80-year-old Ruby Dunson has been raising abandoned children for 42 years — a job she first embraced after she agreed to babysit and the mother never returned for her infant.
In all, she raised 10 successful children in her small brick home on Detroit’s west side, eight of whom she agreed to take in after they were abandoned at birth or abused as kids.
Dozens of elderly Poles who helped save Jews during World War II have gathered in Warsaw to be recognized by Jewish representatives who hailed them for their heroism.
The meeting, over a kosher lunch Sunday in an upscale hotel, comes amid a growing appreciation in Poland for the thousands of people, most of them Roman Catholics, who risked their lives to help Jews during the brutal six-year-long Nazi occupation of Poland.
After reading an article in the local newspaper, Cassandra Lin of Westerly, Rhode Island discovered that many residents could not afford to heat their homes. Inspired to do something, she formed a team of five seventh graders to recycle waste cooking oil and turn it into biofuel for distribution to needy families.
Started in 2008, TGIF (Turn Grease Into Fuel) works with local biofuel companies to recycle the grease from residents and restaurants, and refine it into biodiesel. The award-winning project has been collecting more than 36,000 gallons of waste cooking oil a year, bringing an estimated value of $60,000 of alternative energy that keeps 92 needy families warm in the winter.
After reading an article in the local newspaper, Cassandra Lin of Westerly, Rhode Island discovered that many residents could not afford to heat their homes. Inspired to do something, she formed a team of five seventh graders to recycle waste cooking oil and turn it into biofuel for distribution to needy families.
Started in 2008, TGIF (Turn Grease Into Fuel) works with local biofuel companies to recycle the grease from residents and restaurants, and refine it into biodiesel. The award-winning project has been collecting more than 36,000 gallons of waste cooking oil a year, bringing an estimated value of $60,000 of alternative energy that keeps 92 needy families warm in the winter.
A bereaved husband painstakingly planted a tribute to his late wife, Janet using 6,000 oak trees to imprint a giant heart-shaped meadow in the middle of his 112-acre farm in South Gloucestershire, England.
In a sudden flash of inspiration to mark her legacy, Winston Howe hired a gardener and spent weeks planning and setting out each oak, carefully creating an acre-long heart, which points in the direction of Janet’s childhood hometown.
The huge heart, with hedges planted around the perimeter, was spotted by a hot air balloonist soaring over Mr. Howe’s estate.
(WATCH a slideshow below or READ the story in the UK Sun)
A bereaved husband painstakingly planted a tribute to his late wife, Janet using 6,000 oak trees to imprint a giant heart-shaped meadow in the middle of his 112-acre farm in South Gloucestershire, England.
In a sudden flash of inspiration to mark her legacy, Winston Howe hired a gardener and spent weeks planning and setting out each oak, carefully creating an acre-long heart, which points in the direction of Janet’s childhood hometown.
Gang leaders in El Salvador declared an unprecedented truce that authorities say has cut the homicide rate in half in just four months.
In March, rival gangs surprised the country by releasing a joint statement declaring an end to violence and pledging to freeze recruitment of new adolescent members, especially in poor neighborhoods and around schools.
Since then, the change has been dramatic. Murder rates are down by more than half, and on April 14, El Salvador recorded its first day in three years without a single murder.
(READ the Reuters story in the Chicago Tribune)
A baby deer whose mother likely was killed by a car in Bellingham, Washington, nuzzled up to a state trooper on the scene of the accident, apparently choosing him to be her caretaker.
Washington State Patrol Trooper Scott Brown put the fawn in his car and drove it to a wildlife rescue center on Tuesday, July 10, after he believed the two-month-old deer might not make it on his own.
Many drivers commonly see homeless people carrying cardboard signs asking for money at intersections, but commuters who passed Doug Eaton on Wednesday were surprised instead that he was handing out money.
In honor of his 65th birthday, Eaton decided to distribute free money to people, advertising his giveaway with a hand-painted sign that read: “I have a home and a car and a job. Do you need a few bucks for some coffee?”
The Oklahoma City man gave away five-dollar-bills for 65 minutes to anyone who wanted to take them.
He told the ABC news crew it was the best birthday gift ever. “It’s just been fantastic. Some people who don’t take the money say, ‘Man, I love what you are doing. Give it to someone who needs it.’”
(WATCH the video from KFOR below)
Many drivers commonly see homeless people carrying cardboard signs asking for money at intersections, but commuters who passed Doug Eaton on Wednesday were surprised instead that he was handing out money.
In honor of his 65th birthday, Eaton decided to distribute free money to people, advertising his giveaway with a hand-painted sign that read: “I have a home and a car and a job. Do you need a few bucks for some coffee?”
Betty Tisdale is doing again what she does best, saving and caring for orphans in war zones.
Known as the Angel of Saigon dating all the way back to the Vietnam war, Betty established an orphanage there and constantly raised money to build new additions for more orphans and better facilities. These days she brings her halo and heart to Afghanistan.
Her organization in Seattle called HALO — Helping And Loving Orphans — has built the first Afghan Montessori nursery school for their new orphanage in Kabul.
HALO, officially established in July 2000, has also helped other orphanages in Colombia, hiring a physical therapist for the handicapped children housed there, and in Mexico.
(WATCH a video about Betty from ABC News)
(Update: Betty died in 2015 in Seattle)
Maurice Miller remembered how his mother was a poor Mexican immigrant, and somehow figured out — on her own — how to get out of poverty.
As head of social service programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, he wondered, why don’t we pay poor families to show us what they would do to similarly lift themselves up?
The result was the Family Independence Initiative, a nonprofit now run by Miller. Its purpose is to encourage low-income families to form small groups and help each other figure out how to get ahead.
And the initial results have been impressive.
Sean Jacklin, 21, is riding his bicycle from coast to coast — 4,660 miles (7500 km) — in an effort to shine a light on a topic many people find difficult to talk about, raising awareness and funds for the hospice movement across Canada. As the second cyclist to organize a solo tour supporting end of life care, Sean knows it is hard to raise money for something no one likes to talk about.
“End-of-life care isn’t something you think about when you’re 21 and strong,” says Jacklin. “But now I realize it’s a very important program that flies under the radar and that’s what I’m hoping to change.”
Many hospices in Canada need donations to operate, with only half of their operating costs covered by the health-care system. The rest come through donations, mostly through estates or at the request of families who have benefitted from loved ones dying in such a dignified, caring environment.
Sean’s journey started in his hometown of Victoria, BC on June 5th and will end in September in St. Johns, Newfoundland with the goal of raising $50,000 for the Victoria Hospice Society. He had already raised $10,000 before leaving the province.
It wasn’t until Jacklin had committed to the ride that he discovered a personal connection. “My mom said, ‘You know, your Grandma Carey spent the last three weeks of her life in the Comox hospice” (north of Victoria).
Jacklin has received plenty of positive feedback during his 27 days on the road so far. “The support has been overwhelming. Having someone come up to you in tears, hold your hand, and say you’re doing a wonderful thing is the most rewarding feeling.”
WATCH the inspiring CTV video, and continue reading below…
Along the way, he’s accepting donations for any of the hospices across Canada, including the Victoria Hospice.
Jacklin stresses that the end goal is to raise funds, but the key by-product is the awareness of it all. “This subject should not be so taboo, it has touched and affected a high number of people, and it needs to be recognized. In Canada, 70% of all people who die from some form of terminal disease spend time in a hospice.”
Jacklin has faced many elements along the way and expects many more; however, he won’t give up. “To ride solo, unassisted, across Canada is a definite challenge that has me pushing the limits, but it’s more difficult to imagine someone spending the last weeks of their life without someone helping and comforting them.”
You can follow Sean’s Cycle of Life Tour on his Blog, and donate, at www.cycleoflifetour.ca
Sean Jacklin, 21, is riding his bicycle from coast to coast — 4,660 miles (7500 km) — in an effort to shine a light on a topic many people find difficult to talk about, raising awareness and funds for the hospice movement across Canada. As the second cyclist to organize a solo tour supporting end of life care, Sean knows it is hard to raise money for something no one likes to talk about.
“End-of-life care isn’t something you think about when you’re 21 and strong,” says Jacklin. “But now I realize it’s a very important program that flies under the radar and that’s what I’m hoping to change.”
Many hospices in Canada need donations to operate, with only half of their operating costs covered by the health-care system. The rest come through donations, mostly through estates or at the request of families who have benefitted from loved ones dying in such a dignified, caring environment.
In an effort to stop big oil corporations from pushing into the Arctic and taking advantage of melting sea ice, celebrities are joining a Greenpeace campaign to #SaveTheArctic.
Jude Law narrates a new heart-wrenching video featuring a polar bear wandering through a city, finally slumping next to a tree. The music is the lilting sounds of Britain’s Radiohead singer Thom York.
As the arctic melts, the rush to exploit its resources is starting. Nobody will listen to her, but they’ll listen to you. Join the movement. Save the Arctic.
When she was seven, Blakely Colvin had to endure three years of chemotherapy to counter the effects of a rare auto-immune disease, but her empathy for child cancer patients really kicked-in when she was in eighth grade and heard about another student her age who was diagnosed with leukemia and forced to quit school to battle the cancer. Without even knowing the boy, she decided to help his family and give him a reason to smile again.
Her inspiration came from her love of baking and cupcakes. Her desire to “make a difference in the life of just one cancer kid” has in five years blossomed into a cupcake charity empire spanning fifteen states that has raised more than $85,000 to help children like Kevin.
On a sight-seeing trip with her family to Vancouver, Dr. Nas Rafi got to put her emergency-room skills to the test in a venue where usually only EMT caregivers shine — on the streets amid the chaos of a car accident.
The 30-year-old doctor heard a scream of brakes as a female cyclist was pitched off her bike and into the path of a limousine.
A 51-year-old man cleaning out the extensive contents of a house in Ohio that belonged to his grandfather found a soot-covered cardboard box that had been tucked away in the attic for a hundred years. Taking a look inside, he saw hundreds of baseball cards bundled with twine, including 16 mint-condition images of Ty Cobb. Half of the cards featured Hall of Famers like Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner.
A 51-year-old man cleaning out the extensive contents of a house in Ohio that belonged to his grandfather found a soot-covered cardboard box that had been tucked away in the attic for a hundred years. Taking a look inside, he saw hundreds of baseball cards bundled with twine, including 16 mint-condition images of Ty Cobb. Half of the cards featured Hall of Famers like Cobb, Cy Young and Honus Wagner.
Teenagers who are locked up are still entitled to an education. Near Washington, DC a juvenile program for incarcerated youth has turned itself around, much like some of the inmates, thanks to poet, Maya Angelou.
60 teenagers study at the juvenile correctional center, amid barbed wire and guards, within the gleaming new walls of the “Maya Angelou Academy”. Where there once were shackles and beatings, now there is emotional as well as intellectual growth for the inmates, who are called “scholars”.
(WATCH the video from Rock Center with Chelsea Clinton)
