, JR Nicholson.”

Loyal Dog Attends Mass Every Day at Church of Deceased Owner

“We didn’t have anything else to do but to load the dog up and put him in the ambulance and take him to the ER with us,” Brown said.

(READ the story from the San Angelo Times)

Photo of Loyal Dog Waiting in Deceased Dad’s Truck Touches Hearts

Photo by Tanner Brown – Story tip from Kelly Harrington