Stranded by a severe thunderstorm in eastern Ohio with a group of soaked strangers in a glassed-in gas station booth with no power, all of us cowering from fear of the lightning strikes all around and 60-mph winds, I realized I really, really needed a dose of good news… I asked the other travelers if anything good had happened to them lately…
(READ more from Ann McFeatters at Reporter News)
The number of terrorist attacks worldwide in 2009 fell by about 6 percent from the previous year, and the number of deaths from these attacks declined by about 5 percent — marking the second consecutive year that attacks and fatalities from terrorism declined, according to the State Department’s annual Country Reports on Terrorism 2009, released August 5.
The 2009 report states that al-Qaida suffered several significant setbacks in 2009 as the result of Pakistani military operations aimed at eliminating militant strongholds. According to the report, al-Qaida also suffered leadership losses and experienced increased difficulty in raising money, training recruits and planning attacks outside of the region.
“The Obama administration has been working to strengthen the nation’s counterterrorism strategy,” said Ambassador Daniel Benjamin, the State Department’s coordinator for counter-terrorism, particularly seeking to “shape and constrain the environments where terrorists operate.”
Watch this video of Mr. Happy, a man in Bermuda who spends all day “spreading the love” on a busy street corner…
A British solar energy firm is encouraging UK homeowners to embrace energy-saving technology by installing free rooftop photovoltaic panels on their homes.
HomeSun has stated it intends to give away £1 billion worth of free solar panel installations in England over the next three years — retrofitting up to 2.4 million homes.
Envisioning a new business model, the company plans to recoup its outlay by collecting money from the government’s new feed-in tariff program, which allows solar energy to be sold back to the National Grid.
(READ more in Sky News)
The opening of a new movie theater may not sound like a big deal. But for Palestinians in the West Bank city of Jenin, it’s something to celebrate.
And one documentary playing there is especially salient. It features the father of a Palestinian boy shot by Israeli soldiers who made his organs available to Arab and Jewish kids.
(LISTEN to the radio story at PRI’s The World)
This week, President Barack Obama awarded the 2010 Citizens Medal to 13 outstanding Americans who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”
The Citizens Medal is the second highest civilian honor in our nation. For over 40 years, the Presidential Citizens Medal has recognized America’s most respected heroes and public figures like Muhammad Ali, Colin Powell and Bob Dole, as well as everyday heroes like Oseola McCarty, a washerwoman who left her entire life savings to establish a scholarship for students in need.
This year, the President decided to try something different, asking the American public to nominate selfless heroes from their community. The White House received over 6,000 nominations from around the country.
The 13 award winners include a widow who lost her husband on 9/11 and turned her grief into hope for Afghani women whose husbands were lost to the Taliban; a school bus driver who delivers hot meals and coffee to New York City’s homeless 365 nights a year; a North Chicago nurse who opened a live-in center for helping pregnant teenagers.
Watch the video of the White House ceremony below, or go to the White House Citizen’s Medal website to watch interviews with any of the winners… Here are some of the winners and their stories:
When a pregnant teenager with no place to stay arrived at her door, Daisy Brooks welcomed the young woman in. What followed was a lifelong commitment to helping many of North Chicago’s young mothers and their infants. Brooks opened Daisy’s Resource and Developmental Center to serve as a dormitory, school, and catalyst for young women to improve their lives. Brooks receives the Citizens Medal for offering guidance and support to young women.
Jorge Muñoz has given his time, energy, and resources dedicated to feeding the hungry, while demonstrating the enduring American values of sacrifice and kindness. Muñoz receives the Citizens Medal for his service and dedication to creating a more hopeful tomorrow for the less fortunate among us.
He was runner-up for CNN Hero of the Year in 2009, and featured here on the Good News Network.
Beginning with a wagon full of coffee and sandwiches, Lisa Nigro’s mission to aid those living on the streets of Chicago has inspired us all. Her wagon gave way to a restaurant for homeless men and women, expanding with partner organizations to provide housing, job training, and vital support to Chicagoans affected by poverty.
Nigro receives the Citizens Medal for her tireless service to her fellow citizens.
After losing her husband in the attacks of September 11, 2001, Susan Retik Ger found a cause in educating and training Afghan widows and their children. She understands the importance of empowering women touched by personal tragedy and her strength of spirit has healed hearts, and fostered mutual understanding and a common future. Retik Ger receives the Citizens Medal for advancing women’s rights and demonstrating the power of America’s ideals.
Cynthia Church turned a personal battle with cancer into a force for progress and change. Dismayed by the lack of resources for women of color with breast cancer, Church founded Sisters on a Mission, Inc, an African-American breast cancer support network in Delaware. Church receives the Citizens Medal for confronting the scourge of this terrible disease and working to halt its spread.
Physical limitations have not hindered Mary K. Hoodhood’s determination to strengthen her community. Though a car accident left her paralyzed, Hoodhood began volunteering to feed the hungry through her local Meals on Wheels program. In 2001, Hoodhood founded Kids’ Food Basket which provides meals to thousands of children in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. Hoodhood receives the Citizens Medal for her remarkable efforts to nourish our nation’s children.
Parent and advocate, Kimberly McGuiness has been a true champion for deaf students. Her persistent letters, phone calls, and visits to state legislators helped spur the passage of Georgia’s Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights. She has led workshops, counseled parents, and changed lives, raising awareness and support for deaf education. McGuiness receives the Citizens Medal for demonstrating the results one citizen can achieve.
For decades, Myrtle Faye Rumph has lent her talent and compassion to impacting the lives of at-risk youth. Her commitment to reducing gun and gang violence in her community has steered countless young men and women away from dangerous habits, and altered the course of their futures. Rumph receives the Citizens Medal for her tireless efforts to replace violence and despair in her community with a beacon of hope and humanity.
This week, President Barack Obama awarded the 2010 Citizens Medal to 13 outstanding Americans who have “performed exemplary deeds of service for their country or their fellow citizens.”
The Citizens Medal is the second highest civilian honor in our nation. For over 40 years, the Presidential Citizens Medal has recognized America’s most respected heroes and public figures like Muhammad Ali, Colin Powell and Bob Dole, as well as everyday heroes like Oseola McCarty, a washerwoman who left her entire life savings to establish a scholarship for students in need.
This year, the President decided to try something different, asking the American public to nominate selfless heroes from their community. The White House received over 6,000 nominations from around the country.
The 13 award winners include a widow who lost her husband on 9/11 and turned her grief into hope for Afghani women whose husbands were lost to the Taliban; a school bus driver who delivers hot meals and coffee to New York City’s homeless 365 nights a year; a North Chicago nurse who opened a live-in center for helping pregnant teenagers.
Watch the video of the White House ceremony below, or go to the White House Citizen’s Medal website to watch interviews with any of the winners… Here are some of the winners and their stories:
Paying tribute to those dads who serve as an inspiration, but don’t necessarily get recognition, Sears has awarded Charles Muller of Rensselaer, N.Y. $30,000 worth of labor and materials to advance his work in his Albany community. 125,000 votes in an online contest judged him to be the most worthy grand prize winner out of ten finalists.
“Charles Muller is a true unsung hero who converted a run-down building into a center to feed children living below poverty levels in Albany, N.Y.,” said Ty Pennington, Sears spokesman. “He has stepped forward and made a true difference in many lives, and I am proud to work with Sears to help shine a light on his selfless service.”
“I am truly honored to have been selected as the winner, and am touched by the overwhelming support and votes I received from friends, family and members of my community,” said Muller.
In a nomination essay, Muller’s son wrote, “My dad bought some old broken down garages on the worst street in Albany, NY and turned them into a feeding center for children who are living below poverty levels… (He) rebuilt it into a full commercial kitchen, dining hall and food storage center… He even built a bigger center that would not only feed children, but help clothe, mentor and tutor them. It took him seven years and all of his spare time.”
Muller originally wanted to use the grand prize to finish a project that gave inner-city kids jobs at a bakery to help them develop a good work ethic, but then he heard that the Boys and Girls Club would shut down unless the building could be repaired.
All 10 finalists are winners and will receive $3,000 in tools from the Sears Blue Tool Crew.
Muller’s story, along with the story of all 10 finalists, can be viewed at www.searsunsungheroes.com.
A massive free health clinic for uninsured people in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday morning attracted nearly two thousand people, from infants to the elderly, all taking advantage of free doctor attention, blood tests and cancer screenings they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.
The C.A.R.E. Clinic (Communities Are Responding Everyday), sponsored by the National Association of Free Clinics, is the seventh clinic offered around the country to give uninsured people a variety of tests, from HIV to cancer screenings, mental health services, and routine physicals, all at no charge.
(READ more in the Huffington Post)
The tab for dinner is on Bruce Springsteen for fifteen hundred struggling South Carolina families, thanks to new mobile food pantries, funded in part by a $50,000 donation from the Boss.
Beginning Tuesday, the five pantries-on-wheels began delivery of 75,000 pounds of groceries to residents of Fort Mill, S.C., a once a thriving mill town that today suffers with a 14 percent unemployment rate.
As Springsteen traveled on tour last year, he partnered with food banks such as Second Harvest to help feed hungry people around the country.
In November, his tour stopped in Charlotte and he told Second Harvest officials that he would donate $50,000 if the food bank could find someone who could match the donation. And they found that match, in the town of Fort Mill in the Springs Close Foundation.
Source: WBTV
Instead of spending millions to widen roads or build subways, a Chinese company is developing a “three-dimensional fast coach”, a raised bus that will allow cars to travel underneath unimpeded, while hundreds of passengers board and disembark overhead, without blocking traffic.
The model looks like a subway or light-rail train bestriding the road. It is 4.5 meters high (17.5 feet) with two levels: passengers board on the upper level, while other cars can keep going, traveling through the bus underneath.
Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can travel along at 37 mph (60 km/h) while carrying 1200-1400 passengers at a time, without blocking other vehicles’ way.
It costs a fraction to build compared to alternatives and needs just 10% of the space of an equivalent subway. It is said that the bus can reduce traffic jams by 20-30%.
(READ more in China Hush) – Thanks to Andy Corbley for submitting the link!
Instead of spending millions to widen roads or build subways, a Chinese company is developing a “three-dimensional fast coach”, a raised bus that will allow cars to travel underneath unimpeded, while hundreds of passengers board and disembark overhead, without blocking traffic.
The model looks like a subway or light-rail train bestriding the road. It is 4.5 meters high (17.5 feet) with two levels: passengers board on the upper level, while other cars can keep going, traveling through the bus underneath.
Powered by electricity and solar energy, the bus can travel along at 37 mph (60 km/h) while carrying 1200-1400 passengers at a time, without blocking other vehicles’ way.
It costs a fraction to build compared to alternatives and needs just 10% of the space of an equivalent subway. It is said that the bus can reduce traffic jams by 20-30%.
(READ more in China Hush) – Thanks to Andy Corbley for submitting the link!
For cancer patients struggling financially, the cab fare alone from Houston airports to hospitals (costing $50-$100), can be enough to prohibit their ability to receive treatments that would keep them alive.
So pilot Kathy Broussard, who was already providing free flights for patients, started a group she called Houston Ground Angels, that organizes volunteers to drive patients to and from Houston’s airports and treatment centers for free.
“People lose everything. They lose their cars; they lose their homes. They’re living with relatives. They wouldn’t have cab fare. A lot of people would just stay home and die,” said Broussard, 60. “And that’s just not acceptable.”
Today the group has 300 drivers volunteering their gas and time to transport patients who need help. You can donate on their website using a Paypal button.
WATCH the CNN video below, or READ the story at CNN Heroes.
President Obama made it clear that ending the “national disgrace” of homelessness was a priority when he first took office.
Today he is set to embark on an ambitious and bipartisan social initiative designed to end homelessness by the start of the next decade.
Instead of cutting social programs, the administration is determined to make them work more efficiently. The plan, known officially as Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, takes best practices established when President George W. Bush made homelessness a priority in 2003.
“Investing in the status quo is no longer acceptable,” explains Obama in the plan’s introduction. “Given the fiscal realities … our response has to be guided by what works. Investments can only be made in the most promising strategies.”
(READ the story at Newsweek.com)
A 12-year-old philanthropist named Zach Bonner has walked from Florida to the Washington, DC Capitol building, enduring hardship in the name of homeless kids.
Now he is walking across the country, 1900 miles so far, raising money and bringing hope to the homeless along the way.
WATCH the Making a Difference video below, or at MSNBC…
Former all-star Texas baseball pitcher Nolan Ryan will be leading the state’s beloved team, the Rangers, for years to come, now that an investment group led by the Hall of Fame hurler won a contentious auction for the team last night, “beating back a nearly $600 million offer from outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban”.
Officials in federal bankruptcy court announced the winning bid to cheers and a standing ovation in the packed courtroom, shortly before 1 a.m. and some 10 hours after the auction began.
(READ MORE in the AP story via NPR)
In Colorado Saturday, a coyote grabbed a Chihuahua from the pet’s own back yard and would have gotten away carrying the small dog in its mouth, had not the neighbor’s Pit Bulls come to the rescue.
The coyote dropped the little dog in a field after the Pit Bulls gave chase.
Even more touching, the protective pair remained in the field standing guard over the injured dog until help arrived.
(READ the story in the Examiner)
More than three dozen of the wealthiest families and individuals in the United States have committed to giving away the majority of their wealth to charitable causes, since the “Giving Pledge” was launched by fellow billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett six weeks ago.
“We’ve really just started, but already we’ve had a terrific response,” said Warren Buffett, pledge co-founder and chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. “We’re delighted that so many people are doing just that – and that so many have decided to not only take this pledge but also to commit to sums far greater than the 50% minimum level.”
The United States has roughly 400 billionaires, about 40 percent of the world’s total, according to Forbes. The 40 names that have pledged to date have a combined net worth surpassing $230 billion, reports MSNBC.
Wealthy Americans from around the country, from energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens to media tycoon Ted Turner, have taken the pledge. A full list of those 40 families and individuals, along with personal pledge letters submitted by people like Mayor Michael Bloomberg, filmmaker George Lucas, and David Rockefeller, are available online at www.givingpledge.org.
• Michael R. Bloomberg: “If you want to do something for your children and show how much you love them, the single best thing – by far – is to support organizations that will create a better world for them and their children. And by giving, we inspire others to give of themselves, whether their money or their time.”
• George Lucas: “My pledge is to the process; as long as I have the resources at my disposal, I will seek to raise the bar for future generations of students of all ages. I am dedicating the majority of my wealth to improving education.”
• Barron Hilton: “It is my hope that others are inspired by my father’s story, and by our family’s steadfast adherence to his charitable philosophy.”
• Warren Buffett: “Were we to use more than 1% of my claim checks (Berkshire Hathaway stock certificates) on ourselves, neither our happiness nor our well-being would be enhanced. In contrast, that remaining 99% can have a huge effect on the health and welfare of others.”
• Bill and Melinda Gates: “We have been blessed with good fortune beyond our wildest expectations, and we are profoundly grateful. But just as these gifts are great, so we feel a great responsibility to use them well.”
• Jon and Karen Huntsman: “It has been clear to me since my earliest childhood memories that my reason for being was to help others.”
• George B. Kaiser: “I had the advantage of both genetics (winning the “ovarian lottery”) and upbringing. As I looked around at those who did not have these advantages, it became clear to me that I had a moral obligation to direct my resources to help right that balance.”
• Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest: “The ultimate achievement in life is how you feel about yourself. And giving your wealth away to have an impact for good does help with that feeling.”
• Lorry I. Lokey: “There’s an old saying about farmers putting back in to the ground via fertilizer what they take out. So it is with money. The larger the estate, the more important it is to revitalize the soil.”
• Peter G. Peterson: “As I watched and learned from my father’s example, I noticed how much pleasure his giving to others gave him. Indeed, today, I get much more pleasure giving money to what I consider worthwhile causes than making the money in the first place.”
• David Rockefeller: “Our family continues to be united in the belief that those who have benefitted the most from our nation’s economic system have a special responsibility to give back to our society in meaningful ways.”
• Sanford and Joan Weill: “Our Pledge is this: We will continue to give away all of the wealth we have been so fortunate to make except for a very small percentage allocated to our children and grandchildren between now and the time we pass because we are firm believers that shrouds don’t have pockets.”
The Giving Pledge, which does not involve supporting a particular set of causes or organizations, is an effort to help address society’s most pressing problems by inviting the wealthiest American families and individuals to commit to giving more than half of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes. While it is specifically focused on billionaires, the idea takes its inspiration from other efforts that encourage and recognize givers of all financial means and backgrounds.
More than three dozen of the wealthiest families and individuals in the United States have committed to giving away the majority of their wealth to charitable causes, since the “Giving Pledge” was launched by fellow billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett six weeks ago.
“We’ve really just started, but already we’ve had a terrific response,” said Warren Buffett, pledge co-founder and chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. “We’re delighted that so many people are doing just that – and that so many have decided to not only take this pledge but also to commit to sums far greater than the 50% minimum level.”
The United States has roughly 400 billionaires, about 40 percent of the world’s total, according to Forbes. The 40 names that have pledged to date have a combined net worth surpassing $230 billion, reports MSNBC.
Free dental care drew thousands last week to the 11th annual open-air health clinic organized by Remote Area Medical, which specializes in helping impoverished communities.
2,643 teeth were extracted from 2,347 patients who slept overnight in their cars to ensure they would receive the care they normally cannot afford.
Sad stories abound in this rural community but we can be inspired by the doctors, dentists and hygienists who care enough to offer their very best service for free. Help out at Remote Area Medical website.
(READ the story in the Washington Post – and check out the great photo gallery)
