Retired grandparents Jeanne and Burt Metz lost their home when Superstorm Sandy hit Breezy Point, New York.
A volunteer organization told the couple that their floors and walls would be rebuilt – but little did the Metz family know that hundreds of people were working to resurrect their entire house.
(WATCH the video below from NBC)
Retired grandparents Jeanne and Burt Metz lost their home when Superstorm Sandy hit Breezy Point, New York.
A volunteer organization told the couple that their floors and walls would be rebuilt – but little did the Metz family know that hundreds of people were working to resurrect their entire house.
Going beyond his normal duties, a Kansas police officer responded to an elderly woman’s house and ended up going grocery shopping for her and bringing back $50 worth of supplies, as well as a Christmas ham and poinsettia.
The 86-year-old Overland Park woman couldn’t drive because she was on new medication. Her son and another close relative who normally helped out had both recently died.
When police officer Derrick Hogan was dispatched to the lady’s home, something stirred him to do more than simply help her to contact her local church for food.
On his police blog, Chief John Douglass told how he received a letter commending the cop’s good deed: “He responded to a call on the eve of Christmas Eve for an elderly lady who was not expecting the police department to do anything but help her contact her church.”
“Officer Hogan went to her house to check on her. He handwrote the grocery list and returned with over $50 of groceries for her. She must have mentioned she’d be spending Christmas alone, because he also returned with a small ham, saying you can’t have Christmas without a ham. Also, he returned with a beautiful poinsettia to sit in her house for some Christmas cheer. She tried to pay him, but he refused and wished her a Merry Christmas!”
The letter, which was signed, ‘A Very Grateful Citizen”, went on, saying the Overland Park Police force “should be proud to have Officer Hogan.”
“He deserves to be recognized not only for this commitment to serve, but his commitment to compassion.”
(WATCH the video below or READ the story from KCTV)
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg is the ultimate success story, and he is a generous guy. This is typical of the latest generation of wealthy entrepreneurs.
Young donors are more interested in creating partnerships and being actively involved in their giving, unlike older philanthropists, who simply wrote checks every year.
Big donors like Zuckerberg undeniably do make a difference to other budding philanthropists.
Totally blind mice have had their sight restored by injections of light-sensing cells into the eye, UK researchers report.
The team in Oxford said their studies closely resemble the treatments that would be needed in people with degenerative eye disease.
Experts said the field was advancing rapidly.
After eight years, one of the most notorious Somali pirates is calling it quits. In fact, the “king-pin pirate” called a press conference to announce his resignation.
Apparently, the pirate business is not as lucrative these days and security on boats is so heightened that it has become too difficult to seize most vessels.
Dozens of children got a big surprise when window washers dressed as Spider-Man descended on the outside of All Children’s Hospital in Florida on Thursday.
The workers from Clearwater’s High Rise Window Cleaners made several trips from the top of the building to the ground, washing windows and waving at patients.
(WATCH the video below or READ the story at Tampa Bay Times)
NOTE: The Tampa Bay video may be having technical difficulties.
Dozens of children got a big surprise when window washers dressed as Spider-Man descended on the outside of All Children’s Hospital in Florida on Thursday.
The workers from Clearwater’s High Rise Window Cleaners made several trips from the top of the building to the ground, washing windows and waving at patients.
It is a long way from the grimy, poverty-stricken streets of Afghanistan to the red carpets of Hollywood — but 14-year-old Fawad Mohammadi is on his way.
The teenager, who sells chewing gum and maps from the curbside in Kabul, was an actor in “Buzkashi Boys,” a film nominated Thursday for an Oscar.
A collector of vintage photography equipment got an extra bonus when he picked up a French camera at an antique store: never-before-seen images circa World War I France.
Anton Orlov details the story of the lucky find on his blog the Photo Palace, where all of the eight photos from the Jumelle Belllieni stereoscopic camera can be seen.
A janitor at a Florida airport found an iPad – with $13,000 stuffed in its case – and turned it in. Then, after getting a $60 reward, he gave that away to two people he knows at the airport who are in need.
But the honesty and kindness paid off for the father of four, Patrick Morgan, when he was honored in a ceremony by his company, Sunshine Cleaning Systems, and presented with a check for $625.00.
A couple who wished to remain anonymous purchased a minivan from Dick Hannah Toyota in Washington last week to donate to Portland Police Officer Paul Meyer and family after seeing news reports about Meyer’s paralysis from an accident.
“A man contacted our dealership last week and told us he and his wife would like to purchase a Toyota Sienna minivan,” wrote Brian Sanders, the car dealership’s General Manager. “They are paying cash for it, but they’ll never sit behind the wheel.”
“He and his wife are not wealthy,” continued Sanders on the company’s Facebook Page. “They were both in the military and recently received a modest inheritance.”
They decided to gift the new vehicle to the police officer who was permanently paralyzed from the waist down when a tree snapped and fell on him during an ATV training accident last November.
“This short story has taken me 3 hours to write already. I honestly don’t know what to say. How amazing and inspiring are these people? While this couple is asking that their names not be shared, the story of their amazing generosity needs to be.”
(READ more from Oregon Live)
Kickstarter, the crowd-funding site that pairs indie-minded inventors, filmmakers and entrepreneurs with online investors, fully funded more than 18,000 projects in 2012.
The website’s year-end analysis shows that more than 2.2 million people pledged a total of nearly $320 million.
17 projects raised more than $1 million each, including Amanda Palmer, the Boston musician who raised nearly $1.2 million to record an album, which debuted in Billboard’s Top Ten in 2012. She promised deluxe extras for those pledging $25 and more.
The Connecticut Parent Teacher Association reached out to fellow PTA members across the country, requesting handmade “Snowflakes for Sandy Hook” to create a “winter wonderland” at the new school the kids moved into.
Now on day 25, and the entire lobby of the state association is stuffed floor to ceiling. The office is crammed end to end with boxes of every size.
Originally, they thought they’d get a few boxes, mostly from Connecticut, but now it’s even spreading globally — with snowflakes mailed from children and parents from 50 countries.
(WATCH the video or READ the story from CBS’s Steve Hartman)
On Australia’s Middle Island, after the population of Little Penguins dropped to fewer than 10 birds, the city council was desperate for a solution.
That’s when David Williams, an environmental science student working part-time at a free-range egg farm, suggested placing Maremma sheepdogs — the same dogs his employer used to guard the chickens — as protection for the birds against their greatest predator, the red fox.
And it worked.
A baby in Kenya needed life-saving heart surgery, but it would cost $23,000 and the family couldn’t afford it.
Enter a 5-year old Canadian boy from Waterloo who heard the story and marched to his bedroom to empty his piggy bank.
After seeing their boy Cameron’s heartfelt gesture, the parents decided that maybe they could help him inspire friends, family and strangers to kick in the extra funds needed to reach the goal.
So they set up a Facebook group, Help Cam Help Baby Brave, where the boy posted videos and stories to raise the final $5,000 needed for the baby.
The Saudi king has granted women seats on the country’s top advisory council for the first time.
Saudi Arabia’s official news agency said Friday that King Abdullah issued a royal decree granting women seats on the 150-member Shura Council.
(From an AP story in the Washington Post, the link to which was since broken)
The Brighton Implant Clinic recently began offering free dental treatment to patients who have exceptional circumstances and are unable to afford treatment. Of the dozens treated, David Bryant who works with blind war veterans, is perhaps the most inspiring.
Several of his colleagues entered his name into a contest on Facebook that offered to the winner a brand new set of teeth, a treatment that normally costs between $10,000-$24,000 (£6500-£15,000).
Inundated with entries from potential patients telling their stories, the UK dentists agreed that Mr. Bryant’s caught their eye.
He works with the charity Blind Veterans UK, teaching creative skills like painting, drawing, sculpture and woodworking. Although he is a much loved character around the shop, friends and family say David suffered from low self-esteem due to his appearance. His great personality was often shadowed by a lack of confidence.
“The transformation was quite incredible,” Dr. Silva told the Good News Network. “He is such a kind person, it was great to give him something in return.”
Colleagues were thrilled when Bryant won the contest, describing him as a selfless man who is always working hard to help others and putting their needs ahead of his own.
The treatment consisted of extractions and “all-on-4” implants. Bryant arrived early for the procedure and left in the afternoon with a full upper arch of shiny new pearly whites. He said pain was minimal and his recovery was quick. Most importantly, the results were amazing. When he arrived for his follow up appointment the difference was immediately noticeable – even in the way he carried himself.
“It was really an amazing feeling to see someone appreciate your work that much,” said Dr. Silva. “Especially when you learn that his daughter had never seen him with teeth before.”
“Now David can eat an apple or a steak and best of all he can smile with confidence.”
WATCH the wonderful transformation in the video below…
The Brighton Implant Clinic recently began offering free dental treatment to patients who have exceptional circumstances and are unable to afford treatment. Of the dozens treated, David Bryant who works with blind war veterans, is perhaps the most inspiring.
Several of his colleagues entered his name into a contest on Facebook that offered to the winner a brand new set of teeth, a treatment that normally costs between $10,000-$24,000 (£6500-£15,000).
Inundated with entries from potential patients telling their stories, the UK dentists agreed that Mr. Bryant’s caught their eye.
Holistic-thinking people are always looking for a home remedy to any problem, so during this flu season we might want to stock our kitchens with the foods and beverages that boost immunity and fight the flu.
Epicurious magazine consulted John La Puma, M.D., the author of Chef MD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine, for advice about what to eat and what to stock up on.
