Home Blog Page 1285

Holiday Heroes: Foster Kids Feel Her Love Each Year

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 19, 2011

Red bow -Image by ppdigital Morguefile

Knowing that even if a foster child is placed with a family, it doesn’t guarantee a Christmas gift under the tree, Frances Smith for 15 years has used her annual vacation to amass new dolls, clothes, bikes, and games for every child in the foster care system of Coweta County, Georgia.

For 500 to 600 foster children and vulnerable elderly adults, Smith, 64, has been a volunteer elf, in charge of the impressive Christmas Joy program.

To donate to the Joy Project, contact Frances Smith at 770-683-9217 or donate to the address below. She doesn’t accept cash or checks, but you can send toys or gift cards to:
Frances Smith – PO box 465 Newnan, GA 30264 (Newnan, not Newman)

(READ the story w/ photos in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution)

Image by ppdigital via Morguefile

Hawaii Parade Honors Japanese-American WWII Vets

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 19, 2011

Japanese-American Vets with Obama - White House

Hundreds of Japanese-American veterans of World War II were honored Saturday with a parade in Honolulu—nearly 70 years after they volunteered to fight for their country even as the government branded them ‘enemy aliens.’

About 200 veterans rode in convertibles past a cheering crowd, celebrating the Congressional Gold Medals awarded to the veterans by President Obama last month.

(READ the AP story w/ photo via the Army Times)

Tribute: Cold War Hero of ‘Velvet Revolution’ Vaclav Havel (1936-2011)

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 19, 2011

Vaclav Havel by Martin Kozk

Playwright, poet and politician Vaclav Havel led the charge to peacefully bring down communism in Czechoslovakia proving the power of the people to overcome totalitarian rule.

The dissident playwright was an unlikely hero of his nation’s 1989 “Velvet Revolution” after four decades of suffocating repression.

He was his country’s first democratically elected president, leading it through the early challenges of democracy.

He wrote over 20 plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally and received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom among other awards worldwide. A lover of jazz, he once asked Frank Zappa to be his Minister of Culture, which the US did not allow).

Family Ready to Bury Dog Gets Happy Surprise

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 18, 2011

dog

Reta McKinlay said her heart broke Dec. 3 when her grandchildren’s 7-month-old pup escaped through a fence and was hit by a car.

“Scamp was bleeding; his eyes were fixed,” said McKinlay, 49, of Yelm. “We didn’t feel breath on his chest or on his nose.”

Her husband wrapped him in a blanket and left him outside to bury him the next morning. When he returned, the dog was sitting up.

Eight Reasons for Financial Optimism in 2012

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 18, 2011

sold sign

Throughout all the turmoil for the US economy in 2011, U.S. stocks have been surprisingly resilient.

“We believe this is a testament to a combination of U.S. economic resilience, U.S. corporate financial strength and pricing power, and severe relative undervaluation of equities,” said Thomas Lee, chief U.S. equity strategist with JPMorgan.

Lee has compiled eight reasons why he will remain optimistic in 2012, and why you should be too…

Justin Bieber Visits Impoverished Las Vegas School, Donates $100,000

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 18, 2011

Justin Bieber photo by Daniel Ogren Photography-CC license

On Friday, teenage pop sensation Justin Bieber played a special Christmas concert and donated $100,000 for the east Las Vegas elementary school nationally-renowned for providing its needy students and families with food, clothing, health services and the occasional rent check.

The Canadian star signed a $100,000 personal check after performing hit singles from his new Christmas album for 650 screaming students at Whitney Elementary School. To top off the private concert, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” also donated an additional $100,000 in toys — one for every child – for the holidays.

Last U.S. Soldiers Leave Iraq, Cheering Across the Border into Kuwait

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 18, 2011

soldiers leave Iraq - DOD photo

The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief.

Their convoy’s exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered and struggling to recover.

President Obama and the First Lady traveled to Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Wednesday to welcome home the first of the returning troops and thank them — and their families — for their service.

Last U.S. Soldiers Leave Iraq, Cheering Across the Border into Kuwait

Most Popular

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 18, 2011

soldiers leave Iraq - DOD photo

The last U.S. soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighboring Kuwait at daybreak Sunday, whooping, fist bumping and hugging each other in a burst of joy and relief.

Their convoy’s exit marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that raged for nearly nine years and left Iraq shattered and struggling to recover.

President Obama and the First Lady traveled to Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Wednesday to welcome home the first of the returning troops and thank them — and their families — for their service.

Chelsea Clinton Files First Good News Report: Miracle Worker for Kids in Rural Arkansas

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 17, 2011

Woman helps kids in Arkansas NBCvideo

Now working for NBC, Chelsea Clinton files her first “good news” report from her home state of Arkansas about a woman in rural Pine Bluff who is making a difference for her community in such a profound way that she’s known as a real life miracle worker.

She offers meals, a safe place, tutoring and lessons of responsibility for hundreds of children whose parents are unable to fully care for them.

(WATCH the Making A Difference video below from MSNBC)

Help Save a Rainforest the Size of Wales

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 17, 2011

Size of Wales Dan Mitchell

An area the size of Wales’ is frequently used to measure the rate of forest destruction.

Welsh-born comedian Dan Mitchell is bringing people together to help protect an area of rainforest at least this size and is assembling Welsh tribes from all over the country to do it.

“We aim to turn that negative use of the country’s size on its head, by encouraging the people of Wales to take positive action and help protect an area of rainforest equivalent to the size of our nation.”

Cash-Filled Purse Returned by Out-of-Work Atlanta Man

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 17, 2011

Samaritan returns purse - MSNBC video

Hundreds of dollars in cash and credit cards stuffed in a woman’s purse that was left in a subway station did not tempt an Atlanta man, even though it’s been three years since his last job.

The Good Samaritan, named Rod Garrett, tracked down the woman who left the purse, hoping for future blessings to come as a result.

(WATCH the video below from WXIA-TV)

Old Growth Redwood Forest Protected in the San Francisco Bay Area

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 17, 2011

redwood

More than 8,500 acres of redwood forest and wildlife habitat in the Santa Cruz mountains will be protected after a coalition of San Francisco Bay Area conservation groups bought the land — the largest private landholding in in Santa Cruz County — for $30 million from building materials giant CEMEX.

The broad expanse of redwood and oak forests, which is 8 miles long, is home to mountain lions, peregrine falcons and endangered coho salmon.

UC Berkeley’s Gift to Middle-Class Families: a Cap on College Costs

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 17, 2011

UC Berkeley campus by brainchildvn flickr

The University of California at Berkeley is sending an early holiday gift to middle-class families struggling to send their offspring to America’s top-ranked public institution of higher education.

Unveiled during a news conference, UC Berkeley’s plan will cap tuition at 15 percent of household income for families earning between $80,000 and $140,000.

Teachers Union Leads Effort to Turn Around Poverty and Learning in West Virginia Schools

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 16, 2011

father and son search for hope

The American Federation of Teachers, vilified by critics as an obstacle to school reform, is leading an unusual effort to turn around a floundering school system in a place where deprivation is layered on heartache.

The AFT wants to improve education deep in the heart of Appalachia by simultaneously tackling the social and economic troubles of McDowell County.

Angels Paying Off Layaway Bills for Strangers at Kmarts Across the US

Most Popular

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 16, 2011

angel of lights

At Kmart stores across the country, anonymous donors are paying off strangers’ layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn’t afford, especially toys and children’s clothes set aside by impoverished parents.

In one case, an Indianapolis woman in her mid-40s had paid the layaway orders for as many as 50 people before leaving the store.

2.5 Million Young Americans Have New Health Insurance Coverage

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 16, 2011

fruit in bike basket - Photo by Sun Star

About 2.5 million young people have received health insurance coverage as a result of health care reform measures that President Barack Obama signed into law last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday.

About 2.5 million more people, aged 19 to 25, have health insurance than had it before the law took effect because of a provision that lets young adults remain on their parents’ insurance plans through age 26.

Parents, or their kids, are paying for the new coverage after the new law forced insurance companies to offer the option to existing family policies.

Man Leaves Homelessness and Addiction Behind to Earn Master’s Degree

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 15, 2011

Graduate at 50 Aaron Alvin NBCvid

After several arrests, drug addiction and being homeless, a Miami man has overcome the odds to graduate from Florida International University with a master’s degree in social work.

50-year-old Aaron Alvin was the only one of thousands to get a standing ovation at Tuesday night’s graduation ceremony in Miami.

(WATCH the video below from WTVJ or read the story at MSNBC)

Historic Drop in Executions as U.S. Death Sentences Reach 35-year Low

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 15, 2011

gavel

Fewer new death sentences are being handed out in the U.S. than ever before, according to a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center.

So far in 2011, 78 people convicted of murder have been sentenced to death – the first time in 35 years that the figure has dropped below 100.

Authors of the report cite the heightened awareness of the risks of executing the innocent as one of the main causes for the decline.

Facebook Aims to Help Prevent Suicides with Instant ‘Chat’ Service

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 15, 2011

Suicide prevention on Facebook CTV video clip

Facebook is making it easier for people who express suicidal thoughts on the social networking site to get help.

A program launched Tuesday enables users to instantly connect with a crisis counselor through Facebook’s “chat” messaging system.

In the past Facebook directed users to a hotline number through an email, but the new service goes a step further by enabling an instant chat session that experts say can make all the difference with someone seeking help.

Google Boosts Anti-slavery Efforts With $11.5 million Donation

By

Good News Network

-

Dec 15, 2011

Google Inc. announced Wednesday that it’s providing $11.5 million in grants to 10 organizations working to end modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

Google said on its charitable website that its grants will “free more than 12,000 people from modern-day slavery” and prevent “millions more from being victimized.”

The Google blog said, “Modern day slavery is a multi-billion dollar industry that ruins the lives of around 27 million people.”

1...1,2841,2851,286...1,689 Page 1,285 of 1,689