There were no losers at this year’s World Softball Championships in Surrey, British Columbia. The U.S. may have beaten Japan for the gold medal on Sunday, but the 10-day tournament featured a grand slam of random acts of kindness that made everyone — from players to spectators — a real winner.
When New Zealand’s team found out that many players on the Kenyan squad had no shoes, the Kiwis bought the team new cleats.
Families from around Surry put together gift packages for teams and a business paid for airline tickets for the Venezuelan team when their fundraising efforts fell short.
The French players from Nice – which was recently victim to the Bastille Day terror attack – were met with French flags, flowers, and a limo tour of the area.
When India’s team showed up with ill-fitting uniforms, local businessman Dave Mann, who’d immigrated from the country to Surry more than 40 years ago, not only took them shopping for new gear and picked up the bill, but he also hosted all 30 members of the Indian team for dinner at his home after they lost to Switzerland 5-1 on Friday.
“The random acts of kindness … It has been non-stop, it has been without fanfare. I’ve cried more in the last six days than probably the last six years,” tournament spokeswoman Laura Ballance told the Vancouver Sun.
Oxygen masks designed just for pets are saving animals’ lives in Ohio —and a new law could save even more.
Passed in May, the law takes effect August 31, making it clear that first responders can administer first aid to pets rescued from fires.
The previous law suggested pets had to be taken to a licensed veterinarian but it wasn’t clear on what what treatment was allowed if an animal wasn’t breathing.
Firefighters around the state now stock oxygen masks made specifically for different size dogs, cats, and other animals. The masks have a record of saving pets’ lives.
The masks cost about $90 each and first responders need several different sizes for different animals. Private donations to buy the devices have spurred some departments to realize their effectiveness and include new purchases in their budgets.
The Newark, Ohio Fire Department reports using the masks eight times in the last two years to save pets’ lives. Other departments also report they often put animals’ lives ahead of early confusion over the previous law.
“Society expects us to be able to handle every single situation,” Lancaster Fire Chief Dave Ward told the Columbus Dispatch. “When we’re able to see that the positives outweigh the negatives in terms of treating animals with simple oxygen, it was a no-brainer for us.”
Give Your Friends A Breath Of Good News… SHARE it. (Photo: joy1722, CC; Newark, Ohio Fire Department)
A married mother in Arkansas was given the surprise of a lifetime when her husband tracked down one of the most important relics from her childhood: an old white RV camper.
When she was a little girl, Karis Farish’s fondest memories were made traveling all over the United States with her mother and father – but when her father was killed in a car accident on December 14th, 2000, the RV was passed on to a new owner.
Fast forward to almost 15 years after her dad’s death, when Karis’s husband Micah set out on a mission to find the RV and surprise his wife with the ultimate Christmas gift.
After spending two months tracking the location of the camper, Micah found its owners – Kathy Eiler and Patti Clarkson – in Laguna Woods, California. The dedicated spouse told Karis that he was spending the weekend at a bachelor camping party, then headed west to convince Kathy and Patti to let him take the camper home.
Though the owners were reluctant to let it go, they understood the ancestral significance and conceded to sell the vehicle.
“It tugged at my heartstrings because I lost my father when I was 13 and it was over the holidays,” Kathy told ABC News. “We had a holiday house fire and my father was about the same age as Karis’ dad. And I know what it was like to have those memories and spend time camping with my family. That was so meaningful to me. We had to do it. We had to let the camper go home.”
For the big reveal, Micah positioned the RV in front of their home and lead his wife outside, with hands over her eyes.
Karis couldn’t stop crying as she was reunited with her father’s prized camper, standing with her own children—who soon would be headed on similar adventures— at her side.
“I’m just overwhelmed with the fact my husband loves and cares about me so much that he put forth all this effort to do this for me,” Karis said. “Having it back, I’m really excited to do for my kids what my dad did for me. It’s the best Christmas gift I’ve ever gotten. It could never be topped.”
(WATCH the emotional reunion below —and SHARE the Joy…)
It was an orca’s version of calling 911 — and these humans rushed to help the killer whale stranded on a rocky shoreline in low tide.
The 5-6 ton orca was caught off guard as the tide rushed out from Hartley Bay, British Columbia, leaving her high and dry on the rocks. A passerby heard her calls and telephoned a pair of volunteer rescue groups — the Guardians from Hartley Bay and Whale Point.
Members spent the day keeping the orca wet and cool, covering her with cloth to shield her from the sun and dousing her with water from a tank, until the tide returned more than eight hours later and lifted her from the rocks.
The killer whale swam away, almost immediately reuniting with her pod.
(WATCH the video below from the Globe and Mail) — Photo via news video
A photo of a Texas police officer washing a homeless man’s feet proves you can always find someone “putting their best foot forward”.
Sgt. Stephen Wick and Officer Colin Mansfield knew right away the man identified only as Quintius needed help. Homeless, elderly, and blind, the man wasn’t taking care of his health while living on the street—and the cops are working to change that.
The officers, both with the Houston Police Department’s Homeless Outreach program, bought new clothes and shoes for Quintus. But as they were dressing him, they realized his feet were filthy and toenails so long they cut into his own feet.
Sgt. Wick wasted no time washing Quintus’ feet and giving him a pedicure. The officers are also working to find permanent care for Quintus.
“It didn’t have some deep meaning, but it made me feel good to be able to help Quintus,” he told Inside Edition. “Help your neighbor if you can. Get out there and help folks.”
When a Canadian woman offered to help a refugee family, appearing lost and confused at a train station, little did she know she’d be just one of 50 people coming to their aid.
Valerie Taylor was on her way home when she spotted the family in Toronto’s busy Union Station. The Syrian family, a mom, dad, and six kids — one of whom was disabled — were trying to make their way through the busy terminal. They had two baby strollers, several large bags, and only one member — an 11-year-old boy who spoke any English.
He explained to Taylor they had only been in Canada for four months and were trying to get to a town 50 miles away to visit relatives, but didn’t know which train to take. Taylor, going in the same direction, offered to lead them to their platform.
After they were underway, Valerie found out the family actually meant to go to another town, London, Ontario, 60 miles farther away — and on a different train line.
Suddenly, passengers started pulling up train schedules on their phones, looking for the best connections to get the family where they needed to go.
Valerie spoke with an employee of the GO Transit railroad who figured out a connection, but the transfer would cost the family a few hundred dollars — more money than they had.
The strangers again rallied to help, taking up a collection to pay for the transfer.
Valerie got off the train with the family to help buy the tickets, but as she was entering their information into a ticket kiosk, another passenger ran up telling her not to buy the tickets.
The railroad was sending a bus to take the family to their destination, but when they realized that would take a long time, and one of the children was disabled, they put the family in a couple of taxis for the last leg of their trip.
Valerie says she was overwhelmed by the number of good deeds performed by perfect strangers in a matter of a few hours.
“It really was quite amazing,” she told CBC News. “It was really just groups of random strangers coming together to just do the right thing and help this family connect with their relatives for the weekend.”
Everyone living in galaxies near and far have memorized the sounds of the beloved Star Wars theme.
That’s why 13-year-old musicians Bryce Hayashi and Michael “Mickle” Miller paid homage to the franchise’s composer, John Williams, by performing the theme song on his front lawn last Monday.
The trumpeter and flugelhorn player nailed the opening notes and—just as they had hoped—drew the musical legend out the front door.
A college student was ready to catch the bus to go home at night—until she realized she couldn’t go anywhere, except on foot.
While walking toward the bus stop, a homeless man approached Caroline Santana asking for some change. She had been searching her purse for her bus pass, and promised the man she would give him some money as soon as she could find any.
Soon enough the Brazilian student started thinking she didn’t have the bus pass—or money to pay the fare—and started to worry.
Seeing the situation unfold, the homeless man didn’t seem to think twice.
“Do you know how much is the ticket? Because I have $4 and I will be happy to give it to you.”
Caroline declined his generous offer, but according to the girl’s May 26th Facebook post, even after she found the bus pass the man insisted on giving her money and she kept declining.
“Are you sure you don’t need it? You don’t have to walk back home.”
Caroline assured him she found the pass and there was nothing to worry about. But she did realize how extraordinary it was for a homeless man, who is normally asking for help to make himself available with what little he owned—and decided this action could not go unnoticed.
“I asked if I could take a picture with him to tell everyone about the size of his heart.”
The man walked towards her and tried to make his appearance look nicer before they snapped the photo.
She also gave him a little over R$2 (all she had) and the humble man wished her a good night. Before Caroline left the man shouted, “Mention in the picture that my name is Cesar.”
This man hopes that his ‘free hugs’ tour will help put an end to violence in America, by building a bond between police and the millions who watch his entertaining videos.
Ken Nwadike, started his “Free Hugs Project” at the Boston Marathon, holding a sign that offered free hugs to cheer on the runners.
Since then, he’s shown up at political rallies, and in the video above, at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio last week. Some of the officers and pedestrians he targeted for hugs there had seen one of the dozens of videos from his trips around the country posted to his YouTube and Facebook channels.
Police are also trying to touch people’s hearts with kindness, after the recent spate of shootings involving cops and minorities. Whether it’s dancing at a cookout with Black Lives Matter supporters, or shooting some hoops with neighborhood kids.
In Sanford, Florida, police are reaching out to the black community with surprise gifts of new basketball hoops. The department’s Facebook page features videos of officers delivering new balls and backboards to families—and sticking around to shoot a few hoops.
The video below shows the Sanford force is working in a few dance moves with children while patrolling their beat in black communities. Check this one out…
“This is a pivotal step in the recovery of one of the world’s most endangered and iconic species,” said Ginette Hemley, senior vice president of wildlife conservation at WWF. “Together with governments, local communities, philanthropists, and other NGOs, we’ve begun to reverse the trend in the century-long decline of tigers.”
Governments in countries that contain tiger populations came together in 2010 to pledge their cooperation in reaching a goal of doubling the wild cat numbers by 2022—the next Chinese Year of the Tiger.
More than 700 tiger experts, scientists, managers, donors and other stakeholders gathered in April to discuss issues related to tiger conservation and they warned the world not to get complacent.
“A strong action plan for the next six years is vital,” said Michael Baltzer, Leader of WWF Tx2 Tiger Initiative. “The global decline has been halted, but Southeast Asia, in particular, is at imminent risk of losing its tigers if governments do not take action immediately.”
He speeds around the globe in dangerous car chases as the spy in the “Bourne” movies, but in real life, Matt Damon chases down the one thing every person needs, but can’t always get—clean water.
Damon’s appearances worldwide for the Water.org charity have delivered danger-free drinking water to 4.3 million people in 12 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
After a trip to Zambia with U2’s frontman Bono in 2006, Damon was hit with how important a fresh water supply can be to families. Without safe drinking water, kids have to spend their days scavenging for water, often carrying it miles to their homes, instead of going to school.
Back in the U.S., Damon started talking to Gary White, who’d created the nonprofit WaterPartners more than 15 years earlier. Together, they launched Water.org in 2009.
The charity’s WaterCredit micro-loans let families purchase taps and toilets—an average of just $178 each that has put $151 million dollars toward improving the lives of 3.6 million people.
By using the micro-loans instead of grants, the charity is able to “recycle” money — as people pay off their debt, the money is loaned to others — reaching 10 times as many people.
The actor is still surprised at how much access to water can change lives. He talked to a young girl while dedicating a new well in Haiti and asked her what she planned to do with all the free time she’d have now that she no longer carries water.
“She looked at me dead in the eye and said, ‘I’m going to play,’” Damon told the New York Daily News. “And it just buckled my legs because I thought to myself, ‘Yeah, she’s a child – she deserves a childhood.’”
This is the amazing story of an owl that flew straight into the window of a moving car. Not only did he—and the driver—miraculously survive the accident, but after breaking both wings, the owl became a surrogate parent in the hospital for orphaned owlets before he was finally released back to the wild in the backyard of the very man whose vehicle he collided with. All, thanks to a caring community of rehabilitaters and volunteers.
Most of us have experienced that sick feeling when an animal leaps in front of our car, but what if the animal hurls itself right into your car while you’re driving? That’s what happened to a Virginia man when a barred owl with a wingspan of four feet flew through his open passenger window.
Jim Corbley doesn’t normally freak out—but he was freaking out. Worried the creature would start flailing around in his BMW, he kept an eye on it, but it twitched in pain briefly and fell silent.
Only when he arrived home, did he see it was an owl —not a hawk — and his wife convinced him to move the animal, still alive, to a box with a blanket and call for help. (Watch the video at the bottom)
They called the Raptor Conservancy of Virginia and spoke to Kent Knowles, the founder of the organization, who has rehabilitated and handled owls, hawks and eagles for over 20 years.
One of the group’s fine volunteers was dispatched, and she drove immediately to Lake Jackson outside Manassas on a Sunday evening to pick up the bird and bring him to their office 30 miles away in Falls Church.
In the meantime, the couple, both amateur birdwatchers, were told the owl was likely in shock and might not make it through the next hour. They kept the room dark, but checked for signs of breathing every five minutes, and were delighted that after some time the owl was moving his neck and looking around.
The next day Kent told Corbley, who named the owl ‘Beamer’ (for the BMW he collided into), that the bird had broken both wings—something the raptor expert had rarely ever seen. A surgeon was scheduled to take x-rays to see if anything could be done to save him.
The owl should have been named ‘lucky’ because the location of the three fractures happened to be between the joints, rather than at the elbow or shoulder, which signaled that surgery could move forward. The veterinarian set 3 pins in the wings and helped him to recover in a small cage that would confine the animal’s movements.
“We work with a really great veterinarian who’s been doing raptor surgery for over 25 years and he donates all of his time and services,” Gabby Hrycyshyn, Executive Director of the Raptor Conservancy told Good News Network. “He does a fantastic job so we’re very lucky—and this bird was very fortunate that we could take him to this vet.”
After he regained full extension in his wings, Beamer spent several months in the flight cage and proved his hunting skills were back to normal. At the same time, the rescue group received several baby owls that had been orphaned, and to Beamer was assigned to become a surrogate parent. He taught them vocalization and hunting skills while the fledglings imprinted on a member of their own species.
Finally, in late June, Beamer was ready to be released back into the wild. When they learned that Corbley lived on a lake with woodland surroundings, Ms. Hrycyshyn volunteered to release him right in the couple’s own backyard.
Neighbors donated money to the Conservancy to help pay for Beamer’s treatment. You can learn how to contribute or volunteer on their website, here.
(WATCH the bird take flight again in the inspiring Good News Network video below)
As a surprise for her 80th birthday, her daughter arranged for her to play with the high school marching band so she could relive the joy she felt only in her teen years.
The school’s band director gave Mary Sue Carnes, who had been a drummer, a spot in the percussion section playing cowbell, which was more manageable given her elder years—and the youth welcomed her back to their lines.
For 21 years Angie’s List has amassed more than 10 million verified reviews on home services professionals, more than double its nearest competitor. In July, the company announced that access to all those reviews, once behind a paywall, would now be free-of-charge.
Consumers now have free access to reviews of American companies in more than 700 service categories and all the verified consumer ratings and reviews submitted over the two decades.
“This is a transformative moment for the new Angie’s List as we welcome more consumers into our community,” said Angie’s List President and CEO Scott Durchslag. “With our new offerings, the 10-12 million visitors coming to our site each month looking for help with their home will be able to more easily find the best local service providers.”
The company still offers two premium paid membership levels that offer value-added services like a Fair Price Guarantee and a Service Quality Guarantee, along with exclusive discounts, company chats and customer support. A complaint resolution process is additionally available for an extra $99.99 a year.
Danielle Cook’s son was only 11 years old when he was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the immune system.
“There was a huge sense of powerlessness and great sadness,” remembers Cook, a mother of three who worked for years doing cooking demonstrations in the Washington, D.C., area.
Cook, who now also works as a holistic nutritionist, knew there would be comfort —and healing— in food.
After months of making special recipes for her son who felt sick with little appetite, she saw the boy go from a “worn, depressed, tired kid to a healthy adolescent,” she says.
Drawing from her experience, she founded Happily Hungry, a program that consists of cooking and workshops for hospitalized kids and their families who are battling cancer and other illnesses.
Cook also published a cookbook, aptly named “Happily Hungry: Smart Recipes For Kids With Cancer,” which is full of nutritional tips, helpful photos and kid-friendly recipes—a “roadmap for healthy eating choices during cancer.”
Thanks to a Multiple Sclerosis Adventure program run by Swedish Medical Center, and a couple of special sets of wheels, Aimee Luzier and Michael Chalupa—especially Michael, who two decades ago used to ride his bike 100 miles in a day— found themselves with the wind in their hair enjoying the scenery under their own power.
You didn’t have to attend Hogwarts’ Divination class to see this coming — the script for the new Harry Potter play is the most pre-ordered book of the year.
The play is set 19 years after the events in the last book, and follows the adventures of Harry and his friends as adults, with their own children taking center stage at the Hogwarts wizarding school.
The new book topping both the print and Kindle lists at Amazon, with other book sellers across the U.S. and UK reporting record preorders, as well. No one’s added up the sales so far, but the last Harry Potter book, “The Deathly Hallows” part two, released in 2007, sold 11 million copies in the first 24 hours after its release.
This won’t be the last word on Harry. The play is being continuously tweaked and refined, effectively being rewritten on a nightly basis after each performance to perfect the story. Rowling expects to release a revised edition of the script with its new content in book form next year.
Conjure Some Magic: SHARE With Your Friends…(Photo: Palace Theatre)
The British Royal Family has released photos of their future king to celebrate his third birthday today.
Prince George is featured on a swing, playing with a puppy, and wandering around the yard at his parents’ home in Norfolk. The photos were posted on The Royal Family Facebook page on his birthday, July 22.
A statement from Kensington Palace said the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — Prince George’s parents Prince William and Duchess Kate — hope that people would enjoy seeing the photos of their son.
“I really enjoyed the opportunity to take these photographs of Prince George,” photographer Matt Porteous said. “It was a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. I’m honored that they have decided to share these images with the public to mark his third birthday.”
A new sunscreen additive could prevent cancer on an unprecedented scale by gripping and protecting skin cells like an “iron claw.”
Cell damage from sunlight is due to ultraviolet (UV) radiation that comes in two forms: UVA and UVB. Most sunscreens protect very effectively from UVB light, but few work well against UVA light.
Researchers in the UK have discovered a compound they’re calling ‘mito-iron claw’ that provides never before seen levels of protection against UVA radiation.
Their discovery provides protection from inside the cells where the most damage occurs, but without harming those cells. Researchers who developed it at the University of Bath and at Kings College London believe their mitoiron claw can be added to regular sunscreen formulas within three or four years.
Their discovery gets its name because of the way it works — attaching itself to free iron in cells like a claw.
Iron works like a battery in cells, powering multiple vital functions. But when that iron is exposed to UVA, it turns into a catalyst for producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) — which damages DNA and other cell components, increasing the risk of cancer.
The mitoiron claw’s grip prevents that from happening, protecting the iron in the cell from reacting with UVA light.
The UK researchers exposed human skin cells in their lab to the equivalent of 140 minutes of sunlight at sea level. Cells treated with the mitoiron claw showed no signs of damage, while untreated cells showed significant cell death.
“The role of iron-mediated damage induced upon exposure of skin cells to UVA has been underestimated for many years,” Dr. Charareh Pourzand, one of the University of Bath researchers said. “This mitoiron claw is a highly effective compound, offering unprecedented protection against UVA-induced mitochondrial damage.”
