The honors and accolades have streamed in over the decades as Joe Segal built a business empire that includes starting Fields department stores, acquiring Zellers and becoming the largest single shareholder of the Hudson’s Bay Company. But the billionaire would rather talk about the plight of the mentally ill than himself.
Billionaire Moved by Stories of Overcoming Gives Generously to Mental Health
Bridging the Gap Between Arabs and Jews, in Ontario Lake Country
As long-awaited peace talks resumed last week in Washington, young Jewish and Arab kids are learning peaceful co-existence in the great Canadian outdoors.
For three summers now, Camp Shomria brings 14- and 15-year-old Israelis from their tension-filled communities for a two-week vacation on the shores of Otty Lake.
The teens, drawn from both Jewish and Muslim cultures, learn what it’s like to live together.
Wisconsin Man Builds His Dream, a Planetarium in His Backyard
Disappointed when he took some boy scouts to gaze at the stars but clouds quickly obscured them, a Wisconsin man decided to open his own planetarium using the money he earned while working at a local paper mill.
Frank Kovac built the planetarium himself — a huge spherical structure in the backyard — and painted 5000 stars, each with the correct brightness, resulting in a spectacular replica of the entire night sky as seen on a clear night in the northern hemisphere.
The high school graduate who now operates full-time his facility near Rhinelander, says it took him ten years but he managed to install the world’s largest mechanical globe planetarium.
His friends thought the 47-year-old was crazy, but they contributed their knowledge and help, whenever asked. “They were a tremendous boost on a project of this magnitude”.
“Throughout history only three known globe style planetariums were constructed dating back to the fifteenth century.” according to KovacPlanetarium.com. “Thanks to my late father, who took the time to show me the stars, the world now has the fourth.”
(WATCH the Steve Hartman video below or READ his story at CBS News)
Canadian Girl Can Play Again After Becoming Youngest in World on Heart Pump
Six-year-old Muskaan Grewal, a recent heart transplant recipient and the youngest person in the world to receive a heart pump, couldn’t wait to get home to Surrey on Saturday to see the rest of her family.
As she waited with her dad for her bags to arrive on the conveyor belt at Vancouver airport, she hopped up and down in excitement.
Guy Does to Bank What Banks Usually Do to Other People
A Russian man who decided to write his own amendments into a credit card contract has been given a thumbs-up by a court who upheld his version after the bank sued.
Ironically, after the man sent in the signed contract with numerous changes, like 0% interest, no fees and unlimited credit, the bank complained because they had certified the contract without reading the fine print.
Tinkoff Credit Systems took Dmitry Agarkov to court, but a judge agreed with the the 42-year-old, deciding that the agreement he crafted was valid.
Credit Card Trouble at Tampa Airport Solved by Anonymous Dogooder
A user of the online website Reddit posted a photo of a delightful note that he said came from a stranger at the airport in Tampa, Florida.
The Redditor said he was trying to pay for his baggage fee when his credit card was denied. He said he then “Stepped out of line to check my balance, and when I came back this was waiting for me.”
Someone had paid the fee for him leaving a nice note:
Hey, I heard them say your card was declined. I know how that feels. Your bag fee’s on me. Just pay it forward the next time you get a chance. – Have a safe flight 🙂
“Thanks for making my day,” wrote the user, brbmycatexploded, on Reddit. The story caused others to chime in with similar stories of kindness.
Here is one of their stories:
“I’ll never forget when I was on vacation in Dallas-Fort Worth with my family (attending a wedding). A man walked up to my dad with a flower that he had picked from in front of the hotel and said, “would you like to buy this flower for your lovely wife? The money will go toward buying my family food for the night”. My dad reached into his pocket, pulled out a $100 and said, “take it and keep the flower for your wife.” The guy was so incredibly great full but the minute he walked away my Mom went off because she was convinced the guy was just going to go off and buy drugs or booze or come back and rob us since he knew we had money. !5 minutes later we see the same guy walking on the sidewalk again, this time he had at least 10 bags of groceries hanging from his arms, one of which contained diapers and he had a chicken wing hanging from his mouth. My dad still gloats about how wrong my mom was that night.”
From Recession’s Wake, Education Innovation Blooms
Major innovations—forged by the struggles of the Great Recession and fostered by technology—are coming to higher education, according to a high-profile gathering of education innovators meeting in Phoenix recently.
Many of the 1,500 attendees there agreed that the recession exposed structural flaws in higher education. The system simply costs too much and accomplishes too little.
Thieves Return Stolen Computers To Sexual Assault Nonprofit With Heartfelt Apology
Burglars in Southern California apparently had a change of heart after stealing from a nonprofit organization.
The very next day, they returned the items and left an apology letter that read:
“We had no idea what we were takeing. Here your stuff back. We hope that you guys can continue to make a difference in peoples lives. God Bless.”
(READ the story from the Business Insider)
Thanks to Christopher Guillou for submitting the link on our Facebook page!
92-yo Veteran Whose Golf Cart Was Stolen Gets New Ride When Donations Roll In
Thousands of dollars flowed in from kind people in the Charlotte area to replace a golf cart that was stolen from a 92 year-old World War II veteran. J.C. Green used the vehicle to get around his North Carolina property.
A bright red golf cart with leather seats worth $4800 was delivered from a company that also wanted to help.
“People, they just are the best,” Green said. “I can’t thank ’em enough. They are just wonderful.”
(READ the story, w/ photo, from the Herald Online)
Thanks to Steve G. for sending the link!
Florida Cop Rescues 90 Wandering Sea Turtle Hatchlings
Sarasota police officers not only serve humans but also serve and protect animals.
On patrol over the weekend, while Officer Derek Conley was stopped at the Lido Beach Resort, he saw sea turtle hatchlings crawling towards the front door. Someone checking into the hotel told him there were more turtles walking in the parking lot.The officer grabbed a cardboard box and collected the hatchlings and, finding even more turtles on the sidewalk and in the middle of the street, Conley stopped traffic to rescue the rest.
The U.S. Has a Really Helpful Student Loan Repayment Program—and No One’s Using It
The menu of repayment options available for student borrowers is a key benefit of taking out federal instead of private student loans, but new data show that many students aren’t taking advantage of the government’s programs.
Income-based repayment plans, praised by student advocates for making loans affordable, even forgive the remaining balance after 10, 20, or 25 years, depending on the program.
US Child Obesity Rate Begins Falling in Many States
After decades of rising rates, obesity among low-income preschoolers declined in 19 states and U.S. territories, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report found that Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey, South Dakota, and the U.S. Virgin Islands saw at least a one percentage point decrease in their rate of obesity from 2008 through 2011. Twenty states and Puerto Rico held steady at their current rate. Obesity rates increased slightly in just three states.
Previous research shows one in eight preschoolers to be obese in the United States, but CDC Director, Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. says, “the tide has begun to turn.”
First Time Ever, Two Women to Host U.S. Nightly News Show
PBS announced yesterday that Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff will be co-anchors and managing editors for the PBS Newshour marking the first time a network broadcast has had a female co-anchor team, and only the second time a female has been named an evening news host.
Florida Teen Becomes Youngest To Pass Bar Exam
A teenager has become the youngest person to qualify as a barrister in the 600 year history of the legal profession in the UK.
At 18 years old, Gabrielle Turnquest passed Britain’s bar exams and plans to return to America and practice law in the fashion industry.
She graduated from college early, too — at 16, she was the youngest person to ever get a psychology degree from Liberty University in Virginia.
(READ or LISTEN to the story at NPR News)
Thanks to our volunteer, Autumn Marie C., for submitting the link!
From Manufacturing to Car Sales, Britain Bounces Back
British manufacturing grew much more strongly than expected in June, suggesting the country’s recovery is broadening just as the Bank of England prepares to set out its plan for steering the economy back to health.
Car sales also rose, house prices continued to climb, and British retailers had their best month since 2006.
(READ the Reuters story via the Toronto Globe and Mail)
9-Year-Old With Swine Flu Gets Once- Impossible Kidney Transplant
A 9-year-old boy whose tiny body was ravaged by swine flu during the 2009 outbreak is recovering from a much-needed but once-impossible kidney transplant.
Robert Maddox received the kidney from his mother on July 30 at the Mayo Clinic, nearly four years after contracting the H1N1 virus that killed an estimated 1,282 U.S. children.
Stranded Winemaker Makes Party for Passengers on Broken-Down Train
Passengers on a Friday afternoon AmTrak train from New York to DC in April might have been grumpy because their engine repeatedly broke down causing delays of many hours. But very few unhappy faces were seen in the train car where French winemaker Paul Goldschmidt sat in route to a DC wine tasting event.
Trapped on the train, the owner of Chateau Siaurac realized he would not be able to make the event scheduled for 5 to 7 PM, so he uncorked the bottles and hosted a wine-tasting for the weary passengers instead.
“Goldschmidt decided to take out his many wines and launch a spontaneous, engaging presentation of his several varieties of excellent Pomerol,” reported Janne Nolan, a professor at George Washington University who was riding in the Acela car with the vintner. “Before long, the disgruntled passengers were singing ‘La Marseillaise’—on the quiet car!”
By the time the train completely broke down in Baltimore, everyone in the car had gotten to know each other and a pair of DC locals even helped the winemaker get to Washington, escorting him in a taxicab.
(WATCH the video below, or READ more from the Washingtonian)
Thanks to Andrew N. for sending the link!
Rutgers Experiment Sends 100 Urban Kids to College – for Free
Five years ago, Rutgers University began a grand experiment.
What would happen if the university put nearly 200 low-income kids in an intensive multiyear program to get them ready for college and offered them free tuition to Rutgers if they stuck with it?
The results of the program, called Rutgers Future Scholars, are better than anyone at the university expected.
(READ the story from the Star-Ledger via NJ.com)
Jeff Bezos Re-Kindles Hope, Buys The Washington Post
Something historic happened in Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon — an announcement so unexpected as to seem miraculous. In mere seconds, The debt-ridden Washington Post was transformed with the news that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos was buying the newspaper.
Bezos, named businessman of the year by Forbes magazine and one of the richest men on the planet, had paid $250 million out of his own pocket to save the iconic paper.
Thousands to be Honored in London’s Northeast for their Good Deeds
A drive to recognize good deeds is blossoming in northeast London.
By the end of its Can U Feel It? campaign, 18,000 people will be honored by members of the community for their good deeds.
“It’s quite amazing, actually, how this has taken off,” said Arden McClean, the program manager at Family Centre Carling-Thames.