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NASCAR Driver Jeff Gordon’s Generosity Continues With Congo Trip to Help Refugees

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Jul 26, 2011

Jeff Gordon in 2007, by Kim Phillips -CC license

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon just returned from a week-long trip in Africa working with the Rethink Refugees foundation to find better ways to help people in Congo.

“It was the most incredible experience of my life,” said Gordon, who went on the trip with leaders from the Clinton Global Initiative.

Gordon is no stranger to charity work, particularly now that his Sprint Cup car is backed by the AARP’s Drive to End Hunger campaign. Last weekend, Gordon visited a food bank in Manchester where he presented a $10,000 donation. Next week brings another fundraiser for the Riley Children’s Hospital in the form of Gordon’s annual celebrity bowling event.

His foundation also funds pediatric cancer and a children’s hospital, and has in six years exceeded $1 million in annual contributions.

Walmart’s Big Plan To Feed The Food Deserts Of The U.S.

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Jul 26, 2011

Fresh produce on shelf, "Locally Grown"

Teaming up with Michelle Obama, the discount giant is moving into neighborhoods where there are no grocery stores. Altruism or savvy business move? A little of both.

Walmart announced this week that it will open up to 300 new locations over the next five years in food deserts across the country. These locations, along with the 218 stores in food deserts that Walmart has opened over the past four years, will serve 1.3 million people–many of whom have no other option for fresh produce and unprocessed foods other than Walmart.

“By opening stores where customers need them most, Walmart will help build healthier families and stronger communities.”

NFL Players Accept 10-Year Contract, Send Thank-You Video to Fans

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Jul 26, 2011

football

The National Football League began reopening for business after player union leaders announced a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement with the league owners Monday.

Players return to teams’ training facilities today and some teams begin their training camps Wednesday, according to a report in the Washington Post.

Meanwhile, NFL players, knowing the lockout took a toll on their fans, contributed to a thank you video released by their union, the NFLPA, on YouTube.

Canada Pledges $50 Million to Famine Relief in Africa

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Jul 26, 2011

Hunger in Ethiopia -USAID photo

The Canadian government is pledging an additional $50 million in aid for famine-relief efforts in East Africa and urging Canadians to be generous in donations toward alleviating the growing humanitarian crisis in the region.

In addition to government funds, Ottawa will match any donations Canadians make individually to charities working on drought-relief efforts in the region.

Mandela Legacy Brings Shelter to NW Poor

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Jul 26, 2011

Nelson Mandela Foundation photo

Destitute villagers of Seolong outside Rustenburg in the North West will soon have roofs over their heads, thanks to the legacy of Nelson Mandela.

The foundations were dug for the start of construction on 50 houses for people with disabilities, child headed families and the elderly.

This was done through the campaign, Take action, inspire and change, aimed at celebrating the 93rd birthday of former President Nelson Mandela.

Large Hadron Collider Results Excite Scientists

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Jul 25, 2011

NASA photo of a nebula, via Hubble space telescope — The Ant Nebula - Credit NASA

The Large Hadron Collider has picked up tantalizing fluctuations which might – or might not – be hints of the sought-after Higgs boson particle.

One of the primary goals of the collider is to search for hints of the Higgs, which is the last missing piece in most widely accepted theory of particle physics.

Without the Higgs, physicists cannot explain why particles have mass.

Gates Gives $42 Million to Safe Sanitation Projects for Reinventing the Toilet

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Jul 25, 2011

PUR water packet

More than 2.6 billion people around the world don’t have access to a toilet. Now, the world’s largest charitable foundation is launching an effort to bring safe, clean sanitation to millions of poor people in the developing world.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced $42 million in grants to encourage innovation in the capture, storage and repurposing of waste as an energy resource.

Young Baseball Fan’s Act of Generosity Caught on TV

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Jul 24, 2011

Good Samaritan rewarded at baseball game (ABC video)

TV cameras were focused on two boys who tried to catch the same ball at an Arizona Diamondbacks game. The gesture of kindness displayed afterward surprised the broadcast announcers in the booth.

The boy’s generosity was paid back tenfold, as the baseball club rewarded him for his good deed.

(WATCH the video below, one a follow-up segment, from ABC News)

Young Baseball Fan’s Act of Generosity Caught on TV

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By

Good News Network

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Jul 24, 2011

Good Samaritan rewarded at baseball game (ABC video)

TV cameras were focused on two boys who tried to catch the same ball at an Arizona Diamondbacks game. The gesture of kindness displayed afterward surprised the broadcast announcers in the booth.

The boy’s generosity was paid back tenfold, as the baseball club rewarded him for his good deed.

Thanks to Kathleen Allen for submitting the story!

Canada’s Crime Rate Falls to Lowest in 40 Years

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Jul 24, 2011

Canada’s crime rate fell to its lowest in almost 40 years, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday, extending a positive two-decade trend.

Crime last year dropped a further 5 percent from 2009 to the lowest rate since 1973, the government agency said.

North and South Korea Hold “Constructive” Talks

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Jul 24, 2011

North Korea-flag

South and North Korea held high-level talks for the first time in two years on Friday, and said they would work to resume the stalled six-party dialogue for nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula.

The surprise meeting between their nuclear envoys led to an announcement on Saturday by North Korea proposing the restart of stalled six-party talks on nuclear disarmament, without preconditions and as soon as possible.

Logging Plummets in Monarch Butterfly Mexico Reserve

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Jul 23, 2011

Monarch photo by HaarFager - CC license

Good news for the Monarch butterflies and their wintering grounds in central Mexico: The clearing of forests used by the butterflies has dropped to just over one acre’s worth of trees, compared to the hundreds of acres lost annually in the past.

And fewer of the pine and fir trees that shelter the butterflies have been lost to bad weather this year, experts said Thursday, from Mexico’s National Autonomous University and the Monarch Fund.

A New Idea for U.S. Aid: Political Reform for Foreign Assistance

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Jul 22, 2011

Bill Gates Foundation with farmers in Africa

President Obama issued a directive for U.S. development policy in September 2010, which called for social and political reforms as a prerequisite for foreign assistance, along more investment from the private sector. And, only one year into the project, U.S. government executives at a Washington conference Jully 12 reported on genuine progress.

A few decades ago, U.S. government assistance made up 70 percent of the funds going from this country overseas, Littlefield said.

“And now today, it’s completely reversed. Eighty percent of the money flowing from the [United States] to the developing world is private capital,” said the president of OPIC, a government agency providing loans and investment insurance to American businesses operating overseas.

A New Idea for U.S. Aid: Political Reform for Foreign Assistance

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By

Good News Network

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Jul 22, 2011

Bill Gates Foundation with farmers in Africa

President Obama issued a directive for U.S. development policy in 2010 that called for social and political reforms as a prerequisite for foreign assistance, along with more investment from the private sector. Just one year into the project, U.S. government executives at a Washington conference Jully 12 reported on genuine progress.

A few decades ago, U.S. government assistance made up 70 percent of the funds going from this country overseas, Littlefield said.

“And now today, it’s completely reversed. Eighty percent of the money flowing from the [United States] to the developing world is private capital,” said the president of OPIC, a government agency providing loans and investment insurance to American businesses operating overseas.

Mayor Bloomberg Donates $50 Million To Sierra Club for Anti-Coal Campaign

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Jul 21, 2011

Mayor Bloomberg w/ electric-car charger, Spencer Tucker photo

New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg is giving the Sierra Club a substantial gift — $50 million to put toward battling coal-fired power plants across the nation.

The donation will go straight toward the “Beyond Coal” campaign that will target the nations oldest and worst-pollution coal power plants, get them shut down, and replace them with renewable energy.

Terrified Kitten Rescued From Irish Freeway

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Jul 21, 2011

kitten on freeway

A terrified kitten has been rescued on Dublin’s busy M50 thanks to the police (gardaí) and a driver for the Dublin Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The four month old kitten was spotted by passing motorists shuddering and alone as cars sped by within several feet.

A DCPCA driver was dispatched but had no way to get to the crouching animal in such traffic, with no pull-over space in the middle of the road…

People Who Look on the Bright Side Will Age Best: Research

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Jul 21, 2011

grandkids-in-yellow-w-gramps — Courtesy of Sun Star

Scientists, once again, pointed to those who have an optimistic outlook on life as being the people who age best.

Researchers at the University of Hamburg in Germany discovered that simply focusing your brain on positive thoughts — and living for the moment, rather than looking too far into the future — can help maintain good mental health and keep your brain young.

Dr Stefanie Brassen, the study’s author, said that successful aging came down to “the positivity effect”.

Danish Mystery Donor Leaves $200,000 in Red Cross Bin

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Jul 21, 2011

clouds8

An anonymous donor in Denmark has left nearly $200,000 (£120,000) in a clothes recycling bin outside a charity shop run by the Red Cross.

The money was found in a bin liner under piles of donated clothing.

The note attached said: “To the Danish Red Cross, from anonymous. Have collected for 40 years.”

(READ the story from the BBC)

Thanks to Markus Amanto for submitting the story to our Facebook page!

Man Survives by Crawling into Trunk After Car Plunges into River

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Jul 20, 2011

river reflecting sun

A man was “incredibly lucky to be alive” after his car flipped into a river near the Idaho-Washington border.

The 20 year-old squeezed through the rear seats and into the trunk of his two-door Hyundai Tiburon as chill, fast-flowing waters engulfed all but 6 inches of head room, creating a life-saving air pocket.

A passenger who had escaped was able to get his hand into an opening in the trunk area to hold the man’s hand and keep him talking until rescuers got to him.

(READ the story from Reuters)

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