Country superstar Kenny Chesney is turning his May 25th tour stop in Tuscaloosa, Ala., into a benefit concert, with his management and booking agents also donating their fees to the tornado-ravaged town.
Kenny Chesney to Donate Concert Fees to Tornado Relief
India’s First Braille Newspaper Brings News to Thousands
Knowing that empowerment comes with the ability to read, journalist Swagat Thorat launched India’s only newspaper for the blind.
Now, thanks to Thorat — who is not blind himself — 24,000 blind individuals can read the news twice a month.
Initially inspired to learn braille by the story of Helen Keller, Thorat has since taught the skill to about 138 sighted people. He has also produced acclaimed plays featuring blind artists.
(READ the story in Yahoo News- Canada)
braille photo by Lissalou66 Flickr-CC
Japan Clothing Line Carries Messages of Encouragement Sent From Around the World
A Japanese lingerie maker Wednesday unveiled a line of “Support Japan” clothing that carries messages of encouragement from overseas as the country struggles to recover from a devastating quake and tsunami.
The white, bustier-style garment and matching skirt by Triumph are covered with 54 messages from 36 different countries received in the aftermath of the disaster, each accompanied by a tiny flag of the nation that sent it.
(READ the full story in Reuters)
Typo in Email Address Spells Romance For Two Salazars
This is the story of a romance that began with a typo. In 2007, Rachel Salazar was living in Bangkok, Thailand, and Ruben Salazar was in Waco, Texas. Their email addresses were nearly identical.
Ruben received an email sent to the wrong person and forwarded it adding his own little message. “Something to the effect of ‘Hi, Rachel, it seems as if this message came to me instead of you. I’m in Waco, Texas, U.S.A. Have a great day. P.S. How’s the weather there in Bangkok?'”
Seven Loyola Hospital Employees Donate Kidneys to Strangers
Loyola University Medical Center is a very giving place to work — so much so that within the past year, seven female employees donated their kidneys as part of the center’s Pay-It-Forward Kidney Transplant Program.
This may be the first time in history so many employees of a company have donated kidneys to complete strangers.
Sunshine Could Save Lives of Pneumonia Patients
While it’s long been known that a little sunshine can spread happiness, researchers in New Zealand have found that it can also save the lives of pneumonia patients.
Vitamin D, which is absorbed through the skin and produced with exposure to sunlight, was discovered to be a major factor in the survival rate of pneumonia patients.
Wee Robot Wanders the Streets To Raise Money For Charity (Video)
The future of fundraising may conjure visions of Star Wars.
Tim Pryde, a 21-year-old product-design student at the University of Dundee, in Scotland, built a small robot that travels through public spaces, relying on coin donations for charity into a slot on its back to keep moving. And, it works.
Mr. Pryde says he got the idea by watching the often-negative attitudes people had toward street fund raisers who make face-to-face solicitations in busy pedestrian areas.
(WATCH the video below, and READ the article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Wee Robot Wanders the Streets To Raise Money For Charity (Video)
The future of fundraising may conjure visions of Star Wars.
Tim Pryde, a 21-year-old product-design student at the University of Dundee, in Scotland, built a small robot that travels through public spaces, relying on coin donations for charity into a slot on its back to keep moving. And, it works.
Mr. Pryde says he got the idea by watching the often-negative attitudes people had toward street fund raisers who make face-to-face solicitations in busy pedestrian areas.
(WATCH the video below, and READ the article in The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Canadian Teen Wins Top Prize for Cystic Fibrosis Discovery
A promising discovery has been made that could one day help in the fight against cystic fibrosis — and the researcher behind it is just 16 years old.
Toronto high school student Marshall Zhang took first place this week at a national science contest for developing what could become a new drug cocktail to treat patients with CF.
(WATCH the video and READ the story at CTV News)
College Class Builds Apps — and Fortunes
Stanford students took seriously their homework assignment in 2007: Devise an app. Get people to use it. Repeat.
The students ended up getting millions of users for free apps that they designed to run on Facebook. And, as advertising rolled in, some of those students started making far more money than their professors.
In Canada, Free Nicotine Gum or Patches Offered by B.C.
The B.C. government will offer smokers who want to quit a free 12-week supply of either nicotine gum or patches, or a free prescription for smoking-cessation drugs, Premier Christy Clark announced Monday.
Though it will cost $15 million, the province argues that by reducing the number of people who smoke, they will not only prevent or delay diseases like heart attacks and cancer, but also avoid the millions of dollars in costs to their health-care system.
To Mothers with Love on Mother’s Day
A new video by ChildFund International in honor of Mother’s Day features kids from around the world in Sri Lanka, India, Zambia, Ecuador and other countries saying “I love you, Mom” in their native languages.
California Passes Rule That Would Stop Invasive Species From Entering Ports
California is cracking down on invasive species. The state has passed the strictest rules in the country to prevent cargo ships from introducing foreign plants and animals to San Francisco Bay.
The new process uses chlorine to oxidize or kill any live organisms in the ship’s ballast before they are pumped out after the chlorine is neutralized.
Movie Effects Crew Designs Mermaid Suit for Double Leg Amputee (Video)
Weta Workshop, the special FX house behind the costumes and props in the Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia films, have given a double leg amputee the ability to swim.
Auckland native Nadya Vessey lost both her legs as child due to a medical condition, but always loved swimming.
Movie Effects Crew Designs Mermaid Suit for Double Leg Amputee (Video)
Weta Workshop, the special FX house behind the costumes and props in the Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia films, have given a double leg amputee the ability to swim.
Auckland native Nadya Vessey lost both her legs as child due to a medical condition, but always loved swimming.
As Tornadoes Closed In, Air Traffic Controllers Stayed At Their Stations
After all the attention given to air traffic controllers caught sleeping on the job in recent months, it only seems fair to point to controllers at the Atlanta Air Route Traffic Control Center in Hampton, Ga., who stayed at their work stations on April 27 to guide planes around tornadoes, even though the twisters were headed right at them and at the homes of their families.
(READ the story at NPR News)
Penn Medical School Gets Record $225M Gift from Philly Couple
The University of Pennsylvania received a $225 million gift for its School of Medicine to create an endowment for providing more financial aid to students, recruiting more physicians and scientists and supporting innovative research.
The School of Medicine will be able to increase its financial aid budget by at least 20 percent for the school year starting in 2012.
The Philadelphia Ivy League university described the gift by philanthropist Raymond G. Perelman and his wife as the largest in its history and one the biggest ever nationwide given to a medical school.
“Ruth and I believe the future of medicine depends on the ability to produce world-class clinicians,” said Raymond Perelman, who will see the School of Medicine renamed for him and his wife.
A prominent Philadelphia philanthropist, Raymond Perelman is president and chairman of the board of RGP Holdings Inc., a privately held holding company comprised manufacturing, mining and financial interests.
The Perelmans’ gift brings Penn’s Making History campaign total to $3.31 billion – 94.6 percent of the campaign’s $3.5 billion goal – with more than 19 months to go.
The gift brings the Perelmans’ total contributions to Penn’s Making History capital campaign to more than $250 million.
Economic Good News: Exports Hit Record High, Hiring and Retail Sales Up
US exports hit a record high in March, returning to levels not seen since before the global financial crisis.
US exports grew 4.6% in March to USD 172.7 billion, surpassing the record set in July 2008 before world trade took a sharp downturn. The March export rise was the biggest month-to-month gain in 17 years, the Commerce Department said in a report on Wednesday. (MoneyControl)
Jobs Continue to Increase
Montana Tribes Prepare for Historic Return of Buffalo From US Officials
For the first time in nearly 140 years, the Indian tribes of northeastern Montana are preparing for the return of wild buffalo that are descended from herds that once thundered across the vast American West.
A plan long in the making between federal, state and tribal managers will transfer custody of dozens of Yellowstone bison to Native Americans in Montana to cultivate new herds on tribal lands.
Wounded Warriors Make First Ever All-Amputee Softball Team
A softball fan working in the prosthetics field in the Department of Veteran Affairs has assembled the first all-amputee softball team in the world. They are winning games because their athletic ability was not left behind on the battlefield that once claimed their limbs.
Louisville Slugger, a manufacturer of bats and other gear, has outfit the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team to help the talented veterans to shine.