Firefighters don’t always have to be rescuing people from burning buildings in order to be serving their communities.
A group of firefighters from the Charlotte Fire Station in North Carolina were on their way back from a medical call this week when they spotted a family trying to fill up an outdoor kiddie pool solely by using pots and pans to carry the water.
Not only that, the family had been trying to fill up the pool because it was a little boy’s birthday.
With hose in hand, the firefighters stopped in to lend a hand. Within minutes, the pool was filled and the kids were finally able to have some fun in the sweltering heat.
The fire station posted photos of the sweet encounter on Facebook, explaining how this is typical behavior for their civil servants.
“Firehouse 18 is a neighborhood firehouse full of men and woman who truly care about the families they swore to protect,” writes the station. “What was just a simple task for us turned into laughter, smiles, and a life-long memory for the neighborhood kids as well as the men on Engine 18.”
Be Sure And Share This Cool Story With Your Friends – Photo by Firehouse 18
Quote of the Day: “The eyes experience less stress when they can look upon a wider horizon.” – R. D. Chin
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Sir Paul McCartney delighted hundreds of Beatles fans last week when he returned to his hometown of Liverpool for a special nostalgia tour of all the old hotspots.
The visit was in lieu of a brand new episode of “Carpool Karaoke” featuring James Corden from The Late Late Show. Throughout the 23-minute show, Corden and McCartney chat and joke about what it was like to be in the Beatles, how McCartney wrote some of his songs, and how it feels to think about the old days.
As the tour starts off, the former Beatle fittingly joins the talk show host for “Baby You Can Drive My Car” before the trip eventually leads them into a rousing rendition of “Penny Lane”, which they sing as they simultaneously visit some of the spots that are mentioned in the song, including the barbershop. Not surprisingly, the stylist working at the shop is stunned to see McCartney standing on her doorstep.
At about 4:50 into the video, McCartney explains his heart-wrenching inspiration behind the song “Let It Be”, which they proceed to sing, bringing Corden to tears.
By 7:20, the duo stops at McCartney’s childhood home where the singer reminisces about his time spent playing there and growing up with the other Beatles.
McCartney and Corden manage to escape the crowd of fans gathered outside the home before crooning along to “Blackbird” and cracking some jokes about the Beatle outfits.
Since McCartney appeared on the show to promote his new album, Egyptian Station, which is available for pre-order before its release in September, he gives a sneak peek of one of the new songs at 14:23.
Finally, to close out the sweet and surreal karaoke segment at 15:43, McCartney sneaks onto the stage of an old Liverpool pub where the Beatles used to play. When a patron is encouraged to select a song on the jukebox, the curtains open to reveal McCartney and his band playing “A Hard Day’s Night” – and the customers are overwhelmed with joy and surprise.
The band plays a few oldies, attracting dozens of fans from outside, before finally finishing the set with “Hey Jude”; an experience that nobody will soon forget.
(WATCH the video below)
We’ll Send All Our Loving To You If You Share This Sweet Video With Your Friends – Photo by The Late Late Show
With billions of diapers ending up in landfills every year, researchers have been scrambling to find an efficient way to recycle the wasteful product. Finally, a team of scientists have found an easy solution.
Researchers at Chung Hua University in Taiwan have created a user-friendly machine that can turn 220 pounds of dirty diapers into clean, raw materials in a single hour. The team is now working on developing their prototype into a larger facility that can recycle over 10 tons of dirty diapers in a single day.
The machine sanitizes the soiled diapers on-site. Then, through a special process called stratification, the machine separates and salvages all the reusable materials in the products, such as fluff pulp, sodium polyacrylate and polyethylene. The raw materials can then be taken to a recycling center where they can be reused to make things like cardboard, paper, absorbent pads, and more diapers.
Reusing these materials is estimated to save roughly 864,000 trees every year. Plus, the machine uses less water than the average toilet.
Currently, dirty diapers make up between 3 and 5% of the world’s garbage. Some diapers can take up to 400 years to decompose – and even “biodegradable” diapers take 50 years to fully degrade.
If dirty diapers are not buried in landfills, then they are simply incinerated, which means that all of the toxic pathogens and chemicals used in the products are then sent into the atmosphere. Additionally, incinerators produce thousands of tons of harmful carbon emissions per 10 tons of diapers.
Implementing this innovative and cost-effective machine in day care centers and assisted living facilities around the world would finally help to clean up one of the most problematic additions to landfills today.
(WATCH the video below to see how the machine works)
Clean Up Negativity By Sharing This Good News With Your Friends – Photo by Chung Hua University
A 24-year-old man is being hailed for helping a woman get home after her 360-pound electric wheelchair had conked out on the road.
Bilal Quintyne is an amateur boxer who had been preparing to go for a run with his trainer in Smyrna, Georgia when he first spotted 67-year-old Belinda Whitaker sitting in her wheelchair.
The battery in the wheelchair had died, and even though she was relatively near a few bustling establishments, no one had stopped to help her for 45 minutes.
Quintyne walked up to Whitaker and asked her what was wrong. When she explained her predicament, he offered to push her all the way back to her senior living home.
Even though it was a 30-minute hike back to the facility, Quintyne did not falter. As he tirelessly pushed the wheelchair, his trainer took a video of his young student’s good deed which was later uploaded to Facebook and viewed millions of times.
The clip’s instant fame spurred several members of Whitaker’s church to reach out to him on social media and invite him to one of their services.
Quintyne attended one of the sermons and the pastor praised the young boxer for serving his community and using his abilities to help those in need. They presented Quintyne with a plaque, a tee-shirt, and a $25 gift card to The Cheesecake Factory, which he plans on using to take his two kids out to dinner.
“I just felt so much love,” Quintyne told The Washington Post. “I don’t see myself as no superhero, I don’t see myself as no great guy. I’m just a moral man doing what I was put on this Earth to do.”
(WATCH the video below)
Push Your Friends To Read This Inspiring Story And Share It To Social Media – Photo by Tony Willingham
Women all over Saudi Arabia are celebrating a historic day for their country: the day that Saudi women are legally allowed to drive on the kingdom’s roads.
The decision to lift the archaic ban was made by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in September 2017, making Saudi Arabia the last country in the world to allow women to drive.
Female race care driver Aseel Al-Hamad decided to mark the exciting day by taking a celebratory lap around the Le Castellet circuit in a 2012 Renault Formula One race car.
Al-Hamad’s drive was part of a pre-race parade to welcome back the first French Grand Prix tournament in 10 years.
“I have loved racing and motor sport from a very young age and to drive a Formula One car goes even beyond my dreams and what I thought was possible,” she said in a statement. “I hope doing so on the day when women can drive on the roads in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia shows what you can do if you have the passion and spirit to dream.”
“The most important thing I am looking forward to is to start seeing the next generation, young girls, trying [motor sport]. I want to watch them training and taking the sport very seriously as a career. This is going to be really my biggest achievement.”
Al-Hamad also marked the day exciting day by going on her first ever drive on a racing circuit in her home country.
(WATCH the video below)
Drive This Story To Your Friends: Share To Social Media – Photo by Reuters via Arab News
Mona and Des Manahan have been married for 56 years, but their love and romance is still very much alive. In fact, the senior couple recently made international headlines because of the devotion that Des shows to his wife.
As Mona’s eyesight started to deteriorate in her old age, she went to see makeup artist Rosie O’Driscoll at a department store so the young lady could do her makeup for a party. Though O’Driscoll is an accomplished beauty expert, Des couldn’t help but tease her about her job.
“I started messing with her and I said, ‘Look, you’ve got it crooked there, you did this wrong,’ joking her,” Des told TODAY Style. “And then she just handed me the brushes and said, ‘Well, you do it.’ So I started to do a little bit with it.”
To O’Driscoll’s surprise, the 83-year-old Irishman was a “natural.”
In fact, Des enjoyed doing his wife’s makeup so much, he started to take makeup lessons from O’Driscoll at the department store.
“He got lesson after lesson after lesson, and loved every minute of it,” O’Driscoll told TODAY. “I think he prefers me to take a step back now and let him off, let him do whatever he wants to do.”
As news of the Manahan’s love story got picked up by international news outlets, they eventually got the attention of Mario Dedivanovic, the celebrity makeup artist whose clients include Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, and Kim Kardashian.
The fashion mogul was so touched by the senior couple’s story, he invited them to one of his master classes in London back in April.
“I called my manager and told her i wanted to invite Des, Mona and Rosie to The Master Class and we had to make it happen,” writes Dedivanovic. “My heart felt so full seeing them there in front of me. My highlight of The Master Class London and of the year.”
Mona and Des have been touched by the amount of attention that their marriage has received, but they say that they’re mostly just happy to take care of each other in their golden years.
“We’re not trying to look like 30-year-olds or 40-year-olds or 50-year-olds,” said Des. “We both love each other as we are at 83 and 82, which I think is enough.”
(WATCH the heart-melting video below)
Losing your eyesight brings with it a range of challenges. For Mona Manahan it meant the simple pleasure of putting on her makeup became near impossible - so her lovely husband Des stepped in to help. And ladies... a pearl of wisdom from Des... "Less is more" pic.twitter.com/c526vrrQCK
Quote of the Day: “Re-examine all you have been told… Dismiss whatever insults your soul.” – Walt Whitman
Photo: by Gael Varoquaux, CC
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If you’ve ever wanted to see a live Tom Hanks performance, now is your chance—and you can show appreciation at the same time to US military veterans who were given a chance to reassimilate into society through a pathway into theater.
The Shakespeare Center of LA has been hosting a production of “Henry VIII” that is orchestrated entirely for the benefit of 40 vets who have found therapy, solace, and a meaningful job in the theatrical field.
The breathtaking newly-built stage located in the lush Japanese Gardens on the West Los Angeles Veterans Association campus, was built entirely by homeless or troubled vets who are in transition. Some of the former service members are in the play itself, performing alongside Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks, while others have found catharsis while working in sound, makeup, lighting, stage construction, or production.
“I was like in a little cocoon, I was closed off from the world,” recalled one of the vets, describing his mental health struggle before the production. “This experience has helped me to interact with people in a positive way, it’s been very therapeutic.”
“I [heard about] this opportunity and I thought ‘wow this is great,’ so I jumped on the chance to do it,” said a formerly homeless participant while sewing costumes. “I am here for mental health reasons so it calms me.”
When asked why Hanks was such an avid supporter of the program, he said: “Guys and women who have served our country and are transitioning into the next phase of their lives; wouldn’t it be great if some of them went into the very line of work that I’m in?”
The performance, which was orchestrated in collaboration with the Veterans Association, will be showing among the trees and under the stars until July 1st. If you would like to buy tickets, you can visit the Shakespeare Center’s website.
(WATCH the video below)
Romeo, Romeo, Please Share This Story With Your Romeo!
An airline passenger’s Facebook post went viral after Lynette Scribner published a moving photo and story about the kindness of strangers on her most recent flight:
She saw a gentleman named Tim, who appeared to be both deaf and blind, in Boston’s Logan airport. He was leaving town after visiting his sister when Lynette observed her signing into his hand so that he could feel her words.
He had been assigned the middle seat of Lynette’s row on an Alaska Airlines flight.
“The kind gentleman who had the aisle seat graciously gave it up for him. At this point Tim was traveling alone. The flight attendants sincerely wanted to assist him, but had no way to communicate.”
“I watched as they didn’t flinch when he reached out to touch their faces and arms. They took his hand and tried so hard to communicate with him, to no avail. He had some verbal ability, but clearly could not understand them.
“The man who had given up his seat did his best to assist Tim with things like opening coffee creamer and putting it in his coffee. When Tim made the attempt to stand up and feel his way to the restroom, his seat mate immediately was up to help him. The flight attendants were talking among themselves and someone suggested paging to see if anyone on board knew sign language.
“That’s when this lovely young woman came into the picture. 15 years old, she learned ASL because she had dyslexia and it was the easiest foreign language for her to learn. For the rest of the flight she attended to Tim and made sure his needs were met. It was fascinating to watch as she signed one letter at a time into his hand. He was able to ‘read’ her signing and they carried on an animated conversation.
“When he asked her if she was pretty, she blushed and laughed as the seat mate, who had learned a few signs, communicated an enthusiastic yes to Tim.
“I don’t know when I’ve ever seen so many people rally to take care of another human being. All of us in the immediate rows were laughing and smiling and enjoying his obvious delight in having someone to talk to.
“Huge kudos to the flight attendants of Alaska Airlines who went above and beyond to meet Tim’s needs.
“I can’t say enough about this beautiful young woman named Clara who didn’t think twice about helping her fellow passenger. It was a beautiful reminder, in this time of too much awfulness, that there are still good, good people who are willing to look out for each other…We are all starving for good news and this was just what we needed.”
After causing a stir on Twitter, this adventurous 15-year-old corgi finally made it home thanks to a mother’s gut instincts. Hear The Good News Guru tell the surprising tale (from the June 22, 2018 Ellen K. Morning Show on KOST-103.5 radio).
LISTEN to this Good News Guru story here, which was broadcast on the radio June 22nd with Ellen K and Geri on KOST-103.5 — Or, READ the story below… (Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes – or for Androids, on Podbean)
This dog may be old, but his escapades taught an elderly couple some new tricks after he escaped from their home in West Virginia last weekend.
They went out to dinner leaving Pepper home alone during a thunderstorm. After returning early to check up on their precious 15-year-old corgi, they found it was gone.
As Pepper wandered through Charleston, he was eventually spotted by the mother of Matt Nelson, who has almost 7 million followers on his Twitter page, “We Rate Dogs”, which posts amusing reviews of mutts.
After Nelson’s mother saw Pepper almost get hit by a car, she scooped him up and took him home. Her son then turned to his social media followers in hopes of finding the corgi’s owners.
❗️CORGI FOUND❗️
Bendview Rd. Charleston, WV
We had bad storms last night and it’s clear he was out in them for quite a while. He’s very speedy but tired and would like his owner back ASAP. pic.twitter.com/muXMC4ZtB2
Mrs. Nelson, for some reason, had a sneaking hunch that the corgi belonged to an old man. So when she saw a senior citizen drive past them in his car, she told her son that Pepper might belong to the driver and suggested they ask him.
“I was like, ‘Mom, we can’t just stereotype,’” he told CBS News. “‘We don’t want to ask every old person if this is their dog.’”
But somehow, following her intuition, she was SPOT-on!
Mrs. Nelson ran up to the driver and asked if the dog belonged to him—and they were blown away when he said yes.
The man was Harry Wallace, Pepper’s owner. He and his wife Buffy had been frantic over the pup’s escape – and even more overjoyed by his return. They were also bewildered to hear about his newfound fame.
After Pepper’s return, the Wallace’s grandson, Will Jenkins, posted an update for the Twitter page, saying that Harry “was happier than he’s ever been before!”
(WATCH the video below—our international viewers can watch the clip on the CBS News website)
Share This Pawesome Story Of Fate With Your Friends – Photo by Will Jenkins
Quote of the Day: “With the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees. . . I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” – F. Scott Fitzgerald (The Great Gatsby)
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Last week, Hawaii became the first US state to ban the use of pesticides containing chlorpyrifos, a chemical that has been linked to causing developmental delays in children.
Senate Bill 3095, which was introduced back in January, was unanimously passed and signed into effect by Gov. David Ige (D).
The legislation prohibits any person or agricultural establishment from using pesticides containing chlorpyrifos as an active ingredient, starting on January 1st, 2019. Businesses will be allowed to apply for extensions on the deadline should they need more time to adjust to the change.
However, the pesticides will not be allowed within 100 feet of any school.
“Protecting the health and safety of our [kids] and residents is one of my top priorities. We must protect our communities from potentially harmful chemicals,” said Ige in a statement.
“At the same time, Hawaii’s agriculture industry is extremely important to our state and economy. We will work with the Department of Agriculture, local farmers and the University of Hawaii as we seek safe, alternative pest management tools that will support and sustain our agriculture industry for generations to come,” he added.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency originally recommended banning the chemical in 2015, and now Hawaii’s groundbreaking legislation may stir more states to act.
Plant Some Positivity With Your Friends And Share The Good News With Your Friends
While the world becomes more and more aware of plastic pollution, a group of 5,000 fishermen who rely on the “Mother Sea” to survive have taken it upon themselves to clean up the oceans – and use the piles of waste to repair their roads and create jobs.
In an interview with National Geographic, a local fisherman from the Indian city of Kollam explained how the sea has gotten more polluted over the years. Whenever he casts his nets, he “often comes up with more plastic than fish.”
For a while, Xavier Peters and his peers had simply tossed all the trash back into the water, but later, realizing the futility, began hauling it back to land.
So far, they have collected a whopping 65 metric tons worth of trash. After urging a few of their local government agencies to help, they managed to facilitate the creation of a new recycling center – the first in the region.
The Department for Women’s Empowerment, created to help women find employment, then hired an all-female crew to run the facility and sort through the plethora of assorted plastics. The most damaged plastic is then shredded into a fine confetti which is sold to local construction crews. These workers then use it to strengthen the asphalt used in the creation of new roads.
Peter Mathias, who is a local union representative for the fishermen, proudly described their success to NatGeo, saying, “We’ve roped in so many groups, so quickly for this effort … this comes from us, it comes from the fishermen.”
Not only has the entire town embraced the initiative, the innovative solution has spread to other seaside communities in the area, and the fishermen have adopted a leading role in helping them convert the plastic into dollars. The clam divers of Kerala and numerous other communities have now successfully raised funds for their own recycling plants.
According to one fishermen “All of Kerala, all of India, and all of the world will join us.”
Help Your Friends Sea This Story And Share To Social Media
Page Kemna was sick of sending her resume to companies without seeing any results – so she decided to adopt a more creative approach to job applications.
The University of Denver grad published a video of herself playing piano and singing her resume, which immediately scored her some media fame.
Kemna reasoned that any workplace reluctant to hire someone based on such an unusual application would not be the kind of place where she would want to work at anyway—and the non-traditional move paid off!
“I wanted them to know who I was outside of just paper so I decided to sing them a little song to show them I could go the extra mile,” she told KDVR.
Kemna’s singing resume was shared thousands of times, garnering a slew of job offers, interview requests, and musical opportunities. In addition to performing at local venues in Denver, Colorado, she was also a guest on the Pickler and Ben talk show and featured in a German magazine.
More importantly, she is now employed in a creative position at Zoom Video Communications, and she makes money creating commercial jingles and video content.
Kemna became another example of how success is waiting just around the corner—if you use your imagination to envision it.
(WATCH the interview with Kemna below)
Be Sure And Share The Smile-Worthy Story With Your Friends – Photo by Page Kemna
Quote of the Day: “Emotional intelligence is the ability to make emotions work for you, instead of against you.” – Justin Bariso
Photo: by Carl Izbicki
With a new inspirational quote every day, atop the perfect photo—collected and archived on our Quotes page—why not bookmark GNN.org for a daily uplift?
After spending 46 years on this planet as an ambassador for interspecies communication, Koko the gorilla quietly passed away in her sleep on Tuesday.
The Gorilla Foundation issued a press release on Wednesday announcing their friend’s passing, noting that she was 46 years old when she died at her preserve in Santa Cruz, California on Wednesday, and that she “was beloved and will be deeply missed.”
“Her impact has been profound and what she has taught us about the emotional capacity of gorillas and their cognitive abilities will continue to shape the world,” they added.
The western lowland gorilla was famous for her astonishing vocabulary, which made her adept at communicating with her human companions. She was capable of signing over 1,000 words and phrases in a modified form of American Sign Language called Gorilla Sign Language. Additionally, she could understand over 2,000 words of spoken English.
Her intelligence and compassionate spirit got her onto the front page of National Geographic on two separate occasions. For the first issue in 1978, it was a photograph of Koko taking a picture of herself with a 35 mm camera. The second one, which was published in 1985, depicted her and her pet kitten: All Ball.
“The foundation will continue to honor Koko’s legacy and advance our mission with ongoing projects including conservation efforts in Africa, the great ape sanctuary on Maui, and a sign language application featuring Koko for the benefit of both gorillas and children,” said the organization.
(WATCH the touching tribute video below)
Be Sure And Share The Inspirational Story Of Koko’s Life With Your Friends
One of the largest obstacles faced by those with cancer is getting to and from doctor’s appointments – but thanks to Lyft, that will no longer be a problem for hundreds of passengers.
In partnership with the American Cancer Society, the ride-sharing service announced that they would be offering free rides to cancer patients who need transportation to a hospital.
The Road to Recovery initiative is expanding on Lyft’s pilot program, which has already been operating for the last year out of Las Vegas and Miami. The service will soon be available in 10 more American cities, including Atlanta, Cincinnati, Denver, Houston, Philadelphia, and St. Louis.
If you’re in need of transportation to a cancer-related appointment, you can visit the Road To Recovery website to arrange a ride. Passengers are advised to schedule the rides at least a few days in advance in order. Minors or patients with mobility issues are also required to travel with an adult companion.
Drive The Good News Over To Your Friends By Sharing It To Social Media – Photo by Quote Catalog
A compassionate police officer is being praised for the kindness that she showed towards a man who had his groceries stolen while he was having a diabetic episode.
Officer Kirsten Koryciak had been stationed at a Walmart in Houston, Texas when she saw a “groggy-looking” customer come back into the store. The man walked up to the police officer and told her that he had just had a diabetic episode. While he was being treated, someone had taken his groceries.
Since the man was on a fixed income, he was unable to buy more food. Without hesitation, Koryciak used her own money to replace all of the man’s groceries – roughly $30 worth of vegetables, medication, and meals.
When she was later interviewed for her act of kindness, Koryciak explained that many of her family members have struggled with type 1 diabetes in the past, and she understands how awful the disease can be.
Additionally, she simply said that helping the man was the right thing to do.
“I just didn’t want to see that young man suffering,” Koryciak said at a press conference. “It’s part of my job to care about people.”
“He wasn’t having a great day. He wasn’t feeling good,” she added. “If you see somebody being mistreated or taken advantage of, say something. You have to treat people like they were your own family… how you want to be treated.”
(WATCH the clip below)
Pass On This Positive Story Of Kindness To Your Friends
