Firefighters from FDNY Rescue 1 were practicing water rescues in Central Park Saturday afternoon when a man appeared in the middle of the lake, fell through the ice, and disappeared.
Firefighters hollered to the man to get off the ice because it was too thin, but it was too late.
Luck was on his side, because the team moved together just like in the training videos.
(READ the full story from CBS New York)
Photo: January in Central Park by Gigi_NYC (CC license)
Enlistment has been brisk for 7-Eleven’s first franchise giveaway contest offered exclusively to U.S. military veterans. With the Jan. 25 deadline less than two weeks away, more than 1,200 veterans have successfully applied for the corporate give-away called, “Operation: Take Command.”
The winner will receive a waiver of the franchise fee, valued at up to $190,000, for any of the company’s 7-Eleven convenience stores available in the continental U.S. at the time the contest ends. Interested veterans, who are first-time 7-Eleven franchise applicants, can enter online at www.VeteransFranchiseGiveaway.com through Jan. 25. The winner will be announced in April.
“Not only have we received a high number of applications, but also high-caliber candidates that I think would make great franchisees for 7-Eleven,” said Greg Franks, vice president of the company’s Franchise Systems. “From our veterans, I would expect nothing less.”
Besides their military experience, many of the veterans who have applied have earned college degrees and possess business, retail and management skills.
Many vets are naturals for business:
“We have already had veterans who are so enthusiastic to start their own business, they don’t want to even wait to see whether they win,” Franks said. “They are already going through the 7-Eleven franchising process to select and open a store. And in the true military tradition of selfless service, some have said they want to give up their chance at winning to a vet who might need the franchise fee waiver more than themselves.”
To qualify for the Operation: Take Command franchise giveaway, an entrant must be over the age of 21, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, an honorably discharged veteran, have excellent credit and at least three years of leadership, retail or restaurant experience. Contestants will go through the same qualification process as all 7-Eleven franchise applicants including interviews, credit evaluation, a leadership test, preparing a business plan and budget, and location preferences.
Top Photo: 7-Eleven franchisee, veteran Charles Williams, Copperas Cove, TX
A teen, who was hand-cuffed at the time, will be honored next week for saving the life of the Fort Lauderdale policeman who had arrested him.
On September 10, 2014, Officer Franklin Foulks was alone with Jamal Rutledge in a holding area filling out paperwork, when he suddenly collapsed. According to a police statement, the defendant “immediately began to kick the security fence and yell to alert officers in the area.”
When other officers heard the teen, they found Officer Foulks lying on the ground clenching his chest and notified rescue services before using CPR and a defibrillator to keep him alive.
According to the Fort Lauderdale police department, Rutledge was being booked on a violation of juvenile probation. The teen and the three Fort Lauderdale police officers will be commended at a ceremony next Wednesday. (WATCH the surveillance video below)
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A 12-year-old from Yukon, Oklahoma, who was stuck at home ill before Christmas decided to write letters to the owners of all 32 NFL teams, asking them which team he should pledge to support. Cade had no team allegiances, until he got a hand-written note back from one of them.
His mom was shocked and delighted when a package came in the mail from the owner of the Carolina Panthers, who has undoubtedly made a fan for life.
The team’s owner, Jerry Richardson wrote, “We would be honored if our Carolina Panthers became your team. We would make you proud by the classy way we would represent you.”
He also sent an autographed helmet, but it was the note that most impressed the young sixth grade athlete, who is now a new Panthers fan.
(WATCH the video below, or READ the story from ABC)
Photo credits: Heather Pope
A report in the Philadelphia Inquirer in November featured a school in Germantown that didn’t have any extra money in their budget to even buy all the paper they would need.
At first, readers responded by sending in reams of paper to Lingelbach Elementary. But then thousands of dollars in donations started arriving — enough to update books in their library and provide supplies to every teacher.
The school, which is 88% black with 56% of students receiving reduced lunches, received a surprise truckload of educational materials and office supplies sent from the Springfield School District in Montgomery County.
Most notably, one anonymous angel gave the school $100,000, a sum that should buy Google Chromebooks for each of the school’s 420 students, kindergarten through eighth grade.
“I was stunned by the outpouring of love,” said principal Marc Gosselin about the donations that poured in from around the country.
(READ the story at Philly.com)
Photo via greatphillyschools.org
Brittney Husbyn had already practiced walking down the aisle with her fiancé Briggs Fussy, but it was 20 years earlier.
The Minnesota man remembers the feisty little girl who couldn’t stand in one place during the wedding of his Godmother in 1995.
But he married her this weekend decades after they served as ring bearer and flower girl as children.
The couple, who didn’t know each other as juniors in high school, started dating, after Brittney recognized his name. Their families, especially the Godmother, who now claims credit for their marriage, were delighted. Each had a picture of them as 3-year-olds hung on their wall or tucked in a photo album.
(WATCH the video from KMSP in Minnesota, or READ the story in the NY Daily News)
Wedding photo by Alix Rae Photography, via Facebook
Benedict Cumberbatch surprised everyone when he photobombed Meryl Streep during the broadcast at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards.
It was during a comedy bit when Tina Fey asked Michael Keaton to take a picture on his phone of Streep in the audience posing with Margaret Cho, who played the role of a North Korean entertainment reporter.
Suddenly the tall, lanky nominee, Cumberbatch, leaped up in the background, adding to the fun.
(WATCH the video below)
A hilarious short clip shows a chihuahua walking in a Superman costume!
(WATCH the video above)
A little boy dreamed up an idea for his seventh birthday party — a charitable activity which has now captured the imagination of the entire city of Greensboro, North Carolina.
August Spitz wanted to help folks who were homeless, and he LOVED building blanket forts. His mom, Gwen, got permission to use a large space at Glenwood Coffee and Books while August asked his friends to bring blankets to help him build a giant fort. After the party was over, the 64 blankets were washed and donated to a local nonprofit that helps the homeless. But the idea didn’t stop there.
She organized an event on Sunday called “The World’s Largest (in Greensboro) Blanket Fort.”
“The kids had so much fun,” Kathleen Edwards, Director of Programs at the Interactive Resource Center, told the Good News Network. “We operate an emergency shelter and warming center whenever the temperatures drop, and this month we can really use the added blankets.”
‘Auggie’ Spitz, now 8, joined with children from 127 other families for the massive fort-building fun, during which 259 blankets were collected.
The adults strung colorful ropes around the room, and the kids used tables and chairs and clothes pins to make the tunnels and rooms.
“Tomorrow morning — in the same room the fort was built in — roughly 220 men and women, and even some children, will come to use IRC services,” said Gwen. “It will be with great pride that we can tell them that the community came together in this phenomenal way to help.”
(SEE more photos of August Spitz and the blanket fort in the News and Record)
Photos courtesy of the IRC Facebook page – Story tip from Kelly Harrington
The owner of Inkslinger’s Tattoo Shop in Billerica, Massachusetts has quietly become an inspiration to his community.
Billy Pfaff’s shop is often filled with donations he has collected for the homeless — coats, blankets, sleeping bags, tents and gift cards. He personally delivers them to shelters or directly to people on the streets.
Why does he care?
In 2010 he was in their shoes –- living on the streets, and taking drugs — but now it is not unusual for him to invite homeless people and addicts to sleep on the floor of his shop or at his house until they are able to get back on their feet. During the holiday he provided meals and gifts for 14 families in three different shelters.
Now in his fourth year as a successful tattoo artist he shares his proceeds and spreads his motto, ‘Pay it Forward’, on the sleeves of Inkslinger sweatshirts that he gives away and sells. In 2013, he gave away more than $13,600 worth of cash and items to people in need.
His Facebook group has thousands of followers who donate to his mission of helping the homeless. His latest crusade is to raise awareness and legislative action to address the deadly problem of heroin in his state.
(READ the story from Wicked Local)
Photos from Billy’s Facebook page
In November, more than 300 LED lights were illuminated by a Dutch company that makes electricity from harnessing the power of living plants.
This was the first commercial installation for Plant-e, a company that also sells mobile chargers, and rooftop electricity modules fueled by the byproduct of photosynthesis in plants.
Plant-e’s co-founder and CEO, Marjolein Helder, believes that this technology could be revolutionary, especially if implemented on a larger scale. Capturing the energy in wetlands and rice paddies could bring power to some of the world’s poorest places.
Here’s how Plant-e says it works:
Via photosynthesis a plant produces organic matter. Part of this organic matter is used for plant-growth, but a large part can’t be used by the plant and is excreted into the soil via the roots. Around the roots naturally occurring micro-organisms break down the organic compounds to gain energy from. In this process, electrons are released as a waste product. By providing an electrode for the micro-organisms to donate their electrons to, the electrons can be harvested as electricity. Research has shown that plant-growth isn’t compromised by harvesting electricity, so plants keep on growing while electricity is concurrently produced.
(READ more in Yes magazine)
No matter this man’s back story, we just loved this photo
On Christmas Eve in Worcester, Massachusetts, Thomas Joseph Bennett told a reporter “I just want to say, ‘Thank you.'”
A former addict and criminal, he was out on the street holding up a different kind of panhandling sign, and thanking those who’ve helped him in the past:
“My miracle is you. I got a job. To the people who felt my pain, Thank You! My love and respect to u all.”
During The Voice of Holland auditions season 4, the ghost of Bob Marley appeared on stage in the form of Mitchell Brunings.
The leader of the band Rootsriders who sang alone on the TV show, Brunings decided to perform the Bob Marley classic, “Redemption Song.”
From the first stanza, the judges were instantly amazed at the vocal resemblance to the great reggae singer. All four vied to be his coach on the show.
Originally from Surinam, South America, he placed second overall in 2013, but tallied an amazing 32 million views on Youtube with this initial audition. He has toured internationally since then.
(WATCH the video below – Learn more at www.mitchell-brunings.com)
A Muslim employee of the Paris kosher grocery store attacked by a terrorist Friday is being hailed as a hero for saving multiple customers from the gunman by ushering them into a freezer to hide them.
“I went down to the freezer, I opened the door, there were several people who went in with me.” 24-year-old Lassana Bathily told French network BFMTV. “I turned off the light and the freezer.”
(READ the story from Time magazine or WATCH the interview in French)
In the year since Rosa’s Fresh Pizza started selling dollar slices in downtown Philadelphia something wonderful has happened.
After witnessing the success of the dollar pizza stores in Manhattan, 27-year-old Mason Wartman left his job on Wall Street to move back home to open one of his own. What he didn’t know at the time is that his pizza joint would become a bastion of kindness for customers paying it forward by buying slices for others.
In March 2014, a customer asked he could buy a slice for someone in need.
“I ran out and got a Post-It and wrote a smiley face on it and stuck it up,” Wartman told WPVI News.
Today, hanging all over the walls of Rosa’s, which was named after his mother, are neon post-it notes from people who have bought slices of the handmade pizza to be given to the hungry.
The shop on 11th Street gives away an average of more than 40 slices of pizza every day now, and warmly welcomes any homeless person to sit down, enjoy the music and dine for free. More than 8,000 of the cheese slices, which have been lauded as delicious, have been donated in the nine months since the program was born.
Wartman started selling t-shirts and donates seven slices for every sale. The apparel company, Rush Order Tees, gave him a special deal and donated items, too. For every sweatshirt purchased, another sweatshirt is donated to help keep folks warm. Most impressive, RushOrderTees.com printed a large tag sewn on the inside that details homeless resources in the city, such as free shelter, food, and a free computer lab.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from ABC-6, WPVI)
Photo from Rosa’s Facebook Page – Story tip from Wil Reynolds
Albuquerque residents smashed their recycling record in 2014, collecting 70 percent more than they did in 2013. (KOAT)
The Muslim community of Michigan has stepped forward this week with a contribution of $100,000 to support Detroit residents who are facing hardship from water shut offs.
More than 60,000 households in Detroit have faced the risk of water shut off or are struggling to recover from water damage due to recent floods. The grant from the Michigan Muslim Community Council in partnership with Islamic Relief USA – the largest Muslim charity organization in the United States – will be used in direct assistance to disadvantaged Detroit families struggling to maintain their water utilities. The groups hope that this grant will encourage others to come forward with assistance since there is still great need.
“We are hoping this is going to be contagious,” said Islamic Relief CEO, Anwar Khan. “It is important to us in our faith to help our neighbors. It is a part of our faith to help our friends.”
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan led an effort to provide water relief to disadvantaged families by setting up the Detroit Water Fund and a plan for residents to receive help. Other major donors to this effort include Ford and GM who each donated $50,000, and the United Way which donated $100,000.
The grant is part of a concerted effort by metro-Detroit Muslims to contribute to the city’s revitalization because Detroit has been an important part of American Muslim history and is recovering from difficult economic times. Other initiatives include the Huda clinic, which provides free medical and dental clinic to all; Zaman International, which provides food and material assistance to at risk-women and children; DREAM (Detroit Revitalization Engaging American Muslim), which reclaims and renovates homes for disadvantaged families; and the Ramadan Fight Against Hunger Food Drive and Oedhiya project, which distributes several tons of food and meat annually to local food banks and community centers.
Learn more at www.mimuslimcouncil.com.
Lauretta leads an exercise class and says she doesn’t allow age to slow her down.
She insists that the key to longevity is a positive attitude.
The Minnesota woman who turned 100 on Tuesday also stays current, connecting with family and friends on Facebook and ordering new books on Amazon.
(WATCH the video above or READ the AP story via Philly.com)
A photo of a man in need getting some help at a Chick-fil-A restaurant alongside a highway in Birmingham, Alabama is inspiring viewers far and wide.
Andrea Stoker posted the photo on the Chick-fil-A website explaining that a man had come in to the restaurant “to escape the 35 degree temps and strong winds”.
He asked the cashier if he could “work for food.” That’s when store owner Mark Meadows showed his telltale generosity, and without meaning to, landed in the media spotlight once again. Meadows is the same Chick-fil-A owner who handed out hundreds of chicken sandwiches for free to stranded motorists along the highway after a January blizzard surprised Southerners and led to havoc last year.
This time, Mr. Meadows asked the cold traveler if he had a pair of gloves.
Andrea reported on Facebook: “He walked to the table at which he’d been sitting and picked up his own. As he handed the man his gloves, he asked another employee to get him something to eat.”
Her surreptitious photo posted on Facebook has warmed hearts and garnered thousands of Shares.
A local server, Lisa Lawrence, commented on the photo, “He ate at my work (Applebee’s) not long ago, left me a $35 tip and paid for the table’s bill beside me. Said he did it once a month — and leaves them a chick-fil-a card in place of their bill. Amazing man!”
(WATCH the video and READ the story from WBRC)
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A towing company near Winston-Salem, North Carolina is servicing a lot of people now that the cold weather is stranding motorists whose car batteries have died.
But one of the employees at All Over Towing, Daniel Sadler, started thinking about people who had no homes or vehicles and who would be outdoors in the freezing temperatures.
He took his tip money and headed to a local Dollar Store to buy cold weather items to hand out to the needy, reports WGHP-TV.
He hit the city streets and handed out free hats, gloves, scarves, blankets and socks. He was filled with such satisfaction that he decided to go out again later in the week.
“I felt great, you know,” Sadler said. “These folks were crying.”
(WATCH the video above or READ the story from WGHP)
Story tip from Kelly Harrington
