The CeaseFire program, a Chicago-based violence prevention group has received a $1.7 million grant to expand onto the streets of Baltimore, Cincinnati and Newark, N.J., using former gang members and ex-convicts to mediate conflicts and reach out to conflicted youths caught up in gangs. (ABC-2) Check out this great CNN video showing the innovative peer-based approach to reducing bloodshed on the streets of Chicago.
Successful Gang Outreach Program Expands into Three Cities
Hilary Duff Collecting Canned Food Donations at Concerts
Recording artist Hilary Duff is asking fans to bring canned goods to her concerts in support of The Salvation Army and Canadian Harvest. Her last two Canadian tours have raised more than 125,000 pounds of food.
“Working with Canadian Harvest is a way for me to give something back to the community,” said Duff. “The last two times I toured Canada, my fans did an amazing job of providing canned goods and I’m certain this time they can do even better!”
Duff is encouraging fans to bring as much as they can carry.
The partnership between Duff, The Salvation Army and Canadian Harvest launched last week in Winnipeg with the kick-off of Duff’s six-week North American tour. Food donations will be collected at 12 shows across Canada. Food will be collected at concert gates by Salvation Army volunteers and will be distributed in the communities where it was collected.
Duff’s Dignity Tour lands at Vancouver’s Save-On Foods Centre in Victoria tonight, August 4. See the tour page for more Canadian dates in September.
Canadian Harvest and its American counterpart, USA Harvest, began in 1989. Since then, the organization has collected more than 11.6 billion pounds of food for missions, soup kitchens and food banks across North America. The Salvation Army will assist in distributing collected food to those who need it.
The Salvation Army is the largest non-governmental provider of social services in British Columbia. For more information, visit www.SalvationArmy.ca.
Photo: Flickr
NY Subway Heroes Disappear After Saving Woman
A woman collapsed on a subway platform and fell onto the tracks. Two men pulled her to safety before an oncoming train approached, but disappeared once she was okay.
(Watch the AP video below)
Neighbors Unite Around ‘Loner’ Among Them
For years, Bill Judge had been a loner, known in his neighborhood for the five old cars in his driveway and his eccentric habits. When he injured his knee at age 84, he landed in a nursing home. He hated it. And with no family to help him, he might have died angry — except for the extraordinary efforts of four neighbors and a priest who sprung him. (tears came reading this…) Via Timesleader
Alzheimer’s Treatment Offers Return to Normalcy
According to medical benchmarks, the 76-year-old who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s would no longer be able to dress himself or use the public restroom today. But after a regimen of medication he is virtually symptom free, and grateful each day for his return to normalcy…
Huge Solar Power Park to Rise in Mojave Desert
California utility company PG&E Corp. said it will purchase 553 megawatts of solar power annually from a nine-square-mile, solar-power facility to be built in the Mojave Desert by Israel-based Solel Solar Systems. (MSNBC)
Mexican Billionaire Donates Million Laptops
Billionaire Carlos Slim, a telecom mogul, pledged to donate a million low-cost laptops to Mexican children by the end of 2008, saying, “Education holds the key for Mexico’s poor.” (AP)
Neurosurgeon Donates His $20 Million Fortune to His Native Indian Village
Dr. Kumar Bahuleyan went from extreme poverty to lavish living as a neurosurgeon. He was born into the poverty of the “untouchable” caste in India. Then he came to America, made millions and owned a Rolls-Royce and five Mercedes Benz cars. Now, completing a full circle, he has returned to his native village, donated his fortune, built a hospital and traded his cars for a bicycle, finding joy in doing so. (Buffalo News)
Gender Gap Narrows as College Graduation Rates Rise
Washington D.C. – University graduation rates continue to rise in the U.S. while more of those beneath a cap and gown are female as the higher education gender gap narrows. (click for chart and details)
Iraq Pulls off Fairytale Win in Asian Cup
Iraq’s national football team, riding a wave of global sentiment, upset three-time winner Saudi Arabia to win the Asian Cup final this week. The team features players from all three of Iraq’s main communities, and so provided a rare moment for celebration and unity throughout the strife-filled country. (Great highlights from Reuters video)
Judge Halts Logging in Spotted Owl Habitat
Lynnmj wanted to share this news that a court issued an injunction against logging on land inhabited by spotted owls. The company who owns the land, Weyerhauser, says it is working to protect the owl species too. (AP) Related story: GNN featured a paper company protecting woodpeckers (endangered red-cockaded species) in 1999.
Struggling Yellowstone Trees Get Help from Wolves
"Great news for Yellowstone and the recovery of willows, cottonwood, and especially aspen trees, a species in decline all over the West." Wolves, reintroduced after a 70-year absence in 1995, have reduced the ample population of elk, which had been devouring the small aspen shoots. (LiveScience) Also, see the Feb. 2006 GNN-i article by Gary Wockner, which describes the return of wolves as bringing balance back to the landscapes of the rural west: Wolf Reintroduction an Environmental Success
Energy From Moving Crowd Could Generate Electricity
"The energy from commuters in a train station, dancers in a night club or shoppers in a mall could one day be harvested, say scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who envisage turning the mechanical energy of people walking, dancing or jumping into electricity." (UK Telegraph)
69 Chinese Miners Rescued After 3 Days
Sixty-nine miners in China were pulled from a flooded mine in an emotional rescue after living for three days on milk poured down a ventilation shaft. (AP)
How to Bring Shade to a City
"Four U.S. East Coast cities are using satellite mapping to set environmental goals and plant more trees." (CS Monitor) Thanks, SG, for the link!
Largest Peacekeeping Force Committed for Darfur
"The UN Security Council has voted to send peacekeepers to the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan, after months of wrangling. Up to 26,000 troops and police will make up the world’s largest peacekeeping force." (BBC)
Good News Network is Now Wind Powered
August marks a great milestone for the Good News Network. On August 31, ten years ago, I launched the world’s first comprehensive positive news service that today has become the #1 site on Google for uplifting news and opinion from around the world. All this month we will be rolling out new products, services and surprises in celebration of ten years of good news, starting right now, with the announcement that GNN-i servers are now powered entirely by the wind!
“Free Hugs” Campaign Aims to Inspire Reserved Japanese
FOLLOW-UP: A group of university students were on a mission earlier this year to change Japan — and make hugging more acceptable. Inspired by the original Free Hugs campaign in Sydney, and by living in the U.S., where people smile at strangers, Saki Inoue longs for friendliness and more hugs between Japanese. (Read the AFP story here)
(Must-see video from Sydney on GNN-i earlier this year)
Japan First Introduced Hybrid Cars; Now Hybrid Trains
Although not as big a threat to climate change as the carbon emissions from automobiles, Japan today launched the first ever diesel-electric hybrid trains for passenger service. (AP)
Poland Halts Wetlands Road Plan
Poland has halted the planned work on a road through one of Europe’s last remaining wetlands after the EU warned it would file an injunction. Construction within the environmentally protected Rospuda river valley would have started on Wednesday. (BBC)