Jim McAleer, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association’s Orange County chapter, is in disbelief about an act of charity from a woman he’s never met.
Helen Banas, 95, bequeathed the entirety of her estate to the non-profit organization, in the sum of $27 million. Banas, who passed away in August, had been widowed for 50 years.
No one, not even neighbors knew she had any money at all.
Many returning soldiers are struggling to find employment but the program Troops to Teachers offers a chance for a rewarding career that utilities leadership skills and perseverance.
The Department of Defense initiative is quickly becoming a win-win program for veterans and schools, as qualified service members get trained as teachers and create a safer environment for public schools.
A stray dog that helped save the lives of two soldiers in Afghanistan and survived capture by the Taliban is a canine hero that now tours Britain with his new owner raising money to help save other Afghan animals.
Brin was adopted by the British army when he was found starving and abandoned outside a base in Helmand in 2010.
The soldiers discovered he had an in-born talent for sniffing out danger and soon he began accompanying patrols around the area.
Bottlenose dolphins call out the specific names of loved ones when they become separated, a study finds.
Other than humans, the dolphins are the only animals known to do this, according to the study, which was conducted from 1984 to 2009 and published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
When groups of dolphins met up, they swapped whistles that outwardly sounded the same but their research showed that the whistles were individual signatures that were never matched or copied by other dolphins.
Julian Newman is 11 years old. At 4-foot-5-inches he has become an internet sensation thanks to a viral video of his phenomenal basketball skills.
Even though he is only in the fifth grade, he plays for an Orlando, Florida high school varsity team. His speed and agility — not to mention how close he is to the ground — makes catching him hard even for opponents who are 6-years older than him.
Julian Newman is 11 years old. At 4-foot-5-inches he has become an internet sensation thanks to a viral video of his phenomenal basketball skills.
Even though he is only in the fifth grade, he plays for an Orlando, Florida high school varsity team. His speed and agility — not to mention how close he is to the ground — makes catching him hard even for opponents who are 6-years older than him.
A growing number of retirees are moving to some unlikely places. Some are going back to school to keep their minds active.
One typical couple returns to their alma mater to see the football team play, but ends up staying because there is so much to do there — cultural activities, athletics and free lectures.
Although peaks in the trading markets are just moments in time, it is still a positive sign when we reach them, if only temporarily. This week we saw a congruence of high points from many corners of the world.
Starting in Southeast Asia, the Philippines and Indonesian stock markets hit their record high on Wednesday, while Thailand ended atop a 19-year peak, amid the improving global economic outlook.
Japan’s Nikkei climbed to a 52-month high on Wednesday.
Robbi Giuliano thinks ditching students’ desk chairs in favor of yoga balls is one of the best decisions she ever made in 11 years of teaching.
Replacing stationary seats with inflatable bouncers has raised productivity in her fifth-graders at Westtown-Thornbury Elementary School, helping students focus on lessons while improving their balance and core strength, she said.
The giant rubber spheres, also called stability balls, make the student work to stay balanced which increases blood flow, leading to more alertness.
(READ the AP story from TODAY)
_______________
For you fully-grown kids who might need the benefits of a stability ball… Until March 19 you can get 20% off the Classic Balance Ball® Chair – (pictured here) at Gaiam.com.
On Friday, Feb. 15, more than 1,500 members of the NBA family, including the NBA All-Stars, joined in service projects throughout Houston, including the renovation of 5 homes, repairs and improvements to the Foster Place Elementary basketball court, and much needed yardscaping.
In the video below, stars like Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh and LeBron James talk about the impact of giving back during the 2013 NBA Cares All-Star Day of Service.
Baltimore Ravens fan Matthew Jeffers has inspired head coach John Harbaugh and players like Bernard Pollard with a powerful email sent earlier in the season when the team was mostly losing.
Since birth, Matthew, a drama student, has been afflicted with short stature but says that overcoming failure is a choice that everyone can make.
In the last 15 months Isabelle and Katherine Adams have made life immeasurably better for villagers they’ve never met, in lands far away from their own home in Dallas.
The young sisters, ages 6 and 9, have raised a remarkable amount, $120,000 in total, for clean-water projects in Ethiopia and India, all through selling origami ornaments they create themselves, and by collecting matching funds for their cause.
In the last 15 months Isabelle and Katherine Adams have made life immeasurably better for villagers they’ve never met, in lands far away from their own home in Dallas.
The young sisters, ages 6 and 9, have raised a remarkable amount, $120,000 in total, for clean-water projects in Ethiopia and India, all through selling origami ornaments they create themselves, and by collecting matching funds for their cause.
The Original OKRA Charity Saloon in downtown Houston operates a lot like any other tavern — booze is purchased and poured, bartenders get paid and take home tips. But, the owners of this establishment give all their profits away.
Proceeds from OKRA’s are donated to a different Houston-based organization or social cause each month. With every drink purchased, bar patrons vote on which charity is chosen from among four new nominees each month.
The Original OKRA Charity Saloon in downtown Houston operates a lot like any other tavern — booze is purchased and poured, bartenders get paid and take home tips. But, the owners of this establishment give all their profits away.
Proceeds from OKRA’s are donated to a different Houston-based organization or social cause each month. With every drink purchased, bar patrons vote on which charity is chosen from among four new nominees each month.
A year ago, the ABC program “What Would You Do” set up scenarios where a young man and a young woman looked like they were stuck with a flat tire. They compared reactions by pedestrians, and the difference it made on bystanders if the one needing help was a woman or man.
Then, they switch it up and used a Muslim actor to play the stranded motorist. Hours went by and no one helped the man who was clad in the traditional scullcap of the Islamic faith.
But at last, an extraordinary young gentleman came along to help.
Provita Pharmaceutical is working on a project (with funding from the Gates Foundation) to use mosquitoes to help carry vaccines against the West Nile Virus.
The first goal: to genetically engineer mosquitoes so that they can produce and deliver a vaccine via their saliva. It’s a new twist on research being done elsewhere to breed sterile mosquitoes in malaria-infested areas.
And, everyone on the 15-plus person Provita team, from research and development workers to finance officers, is under the age of 18 and still in high school.
Looking at a warehouse full of outdated and discontinued door knobs, the folks at Union Hardware in Bethesda, Maryland wondered what they could possible do to put all those products to better use.
“We knew that their commercial viability was limited,” says David Van-Goghberg who works at the store. “Instead of sending them to the scrap yard, we decided to create something memorable.”
So, in 2011 the third-generation, family-owned and operated business began a project to bring to life Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece Starry Night using the distinctive tools of the hardware trade — door knobs, levers and plates.
Looking at a warehouse full of outdated and discontinued door knobs, the folks at Union Hardware in Bethesda, Maryland wondered what they could possible do to put all those products to better use.
“We knew that their commercial viability was limited,” says David Van-Goghberg who works at the store. “Instead of sending them to the scrap yard, we decided to create something memorable.”
So, in 2011 the third-generation, family-owned and operated business began a project to bring to life Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece Starry Night using the distinctive tools of the hardware trade — door knobs, levers and plates.
With improved awareness of diabetes and with newer medications, the number of people successfully managing their disease has spiked from just two percent a couple of decades ago to 19 percent in 2010.
New government research found that many more people were managing the three measurements of disease control, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
