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Community of Tiny Homes Breaks Cycle of Addiction and Homelessness for Single Moms

Homeless single moms are breaking the cycle of addiction and reuniting with their children thanks to a community of tiny homes and the services provided here.

Acres of Hope allows the women to live in one of ten cottages for up to two years, accessing the aid that helps them finish their education, clear criminal records, get higher paying jobs, find permanent housing—and, most importantly, address the root causes of their addiction, so they can achieve personal success.

Instead of being shuffled from program to program without any real change, this Christian-based nonprofit in Auburn, California, aims for life-changing transformation. The staff and volunteers invest heavily in their lives by providing encouragement, practical life-skills training, job skills, mentoring and spiritual direction.

“We give them the opportunity to breathe and exit survival-mode,” says Executive Director Lisa Risdal. “Our graduates have become strong independent women who are also loving and nurturing mothers.”

“‘Breaking the cycle of homelessness’ aren’t just words at Acres of Hope—it’s really happening.”

Plenty of women in the last ten years who have ‘graduated’ can testify to its effectiveness.

“I walked in homeless, my children about to be adopted after 18 months of being in foster care, no job, no transportation and no close family support,” wrote Brea Bowman online. “This program transformed mine and my 3 children’s lives—my kids were returned, my case closed successfully, I have an amazing career that is beyond my wildest dreams, a home to call our own, transportation and my dignity back… Now I get to go out into this world and give back what was so freely given to me.”

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The well-maintained sunny cottages are nestled among trees, with a playground and daycare center on-site.

Photos courtesy of Acres of Hope-Auburn Facebook Page

7-year-old Tyler arrived on the campus earlier this year and Risdal noticed him joyfully running around with his hand raised high in the air. His high-pitched squeal gave away his excitement.

“I asked, ‘Why are you so excited?’”

“He looked up at me, held out his hand, and proclaimed with a big grin across his face, ‘I have a key, this means we don’t have to go back to foster care!’”

(WATCH a video from KTXL-TV 40 News)

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Hiker Was About to Die in a Snowstorm When She Was Saved by a Total Stranger Following Her Intuition

Nancy and Katharina, Photo by Snohomish County Sheriff's Office

LISTEN to this story in our podcast, told by The Good News Guru (the GNN Founder) on Friday’s radio broadcast with Ellen K on KOST-103.5 — Or, READ the story below… (Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean)

A 34-year-old hiker was in dire straits, but she was rescued thanks to a life-saving guardian angel—a stranger who couldn’t stop worrying about her.

Nancy Abell was out for a day hike in the mountains of Washington state in October when she first spotted a hiker in a red jacket heading north towards Canada without snowshoes.

Katharina Groene traveled from Munich determined to hike the entire 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail after feeling like she’d lost her faith in humanity—the exact storyline in the Reese Witherspoon movie WILD, based on the book written by Cheryl Strayed, which inspired her long hike.

Katharina started at the trailhead, journeyed north and made it all the way to the Glacier Peak Wilderness: an alpine mountain range in Washington that is considered the hardest part of the entire trail.

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Since the area is prone to snow storms, most people try and finish the trail by September – but when October rolled around and Katharina found herself within 200 miles of Canada, she couldn’t bear to turn around when she was so close to her goal, despite Nancy’s advice to do so.

Katharina and Nancy spent several hours chatting while hiking side-by-side along the trail until they eventually parted ways. Nancy, however, could not stop worrying about the German hiker, so she made sure to check the daily weather forecasts along the trail from her home in Salta, Washington.

Only a few days later, a storm rolled in. Concerned for her new friend, Nancy posted on a local hiker’s forum asking if anyone had met a German hiker headed north. Someone reported they had run into her two days previously—but no on had seen her since.

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Nancy couldn’t shake the feeling that Katharina was in danger, so she called rescue services and told them about the missing hiker. Since she knew that Groene had planned on hiking 15 miles every day, she calculated how far along the trail the German hiker would likely be based on the weather and how much she was carrying.

Sgt. John Adams of the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Unit said, “She told us she would probably be north of Mica Lake but south of the Suiattle River—which ended up being right on.”

Sure enough, Groene had slowed to a pace of 7 miles per day trying to reach a ranger’s station 30 miles away. She was soaking wet and showing signs of hypothermia and frostbite. She was running out of food and the tarp that had kept her tent dry had blown away in the wind. Her cell phone had lost service by the time she woke up in whiteout conditions.

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She was prepared for the worst—but then suddenly, a rescue helicopter spotted her red jacket based on Nancy’s precise calculations. Katharina was saved.

Nancy and Katharina, Photo by Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office

She was invited to stay with Nancy at her home, where the two have become ‘Wild’ friends—and even though she didn’t complete the trail, she got to check off that box: Faith in humanity restored!

Save Your Friends From Negativity By Sharing The Good News To Social MediaPhoto by Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office

When Filmmaker Sits Down With Neo-Nazis to See if They Would ‘Hate in-Person’, She Had Extraordinary Experience

Reprinted with permission from Peace News Network
Written by Kate Roff

When Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Deeyah Khan met with neo-Nazis, she was scared – but she ended up being surprised by what she experienced.

“I decided to pick up my camera and go and see if I could sit down with people who feel this intense dislike, or even hatred, towards people like me,” Ms Khan told Peace News.

The daughter of immigrants, a Muslim woman, a feminist, a liberal and a human rights activist, Khan is familiar with being a target for hatred and prejudice.

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“For these movements, I very much represent something that they absolutely despise and that they are trying to prevent,” Khan said.

But part of the reason why Khan released her film White Right: Meeting the Enemy last year was to bridge divides between opposing groups and see if it was possible to “hate in-person”.

“For me it’s about primarily getting in touch with our common humanity,” Khan said. “To see if it’s possible for us to break down the prejudices that exist between groups.”

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Her first interview was with the leader of the US National Socialist Movement. She was more than a little intimidated. Death threats are not a new experience for Khan and the violence she has encountered was at the forefront of her mind when she went into the interview.

“He asked me to come to where he lives, in his neighborhood, at a specific motel,” Khan said. “We set up all our cameras and were just waiting for him to arrive and I remember thinking ‘what are you doing?’. I was thinking ‘What if he’s armed? What if he’s bringing people with him?’”

Once he arrived, however, Khan said the experience was extraordinary. It was awkward at first, but without the usual context of angry mobs facing each other and shouting, Khan said the dynamic shifted. She said that – just by being ready to listen – everything changed.

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“Our repeated failures to fully act as we would wish MUST not discourage us. It is the sincere intention that is the essential thing, and this will in time release us from the bondage of habits…” – Thomas Troward

Quote of the Day:  “Our repeated failures to fully act as we would wish MUST not discourage us. It is the sincere intention that is the essential thing, and this will in time release us from the bondage of habits which at present seem almost insuperable.” – Thomas Troward

Photo: by Luz Adriana Villa, CC license

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Veterans Are Finding Peace From PTSD Through ‘Float Therapy’

Veterans across the U.S. are finding an extraordinary source of relief from their pain and PTSD thanks to floatation therapy, an alternative treatment for physical and emotional ailments.

’Floating’ consists of laying in a small pool filled with 10 inches of salt water containing roughly 1,000 pounds of magnesium sulfate – or as its more commonly known, Epsom salt. The high levels of salt counteract the effects of gravity, allowing the patient to float gently on top of the bed of water.

The water is heated to around 94.2 degrees Fahrenheit – about the same temperature as the human body – which creates the sensation of being suspended in air.

In the dark sound-free environment, the room, also known as a “sensory deprivation chamber” creates an atmosphere for meditation and deep contemplation, allowing the mind to enter the Theta state, which is the frequency at which the brain operates right before falling into deep sleep.

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By depriving patients of sensory information, the experience allows for a safe and therapeutic environment with which veterans can experience significant relaxation—maybe even process past trauma.

Air Force veteran Trey Hearn was so convinced of the benefits of sensory deprivation for veterans, that he and his brother opened up Float Brothers in Destin, Florida. He told Military 1, he sees it as a way for the veteran to feel secure and safe enough to approach the suppressed traumatic events during a sort of “internal counseling session with themselves.”

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33-year-old Wesley Hernandez is a veteran who has been undergoing flotation therapy since June in Nashville, Tennessee. He says that it has had a dramatic impact on his health.

“The last time I went, I didn’t even want to get out of the water; it’s an escape from the stress and the drama,” Wesley told Good News Network. “It’s like a deep meditation.”

This 2014 study shows that patients who underwent floatation therapy experienced reductions in blood pressure, stress, anxiety, and physical pain, as well as improvements in sleep quality and optimism.

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Wesley’s wife and caregiver Leah told GNN that it’s the best therapy they’ve found, so far.

“Of all the therapies gifted to us by the Wounded Warriors Project, floating has been the one that he seems to want to do over and over.”

If This Story Floats Your Boat, Be Sure And Share It To Social MediaPhoto by Schappelle, CC

Congress Members From Opposing Parties Are Visiting Each Other’s Districts So They Can Work Better Together in DC

As a means of closing the political divide between Democrats and Republicans in Congress, a unique program is flying federal lawmakers to each others’ hometowns so they become closer friends and colleagues.

The American Congressional Exchange (ACE) flies members of Congress from across the political spectrum to the districts of opposing party members, where they spend the next 48 hours learning about each other’s personal lives and their communities. It was all started back in 2016 by public affairs consultant Jonathan Perman in order to bring bipartisanship back to Capitol Hill.

Some of the most successful pieces of legislation in history, he says, were driven by bipartisan efforts, such as the Civil Rights Act, the Social Security Act, and the Federal Highway Act.

“Forty or fifty years ago, legislators lived in Washington,” Perman told Macalester University. “They got to know each other, their spouses, their children. Now the constant pressure to raise money for reelection forces them to return to their districts nearly every weekend. They don’t get to know people from the other side of the aisle anymore.”

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Originally inspired to create the project by his love of history as a political science major, he was unsure of whether legislators would actually participate—but he’s been pleasantly surprised by their reactions.

Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) participating in American Congressional Exchange

“I needed to vet the idea, so I spent the last half of 2016 meeting with former and current members of Congress, political thought leaders, and Hill staffers, all of whom encouraged me to advance the concept,” says Perman.

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Perman, alongside fellow staffers at the Bipartisan Policy Center, plan the weekend trips so that the House members are able to socialize informally while still spending structured time learning about the district. ACE has successfully facilitated 7 trips between legislators this year, with three more planned in the near future. Next year, they hope to host 20 visits.

“We thought at first the congressional participants would be mostly moderates, but we were wrong,” Perman says. “We’re getting interest from across the political spectrum—that’s encouraging. If we can involve 10 to 15 percent of Congress, then we are beginning to impact how Congress works.”

(WATCH the program in action in the video below) – Photo by Bipartisan Policy Center

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Man Reads About an Alleged Dognapping Right As Someone Drives Up With the Famous Missing Pup

Miguel Camacho, right, with Cameron's parents – photo by Helen Trotman

The internet had been on red alert since a YouTube-famous kiteboarding dog went missing from its family last week.

Zeus the 7-year-old Jack Russell terrier has made something of a name for himself, after his 16-year-old owner Cameron Maramenides began posting videos of the dog kiteboarding on social media.

Cameron, who will compete on Team USA for the 2020 Olympics in the new event of kitesurfing, was at an event in St. Petersburg, Florida when his pup was allegedly stolen by an older man in a grey sedan.

Meanwhile, Miguel Comacho, an electrician’s apprentice, had just finished studying in West Tampa park and noticed a news story in his social media feed about the missing dog.

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Intrigued by the story, he started reading and continued through the article, and then looked up and saw an older man in a grey sedan with a Jack Russell terrier that looked just like Zeus—with black spots over his eyes.

Comacho snapped a photo of the pup and sent it to Cameron’s phone number, which was listed in the news article. Sure enough, the Olympian responded saying that the dog was indeed Zeus.

They didn’t know whether the man was armed or dangerous, and police officers were not allowed to intervene unless the owners were present – but Cameron, who had been searching for the dog for five days, begged Comacho to at least keep an eye on his dog to make sure it was okay.

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Comacho immediately hopped into his car and started following the sedan until suddenly, the man pulled over, walked over to Comacho’s vehicle, and asked why he was being followed.

“I believe that dog isn’t yours,” Camacho told him, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “I’m on the phone with his owner right now.”

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After some discussion with the man, who said he thought the dog was lost, Comacho walked up to the sedan and called Zeus’s name only to have the 7-year-old pup answer dutifully and run over.

Miguel Camacho, right, with Cameron’s parents – photo by Helen Trotman

The electrician then brought the dog to his car and left the scene. Later, he met Cameron’s family in a sporting goods store parking lot for an emotional reunion. The electrician was delighted to learn that there was a $3,500 reward—a prize, in this case, well deserved, that he will partly spend on Christmas presents for his kids.

“We are feeling completely exhausted, yet elated and we are still pinching ourselves to see if we are dreaming,” Helen Trotman, Cameron’s mother, told the Times. “We are so fortunate Miguel was there and was willing to put himself into a possible dangerous situation to get our dog back.”

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Watch Flight Attendant’s Amusing Safety Announcement That Left Passengers in Stitches

Daniel Sandberg is being hailed as “the world’s funniest flight attendant” after he put an amusing spin on the ordinary in-flight safety announcements.

Sandberg, a Frontier Airlines flight attendant, took advantage of the 3-minute instructional routine to entertain the 150 passengers on a flight to Colorado Springs last week.

His jokes included this gem that followed the oxygen mask tutorial, “And, let’s be honest, only those of you who paid the extra $49.99 get any oxygen.”

55-year-old Cindy Kuhns, who captured some of the wise cracks on video, was just one of the many fliers who erupted into applause after the comedic stunt was over.

(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Caters News

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“The ability to observe without evaluating is a higher form of intelligence.” – Krishnamurti

Quote of the Day:  “The ability to observe without evaluating is a higher form of intelligence.” – Krishnamurti

Photo: by Tambako the Jaguar, CC license

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Doctor Who Discovered Natural Way to Treat Vertigo for Free Writes Book On How Sufferers Can Thrive

Dr. Carol Foster went viral back in 2013 for discovering a simple, non-pharmaceutical method of dealing with common vertigo in just 3 minutes.

Now, she has written an entire book on how people suffering from the condition can thrive without having to spend hundreds of dollars on medical treatment.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV, is the medical term for dizziness caused by loose crystals in the inner ear. It affects more than eight million people in the United States alone, making it the most common vertigo disorder in the country.

Unfortunately, there are too few professionals who can treat it. Many BBPV sufferers are simply unable to find a solution to ease their suffering.

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Foster, who is an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Colorado, Denver School of Medicine, suffered from severe vertigo for years. Her personal experience with the disorder made her uniquely qualified and motivated to find a solution that she could share with the world.

“This is why I wrote this book,” says Foster. “What I had learned about vertigo as a physician didn’t come close to matching what I learned from personal experience. It was much, much worse than I ever imagined before it happened to me.”

Foster’s experience led her to develop the Half Somersault maneuver and eventually to write her new book, “Overcoming Positional Vertigo”, which is available on Amazon.

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As Foster says, “it became my life’s mission to help as many other people with vertigo as possible.”

The book describes and illustrates a simple, effective way to treat the problem at home, for free, in minutes. Instead of having to find a trained specialist or pay for a clinic visit, people with vertigo can quickly learn how to perform the maneuver and how to take other preventative measures to help avoid recurrence.

The book also expands on the basics found in Foster’s YouTube video, which has been viewed over five million times.

(WATCH the video below)

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When Mother Runs Out of Formula for Crying Infant, Flight Attendant Offers Up Her Own Breast Milk

Though breast milk may not be on the ordinary in-flight menu, this stewardess was more than happy to offer up some nourishment for an anxious mother and her crying infant.

24-year-old Patricia Organo had been working aboard a Philippine Airlines flight late last month when a tiny newborn passenger started to wail.

“Everything went smoothly until after take off, I heard an infant’s cry, a cry that will make you want to do anything to help,” says Organo. “I approached the mother and asked if everything was okay … Teary-eyed, she told me that she ran out of formula milk.”

The baby was now crying so loudly, other passengers were turning to stare at the passenger and her child – so Organo, who is a new mother herself, volunteered to help in a way that only mothers can do.

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“I felt a pinch in my heart,” she wrote. “I thought to myself, there’s only one thing I could offer and that’s my own milk. And so I offered.”

The mother gratefully accepted and followed the flight attendants back to the galley where Organo fed the woman’s baby for her.

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“I saw the relief in her mother’s eyes,” writes Organo. “I continued to feed the baby until she fell asleep, [then] I escorted her back to her seat and just before I left, the mother sincerely thanked me.”

Not only was Organo happy to help a stranger in need, her compassionate gesture also helped get her a promotion with the airline as well.

Fly This Story Over To Your Friends By Sharing It To Social MediaPhoto by Patrisha Organo

Belugas to Become Residents of the World’s First Retirement Home for Ocean Animals in Show Business

These two beluga whales have been performing for spectators at a water park in China for the last 7 years – but soon, they will be the residents of the world’s first retirement home for oceanic animals in show business.

Little Grey and Little White are the two whales currently living in a concrete tank at Changfeng Ocean World in Shanghai. For years, animal rights activists have been urging the aquarium to rehome the 12-year-old belugas to a healthier, more humane environment – but since the whales have been raised in captivity, they would be unable to survive in the wild.

Thankfully, conservation group Sea Life Trust has come up with the perfect solution.

The organization is transforming a rocky oceanic inlet into the world’s first open sea sanctuary for whales and dolphins.

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Located off the coast of Heimaey, an island in Iceland, the bay is the perfect size and depth for the belugas at 344,000 square feet (32,000 square meters).

The whales are due to be moved to the sanctuary in March 2019. As it is being prepared for the belugas, Little Grey and Little White are undergoing essential survival skill training that will help them thrive in the wild.

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The journey ahead may involve dozens of challenges, but wild belugas typically live for up to 40 or 50 years. If they adapt to their new home, then they could enjoy several more decades of life in their proper habitat.

Additionally, the sanctuary could then welcome more retiring aquatic performers in the future.

(WATCH the video below) – Photo by Sea Life Trust

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Americans Donated 10,000 Pizzas to Voters Waiting in Long Lines on Election Day Thanks to Pizza Nonprofit

As a means of lifting the spirits of determined voters, this charity delivered 10,005 pizzas to polling places across the country on Election Day.

Pizza to the Polls is a charity dedicated to giving away free pizza to voters who are stuck in long polling lines.

The nonprofit, which is an entirely volunteer-run operation based out of Portland, Oregon, first launched in 2016 as a means of easing the strain of waiting in long lines in order to vote.

The charity uses the Slice pizza delivery app to locate pizzerias near crowded polling places so they can send over several dozen pies to the voters. This year, the volunteers say that they delivered to 576 polling places across 43 states.

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“We were completely energized by all the many reports from Twitter and Instagram of all the times when pizza arrived,” the nonprofit wrote on Twitter. “So many people said how it changed the entire mood of a place and legitimately helped people stay in line. We’re so glad we could make a small difference.”

What’s even more impressive is that the charity had trouble spending all the money that was being sent to the them – the donations were coming in so fast, that they finished the night with $154,600 in contributions from celebrities and voters alike.

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“I know this is the least important number of the night, but I love that Pizza to the Polls ended the night with far more money than they started with, despite managing to spend a quarter million dollars (about 13 pizzas per minute!)” said Public Policy Professor Eric Hittinger on Twitter.

The charity says that they will either be setting aside the funds for the next Election Day, or donating it to organizations that feed hungry Americans.

In the mean time, people are thanking Pizza to the Polls for making it easier for voters to exercise their civic duty. Some voting lines reportedly lasted for as long as 3 hours due to malfunctioning voting machines or a lack of polling places.

“It may sound somewhat silly, but long lines at polling places are largely a result of attempts to disenfranchise particular groups of voters,” wrote Josh Chafetz, a professor of law at Cornell Law School. “Anything we can do to help people stay in line is, [in my opinion], good for democracy.”

Pie It Forward By Sharing The Good News With Your Friends On Social MediaPhoto by Lildish_ Twitter

“How could I have been anyone other than me?” – Dave Matthews

Quote of the Day:  “How could I have been anyone other than me?” – Dave Matthews

Photo: © GWC

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Once Thought to Be Extinct, First Ever Photograph of the Tree-Kangaroo Proves Its Survival

Once thought to be extinct, this cute little critter was photographed for the first time in history earlier this year – and it also helps to serve as proof that the species is secretly thriving.

Botanist and wildlife enthusiast Michael Smith had been wandering throughout Indonesia, Kurdistan and Pakistan in the hopes of finding rare rhododendrons, tulips, and orchids, but what he wound up discovering was perhaps even more significant.

After coincidentally hearing about the Wondiwoi tree-kangaroo while exploring the New Guinea mountain range, Smith organized an expedition up the mountain, and through the dense forest to see if he could spot one of these elusive creatures.

Smith told National Geographic that after he and his team climbed roughly 5,000 feet up the mountain-side, they “could smell scent marks left by the kangaroos – a sort of foxy smell.”

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After days of unsuccessful searching and with no sight of the kangaroo, Smith and his team began heading back down the mountain; and that was when Smith’s guide spotted something in the tree-line above. Roughly 90 feet above the ground was the Wondiwoi, nestled in the branches of a tree, peeking its head out from the canopy. Smith, shocked and shaking with excitement, grabbed his camera and managed to snap the first known photo of the Wondiwoi to ever be taken.

What is even more significant is that Smith and his team’s account of multiple scratch marks and dung in the area suggest that there is a thriving population of Wondiwois, limited to a small area in the forest.

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After sharing his findings with kangaroo experts, the photo has been confirmed as authentic, and certified as proof that the once-rumored Wondiwoi species is still persisting.

“It’s exciting to have a positive story for a change,” Roger Martin of James Cook University told Nat Geo. “It makes the point that if we provide habitat for animals and otherwise leave them alone, then they will get on just fine.”

Save Your Friends From Negativity By Sharing The Cool Story To Social MediaFeature photo by Michael Smith

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Watch Grieving Woman’s Emotional Response to Strangers Giving Her Cash After She Paid for Gas in Pennies

Online comedian Carlos Davis and his brother were at a gas station last month when they saw a woman who was using pennies to pay for her gas.

They knew that they wanted to do something nice for her, but they had no idea how much of an impact it would have on the grieving woman.

In a video that Davis posted to his Twitter page, he can be seen opening his wallet and giving some cash to the woman.

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Stunned by the kind gesture, she admits that her husband recently passed away and she has been financially struggling since his death.

When she starts to cry, Davis and his brother both hug the woman and reassure her with words of comfort.

“It’s only right we gotta stick together,” he told the woman. When she asks how she can repay them, they simply tell her to pay it forward.

(WATCH the video below)

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The Ozone Hole is Healing and May Be Completely Repaired Within Our Lifetimes, Says UN Report

This exciting new report gives us some environmental news to celebrate: the Ozone layer is slowly, but surely, being repaired.

Thanks to mankind’s efforts to reduce the amount of ozone-depleting substances (ODS) being introduced into the Earth’s atmosphere, scientific organizations from around the world are reporting a turning point in the fight against ozone depletion.

According to the online report that was released by the United Nations this week, the infamous hole in the ozone layer could be totally healed by the 2060s – and in some areas of the world, it could be as soon as 2030.

The report states that “for the first time, there are emerging indications that the Antarctic ozone hole has diminished in size and depth since the year 2000” and “the weight of evidence suggests that the decline in ODS made a substantial contribution to the observed trends.”

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This is good news for both the environment and our consciences. While any positive news regarding the condition of our environment is cause for celebration, we should take a moment to recognize the steps that led us to this point.

In 1987, an agreement known as the Montreal Protocol called for the elimination or significant reduction of chemicals found in consumer products like refrigerators and aerosol cans that were harmful to the ozone layer. Ditching these chemicals would result in “the avoidance of more than 280 million cases of skin cancer, approximately 1.6 million skin cancer deaths, and more than 45 million cases of cataracts in the United States alone by the end of the century,” according to the U.S. Department of State.

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The treaty was devised by the Canadian government and later ratified by the United States in 1988. Since then, the Montreal Protocol has become the first treaty to receive universal ratification from all countries of the world – and now, we have evidence that it is proving to be successful.

This just goes to show that when the leaders of the world unite for the common good and collaborate under the auspice of a shared responsibility, wonderful – even surprising – things can happen.

Be Sure And Share The Good News With Your Friends On Social Media – Photo by

When Teacher Asks Students to Share Supplies, Boy Offers Up Pencils With Sweet, Personal Messages

This boy’s small gesture of kindness towards his classmates is having a big impact on adults across social media.

Amanda Cox praised the youngster’s compassion on Facebook after she asked her students to share some of their school supplies with their classmates.

“Today I was running low on pencils so I asked all of my kids to pull out any of my pencils that they had in their desks,” says Cox. “I had one student ask me if he could keep his pencils that his mom gave him for school.

“Of course, I said yes. He then said, ‘well, I guess I’ll give you a few so my classmates can have them too.’ I thought nothing of it and took the pencils that he handed me.”

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Cox quickly discovered that these weren’t just ordinary pencils, however – as she was sharpening the writing utensils, she noticed that they all had writing on the side.

As it turns out, the boy’s mother had written personal, individual messages of love and encouragement on every single pencil, saying things like “You are perfect” and “I am proud of you” and “This will be a great year.”

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“This probably took his mom a few minutes to do yet it lit up his whole day at school,” says Cox. “He wasn’t embarrassed that his mom wrote on his pencils. Thanks to his mom, he was reminded of his self worth and wanted to share the same feeling with his classmates.”

Cox posted a photo of the pencils to Facebook where it was shared thousands of times by adults praising the boy and his mother for their compassion. Some have even taken it upon themselves to do something similar for their own students – because, in Cox’s words, “imagine the look on a child’s face when they are reminded that they are important, talented, loved, knowledgeable and so much more … This is why I teach.”

Be Sure And Share This Sweet Story Of Kindness With Your Own Friends On Social Media – Photo by Amanda Cox

“People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable.” – Simon Sinek

Quote of the Day:  “People who wonder whether the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable.” – Simon Sinek

Photo: by Audric Tan, CC license

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