Family Invites 200 Homeless People to Dinner After Wedding is Canceled

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Sep 24, 2013

dinner reception donated to homeless-JonathanPhillips

What do you do when a wedding you’ve planned for months is suddenly cancelled? The Fowler Family of Atlanta didn’t let the four course meal and reception venue go to waste. They invited 200 of the city’s destitute to join them.

“Hosea Feed the Hungry” charity arranged for the homeless adults and families to dine with Carol and Willie Fowler and their daughter on Sunday at the posh wedding venue, Villa Christina.

The former bride-to-be Tamara Fowler enjoyed the evening and was delighted to see that others had the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful meal.

(READ the story from the NY Daily News – LISTEN to an interview at WBUR)

Thanks to Allison Conner Whitten for submitting the link on our Facebook Page!

Photo credit: Jonathan Phillips, Capture Life Through the Lens

Girl’s Death Sparks Global ‘Pay it Forward’ Movement

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Sep 23, 2013

Just three weeks ago, an 18-year-old girl in Erie, Pennsylvania named Alyssa Josephine O’Neill wanted to go to Starbucks with her mom but she suddenly died from an epileptic seizure.

Alyssa never got to taste her first pumpkin spice latte but, after the deadly seizure, her parents decided to buy 40 of the sweet, warm drinks for strangers, paying it forward in loving memory — with her initials scribbled on the cup, #AJO.

As a result, some Starbucks employees joined in and a campaign was born. Using the same hashtag #AJO, people from as far away as Korea, Iceland and India are buying coffees for strangers, writing #AJO in loving memory.

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Now You Can Invest Your Money in a Fund to Advance Vaccines

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Sep 23, 2013

insulin-in-treating-diabetes A new investment fund structured by JPMorgan Chase and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will, for the first time, allow individual and institutional investors the opportunity to finance late-stage global health technologies that have the potential to save millions of lives in low-income countries.

With $94 million already committed by an international group of investors, the Global Health Investment Fund (GHIF) will invest in new drugs and vaccines, emerging diagnostic tools, and other applications that will help eliminate malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and infant mortality in low-income countries.

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WATCH: Bystanders Cheer While Firemen Revive Man’s Life

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Sep 23, 2013

It might have been an average occurrence for Engine 5 of the Rochester Fire Department but for the wildly cheering crowd.

Emergency personnel ran across the road from the fire house after a man slammed his vehicle into a utility pole suffering a heart attack while driving.

When bystanders pulled him out of the car, 58-year-old Artie Frisbee looked purple and had stopped breathing.

As the trained crew went to work pumping on his chest, the crowd grew and began cheering for Artie to come back to life and for Engine 5 to pull out a big rescue.

“Engine five can do it!”

Neighborhood residents know the firehouse by name because the station is threatened by budget cuts. Artie Frisbee visited the firehouse a few days later, grateful the men were there to answer the urgent call for help.

The video was shared with permission of all parties and ended when an official asked him to stop recording.

(WATCH the video from Right This Minute – READ the story at YNN)

Former Teen Mom, DC’s Top Cop Believes in Compassion

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Sep 23, 2013

Cathy Lanier went from being a teenage mom on food stamps to being Washington D.C.’s first female chief of police.

Hers was one of the steadying voices that emerged in the wake of Monday’s mass shooting at the Navy Yard.

The tough-as-nails commander told NBC News that she readily gives out her cellphone number to anyone in the community who might need it.

(WATCH the video or READ the story from NBC)

Shipping Industry Agrees to Slow Down for Threatened Whales

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Sep 22, 2013

whale in shipping lane - Cascadia Research

Persistent prompting by an Auckland scientist has persuaded the shipping industry to rearrange its schedules, for a whale.

After a six-year campaign led by Dr Rochelle Constantine, of the University of Auckland’s school of biological sciences, the shipping industry this week agreed to reduce speeds and take other measures to improve the chances of vulnerable marine mammals surviving ship strikes, especially the resident population of Bryde’s whales.

The “transit protocol” devised with the Port of Auckland will cost shipping companies time and money – matters Constantine confesses she finds less important than survival of a whale.

(READ the story from the New Zealand Herald)

Photo credit: Cascadia Research

– Ships Rerouted to Save Whales in San Francisco Bay

– 40 Victories Since the First Earth Day: 40th Anniversary Timeline

Entrepreneur Starts his Version of Harvard, Tuition-free

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Sep 22, 2013

Minerva Schools of KGI doesn’t yet have accreditation, a campus or even a full faculty roster, but it is offering something even Harvard can’t – four years of free tuition for its first year students.

The San Francisco-based Minerva Project, an ambitious effort to remake the higher education model, announced its tuition plan on Tuesday in hopes of attracting some of the world’s most talented and academically competitive students for the class that will enroll in the fall of 2014.

(READ the story from Reuters News)

Photo credit: Minerva founder Ben Nelson

Trader Joe’s Ex-President To Turn Expired Food Into Cheap Meals

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Sep 22, 2013

produce section grocery store aerial-BunnyheroFlickr

In the U.S., about 40 percent of our food gets thrown out.

Doug Rauch, the former president of Trader Joe’s, is determined to repurpose the perfectly edible produce that ends up in the trash by cooking it, turning it into prepared meals and then selling it deeply discounted in a new type of store.

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Boy Donates His Savings to the Police Department on 9/11

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Sep 21, 2013

A young contributor who anonymously dropped off $10.03 at a Wisconsin police department after the anniversary of 9/11 has been identified as 11-year-old Max Siepert.

The sixth-grader said he learned about the Sept. 11 attacks in school and heard about all the good deeds that are done on that date. He had been collecting money since April and decided what to do with it.

Max’s grandfather, it turns out, was a Milwaukee police officer who was killed in the line of duty in 1974. Max rode his bike to the police station without his parents’ knowledge to give the money in his grandfather’s honor. He definitely didn’t expect any attention.

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Taylor Swift Grants Wish for Girl with Spinal Condition

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Sep 21, 2013

Taylor Swift fans flocked to her concert in St. Paul last weekend, but one first-grader from Mankato, Minn., got a personal meet-and-greet with her musical idol, thanks to the Kids Wish Network.

Madison Harbarth, who was born with a rare condition that caused her spine to stop growing in utero, was given a meaningful autograph that will inspire her for a lifetime. It read, “To Madison: You are beautiful and perfect. Love, Taylor.”

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Houston Fire Dept. Makes Dream Come True for Retired Firefighter with Alzheimer’s

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Sep 21, 2013

fire truck memory for Alzheimers captain-KHOUvid

A former Houston Fire Department captain got one last chance to strap on a helmet and climb aboard a fire truck this week

41 years ago Rufus Smith was a captain with the department and, since retiring, has been a mentor to newcomers.

Recently, Smith was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, but still dreamed of one last shift at Houston Fire Station 7, his old firehouse.

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Charlize Theron Crusades Against AIDS in South African Homeland

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Sep 20, 2013

Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron has a starring role in her homeland of South Africa — helping prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Despite recent success in combating the disease — a 63% drop in new infections among the youth — around 5.6 million South Africans have HIV. To prevent the disease from coming back again, Theron believes the key lies in empowering African youth at a grassroots level.

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Canadian Professor Expanding Nutritional Program to a Quarter-Million Rwandan Children

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Sep 20, 2013

UNICEF and the government of Rwanda have invited a professor from the University of B.C. to expand a 12-month nutritional pilot study involving 1,100 children into a national program for nearly half a million toddlers aged six months to two years.

Judy McLean said the micro-nutrient powders provided significant nutritional value yet cost a little more than a penny per day, about $6.75 per child for the 18-month program.

(READ the story by Randy Shore in the Vancouver Sun)

Thanks to Craig Withers for submitting the link!

The Tip Fairy Spreads Joy, Leaving $200 for Waiters Around Town

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Sep 20, 2013

Two video pranksters, Andrew Hales and Stuart Edge, teamed up to bring happiness to three deserving coffee shop servers in Orem, Utah. After asking them to name the biggest tip they ever got, they trumped it by leaving $200, and then hid outside in the bushes to record their surprised reactions through the window.

The resulting 2-minute, 25-second clip has tallied more than 5 million views on YouTube since it was posted four days ago, earning the pair media attention and also a nice “tip” due to the advertising revenue generated by so many people watching their video.

Hales describes it as something he’d been wanting to do for some time, perhaps being inspired by “Aaron’s Last Wish” a story about a Kentucky family who tipped a pizza server $500 fulfilling the wish of their dying brother, and the resulting video on YouTube that went viral.

One of the waiters wanted Hales to remind everyone that their work earns them just $2.13 per hour in Utah and leaves them depending on tips.

(WATCH the YouTube video below)

Boy’s Stuffed Wolf Stitched Up by Compassionate Doctor

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Sep 19, 2013

Hospitalized boy and plush wolf-JoshuaWade-FB

A nine-year-old Colorado boy hugged his favorite plush toy last Friday at Memorial Hospital for Children in Colorado Springs where he would undergo treatment for acid reflux.

Pediatric gastroenterologist Christine Waasdorp Hurtado said the wolf had an inch-long hole in the seam of one of his shoulders. She quietly sewed up the animal while Joshua was going under anesthesia, reported a news producer at CNN’s iReport.

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Fast Food Worker Who Stood Up For Blind Customer Gets National Praise

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Sep 19, 2013

Dairy Queen worker stands up for blind man-KARETVvid

A 19-year-old employee at a local Dairy Queen served more than ice cream at his Hopkins, Minnesota store on September 10. He stood up for a blind man after his twenty dollar bill, dropped on the ground, was scooped up by a sighted customer who refused to give it back.

A typed letter of commendation now hangs on the wall of the DQ shop after a third customer saw the whole scene unfold and couldn’t believe how Joey Prusak, the manager of the DQ, had handled the situation, going above and beyond what anyone could expect.

Joey, who is the store’s manager, asked the elderly woman to return the money but she claimed the money was hers. Then, he flatly states he won’t serve her unless she gives back the cash. When she still refused to do the right thing, he asked her to leave.

”He stayed calm and never gave her any attitude,” wrote the onlooker in an email to Dairy Queen headquarters. “What happened next I would have never expected.”

“Your employee… took out his wallet and said, ‘Sir, on behalf of Dairy Queen I would like to give you the $20 bill you dropped.'”

Joey’s display of generosity shocked the onlooker who stated in his email that his “fate” had been “forever sealed” as a “life long customer” after experiencing such “outstanding customer service”.

A co-worker was impressed by what happened and posted the message on Facebook, according to KARE-11 TV. Others shared it and now it has now gone viral.

(WATCH the video below or READ more at NY Daily News, but beware that a video starts playing once you visit the page)

Grumpy Cat Signs Endorsement Deal With Friskies

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Sep 19, 2013

Grumpy Cat, the Internet celebrity famous for its perpetual scowl, just added an endorsement deal to a list of lucrative achievements.

Purina PetCare has hired the forlorn-looking feline to be the official “spokescat” for its Friskies brand. “Tardar Sauce” is the cat’s real name, referring to its color, and misspelled by a youngster in the family.

Tabatha Bundesen, the cat’s human, has already signed business deals with a coffee company named Grumpy Beverage and with movie producers who want to use the cat’s image.

Still, he doesn’t look to happy about all the hoopla.

(READ the story from CNN Money)

(UPDATE) Fund For Honest Boston Homeless Man Breaks $100,000

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Sep 19, 2013

The fund for Glen James, set up for the homeless man who returned a backpack with $42,000 inside, has collected more than double that in donations. The Virginia man who started the campaign calls it “amazing” and a “statement to everyone in America.”

As of this morning, more than 4,000 people have given money to support a better, healthier life for Mr. James, who found the backpack Saturday but immediately turned it over to police.

The fundraising campaign, at Gofundme.com, has tallied $100,353 so far.

(READ the latest in this AP story in the Boston Globe)

Photo: video snippet, Boston. com

Thanks to Julia Frerichs, LMT for sending the update!

Almost as Many Pets As People Rescued in Colorado Floods

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Sep 18, 2013

Evacuation of pets people USArmy-cc-Flickr

After a week of relentless rains and historic flooding in the state of Colorado, at least 12,000 people have already been evacuated, many by helicopter, over the hundreds of square miles affected.

Among those rescued have been hundreds of animals, including dogs, cats, goats, horses, cows and more.

“There were almost as many pets as people getting off the evacuation helicopters today,” the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office posted on its Facebook page on Saturday.

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Mark Wahlberg Earns High School Diploma at Age 42

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Sep 18, 2013

Hollywood superstar Mark Wahlberg has been quietly finishing high school, after finding a course he could take online.

“For almost a year, I’ve been taking classes and studying any chance I could get — on the set, traveling for work and at home. It has been both humbling and challenging, but I’m happy to report that I am officially a high school graduate, having received my diploma this summer.”

He’s also giving back, helping other teens stay in school. His Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation has partnered with other organizations to provide resources to young people who commit to finishing high school.

(READ the story from TODAY)

Thanks to Allison Conner Whitten for submitting the link on our Facebook Page!

Photo credit: Jonathan Phillips, Capture Life Through the Lens

Photo credit: Cascadia Research

Thanks to Craig Withers for submitting the link!

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Photo: video snippet, Boston. com

Thanks to Julia Frerichs, LMT for sending the update!