Baton Rouge, Louisiana has been in a state of emergency since fast-moving floods started claiming the streets – rescue workers have already saved more than 20,000 stranded residents and pets, but one particular gesture was caught on video for the internet to see.
When floodwaters were about to claim a woman and her dog trapped in a sinking red convertible, three patrolling rescue workers spotted them just in time.
This sea-dwelling cutie found 3,000 feet under the sea looks like he’s about to go skip school with Nemo.
The tiny purple fish, known as Rossia pacifica, had scientists on the Nautilus Live team in hysterics when they stumbled across his hiding place in Southern Californian waters last week.
“The stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) looks like a cross between an octopus and squid, but is more closely related to cuttlefish,” says the Nautilus team. “This species spends life on the seafloor, activating a sticky mucus jacket and burrowing into the sediment to camouflage, leaving their eyes poking out to spot prey like shrimp and small fish.”
Make Sure Your Friends See This Little Cutie – Click To Share
It’s mid-August and the stores are bustling with families scrambling to get their school supplies before the school year begins. Children are excitedly choosing new shoes and pants, branded lunch boxes and backpacks. The bill for these items can run families a few hundred dollars per child. Back-to-school sales can help, but think for a moment about the anxiety that homeless parents feel without the funds to buy the anything.
As Nick Lowinger grew older, he became aware of the exploding costs and felt fortunate that his family was able to afford not only what he needed for school, but also the popular brands he wanted.
“The sad truth is that there are almost 2.5 million homeless children in the US—one out of every three are youth under the age of 24,” he told Good News Network.
“I first became aware of the prevalence of homeless youth when I was five, and met children of every age at a local shelter where I went to volunteer with my mother. I was surprised to see that many of these children didn’t have shoes that fit them, if they had any at all. Children stayed behind at the shelter while a sibling wore the only pair of shoes they had to share between them, and they would switch places the next day. The first day of school would come and go for some of these children, all because they lacked their own properly fitting footwear. Some children expressed embarrassment over having to wear shoes that were so worn out.”
Since its founding in 2010, Nick’s group has donated new shoes to over 51,000 homeless children in all 50 states, allowing them to participate in sports and school activities alongside their peers—and succeed with them, as well.
If you want to help improve the dignity of homeless children in your own community, increase their self-confidence and pride so they can realize their hopes and dreams to succeed, here is a list of three of the best ways, according to one homeless shelter. The most pressing needs are:
1. Donate gift cards to homeless shelters so homeless families can purchase clothing and/or school supplies for their children.
Most schools send home a lengthy list of classroom supplies for parents to purchase for the first day of school. Long gone are the days when schools provided an abundant supply of markers, pencils, glue sticks, etc, for children to use in the classroom.
The shelter we spoke with said that one year they had a large number of high school students in the shelter who didn’t have calculators for math class. The shelter had to round up the money to purchase them, which put a strain on their budget. Donating gift cards for department stores or office supply stores that are near the shelter’, would be a huge help to homeless families, allowing them the ability to purchase what they need.
Transitioning to a new school can be very difficult for homeless children who have been uprooted from their old neighborhoods. Gotta Have Sole high school clubs are run by teen leaders who act as peer mentors and provide a constant support for youth at the shelters.
Near-peer mentors go to the shelter after school to give moral support to the children and to help them with homework challenges. They also provide new shoes for the children, and run after school activities with them which promotes a more inclusive and cohesive community. To start a club in your school or community, check out our website page.
3. Donate new footwear to Gotta Have Sole’s Step Up for Homeless Youth campaign and we will purchase the footwear children in shelters need
Footwear orders pour in at Gotta Have Sole every summer, so this year, they’ve set a goal to outfit 1,000 homeless children with the shoes they need for school. It costs an average of $15.00 to outfit a young child with a new pair of sneakers, and $25.00 for teens. 100% of donations support our footwear program.
“I don’t see sneakers as being cool or trendy. For many homeless children, shoes are a sign of hope, opportunity, and dreams fulfilled. Join with us, and improve the lives of homeless children, one “sole” at a time.”
(WATCH a past video of Nick Delivering Shoes below)
Get Your Friends Involved, Click To Share – Photo by Gotta Have Sole
After two years of their people being hunted and displaced by the black-clad soldiers of ISIS, these women will not tolerate it any long.
A team of over 100 escaped Yazidi female slaves – and 500 more in training – have created a military unit known as ‘The Force of the Sun Ladies’ to counterattack ISIS’s stronghold in Mosul.
Considered devil-worshippers by Islamic State militants, the Yazidi people’s faith combine Christian, Zoroastrian, and Islamic beliefs. In 2014, over 200,000 Yazidi people were attacked by the jihadi organization and fled to refugee camps in Kurdistan.
Over 5,000 of the women and children were enslaved – but not for long.
The 600 escaped Sun Ladies – plus another 1,400 Yazidi men – plan on using their knowledge of the terrorist base to team up with Kurdish Peshmerga forces and seek revenge, as well as protect the survival of their people and free the remaining enslaved women.
“Whenever a war wages, our women end up as the victims,” Captain Khatoon Khider, a member of the Sun Ladies told Fox News. “Now we are defending ourselves from the evil. We are defending all the minorities in the region. We will do whatever is asked of us.”
Show Support For The Sun Ladies, Click To Share – Photo by Owen Holdaway
Hoping to be part of the solution, while promoting a unified community, dozens of volunteers came out Sunday morning in Milwaukee to help clean up after Saturday’s riots left several businesses burned.
The Coalition for Justice led a prayer vigil in the Wisconsin Sherman Park neighborhood and, afterward, participants young and old picked up bags and gloves to clear the debris and ashes around a gas station, beauty store, bank and surrounding buildings.
“We need to continue to love and inspire people with an atmosphere that changes the way they look at things,” said Nate Hamilton, one of the volunteers.
The riot was sparked by the death of a youth who tried to shoot police officers with a stolen gun. The youth’s father later exonerated police for their actions and blamed himself for not being a proper role model for his son.
(WATCH the video below from WITI News) –Photo: WITI Video
A photo posted by I Choose Beauty™ (Sahar) (@ichoose.beauty) on
During treatment for severe depression, a therapist suggested she focus on something of beauty every day to help her get through a difficult Ohio winter. What has emerged is a 1,000-day project inspiring others who are suffering in silence.
Every day for nearly three years, since November 2013, Sahar Aker has snapped a picture of beauty and published it on Instagram using the hashtag #IChooseBeauty.
“I’m a very visual person, so I decided I would document the beauty I saw each day with a picture,” says Aker. “After only a week, I noticed a difference – I started to feel hopeful. Days went by, and I was hooked. So much so that I didn’t stop when winter was over. I kept going. I’m on Day 1,000 now.”
#IChooseBeauty helped Aker to notice all the little things in life— whether it’s a flower, the clouds or a good hot cup of tea. She started to find beauty she had once overlooked. Beauty she couldn’t see when she was in the depths of her recent episode of severe depression.
“I woke up one morning and found myself curled up at the bottom of a deep dark hole where I could barely breathe, wondering what happened. Wondering how I got here. And not really caring if I ever saw light again,” recalls Aker.
A photo posted by I Choose Beauty™ (Sahar) (@ichoose.beauty) on
The amazing thing that has come out of this project, besides Aker’s healing, is that it has inspired and helped so many other people who are struggling in life. Dozens have joined the movement, posting their own #IChooseBeauty images and sharing how this process helps them, too.
“Seeing and feeling the ‘beauty’ in everyday things just really changed my perspective on life. I do not take things for granted anymore and I NOW try very hard to actually see the beauty in small things,” says one commenter.
Another wrote, “My depression has gotten progressively worse. #IChooseBeauty has really helped me focus on the day and realize that everything isn’t as grim as it feels. Thank you.”
Depression affects about 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older per year, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Positive psychology researchers have found people who notice and appreciate beauty are more likely to find joy and meaning in everyday life. And are more likely to feel positive and grateful.
#IChooseBeauty has been Aker’s life preserver — her proof that happiness is right in front of us, all around us. We just have to choose to see it on Instagram.
It wasn’t easy for Andrea Sierra Salazar to lose all of her hair after being diagnosed with stage two lymphoma, but that didn’t stop her from rocking her baldness anyway.
Since the 17-year-old from McAllen, Texas had to take time off of school for her chemotherapy, her mother suggested she support her lifelong interest in modeling.
Andrea tried experimenting with wigs, but it didn’t quite feel right – losing her luscious locks had taken a toll on her confidence.
So after modeling for a series of agencies and shoots, the teen posed for a series of photos captured by Gerardo Garmendia without hair or wigs – and they were absolutely magical.
After Andrea posted the photos to Twitter with the caption “Cancer doesn’t stop me from being a princess”, the pictures were retweeted almost 100,000 times with encouraging compliments and gratitude for her being such a positive role model.
Salazar has said that she’s most proud of inspiring other girls her age to be confident no matter what disability they have – princesses come in all shapes and sizes and they’re all beautiful.
In the careers of skateboarders, one of the biggest signs that they’ve “made it” is when they start to get sponsored. When a skater takes to the ramps with their name emblazoned on their board, you know they’ve just gone to a whole new level.
That’s exactly what Ben Gregor had in mind when he created his first solo art exhibit, “Humble & Epic.”
It’s simple on the surface: over 50 skate decks laser etched with names, mounted on a wall next to a placard that tells Ben’s story about that person. Each of these people – including colleagues, celebrities, legends, good friends, family members, even his dog – have supported him through hard times in his life, but Gregor likes to say they “sponsored” him. And due to life-unraveling events that took place a few years ago, he became inspired to return the favor.
Best known for the British kid’s comedy “All Stars,” Gregor was building up a successful career in European film & television director. His personal life was going pretty well, too. He had been living with his partner for nine years, but the two suddenly split, and Gregor was left alone with a lot of shock, misery and time to introspect.
It was a time period in which he could have sunk into bitterness. But he decided to take action instead. He says, “You can come out of [un]happiness in different ways — sometimes you need to brood and be on your own. But sometimes you need to say, “F*** it,’ and make something great out of it.”
As Gregor counted all the ways his life had gone wrong, he also started to take a tally of the ways his life had gone right – thanks in large part to the many, many people who had been there for him in the past, either physically or as sources of inspiration. It’s a wide-ranging list, including colleagues like Sigourney Weaver and Spike Jonze, as well as heroes like Evel Knievel. And yes, the woman who broke his heart got a board in her honor as well.
Gregor had been a lifelong lover of skateboards and skate culture, and alone in his new flat, surrounded by new furniture and the smell of fresh wood, he had an epiphany: “I want to sponsor back the people who’ve sponsored me in my life.” And the result was all the boards of Humble & Epic, a true exercise in gratitude.
And the exercise of that gratitude turned out to generate even more for him to be grateful for. With the support (and outright generosity) of his friends, including Archie Holloway and Alice Herrick (both of whom were honored with decks in the show) Gregor was able to manufacture the custom pieces and book a show at London’s famed Herrick Gallery.
The exhibit was an immediate hit, filling opening reception with stars, art lovers and people moved by the story, alike. And now Gregor is taking the message State-side. Starting August 6, Humble & Epic will be on view at Project Gallery in downtown Los Angeles.
The show is not only about “sponsoring” the heroes that have impacted Gregor’s life. A portion of the proceeds from the exhibit will benefit Skateistan, a non-profit based in the Middle East that empowers girls living under Sharia law not only with the opportunity to practice a sport, but to further their education. Gregor explains, “Under Sharia law (the Islamic legal system), girls aren’t allowed to ride bikes or do much at all. But through a loophole, they’re allowed to skateboard because it’s seen as a toy. Skateboarding is so accessible. As long as you have a board, you can do it anywhere.”
In exchange for skateboard lessons and access to the sport, Skateistan students are required to attend – and excel in – academic classes. Most of the kids the organization works with are dropouts, so the fact that the organization is getting them back in school is a testament to what a strong motivator skateboarding is. And that’s just talking about the efforts in Afghanistan. The organization also has programs in South Africa and Cambodia. Around the globe, they change the lives of over 1,200 kids each week.
Beloved actor Dick Van Dyke and his a cappella group Vantastix treated the diners of a Denny’s in Santa Monica, California to a spontaneous rendition of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.
It’s easy to tell that even though he turned 90-years-old in December, the guy’s still got it.
(WATCH the adorable video above)
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This heavy metal legend isn’t going to be joining the large ranks of celebrities that have recently passed away anytime soon.
The 68-year-old guitarist announced at the Spire Parkway Hospital’s Specialist Care Centre in Solihull, England that the lymphoma that has been plaguing his system since 2012 has gone into remission.
“I am in remission, and hopefully this situation will continue,” he told The Birmingham Mail. “I came back to hospital straight after [Black Sabbath] finished a round of European tour dates, and the good news is that everything is all right up to this point.”
Iommi was unveiling an award given to the £1.3 million facility that had been providing him treatment when he made the announcement.
The declaration is ideal timing for the band’s 2017 globally-spanning farewell tour The End, and has even inspired the possibility of future tour dates, should the conditions be agreeable with Black Sabbath members Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward.
(WATCH the video below)
Don’t Be Paranoid, Click To Share – Photo by Birmingham Culture, CC
It was a normal night in Rome until the neighbors of this elderly couple were alarmed to hear heart-aching wales coming from the next door apartment.
When police arrived at the door, they discovered no one was actually harmed – Michele, 94, and Jole, 89, had been watching television and were so disheartened by all the negative news that they started crying in despair.
The loneliness from a lack of visitors had also contributed to the couple’s sadness until it apparently became too much.
The Italian police officers knew they had “two lonely souls to reassure” so they politely asked if they could access their pantry – because nothing lifts the spirits like a home-cooked meal.
All while conversing amiably with the seniors, the boys in blue whipped up some buttered pasta for dinner. Even though it’s a relatively simple dish, the Facebook picture of the evening said the spaghetti contained “all their humanity” for the sad couple.
This feline hero is making sure that the kittens left behind by fleeing families have someone to take care of them until the war is over.
Every morning since the war started in 2011, Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel buys meat from the butcher in Aleppo, Syria so he can feed 150 of the local strays.
Even though he has received criticism for not dedicating his efforts towards helping human victims instead, the Syrian insists that cats and dogs are important parts of people’s families that deserve to be looked after as well.
His wife and three kids could have fled to Turkey, but they decided to remain and help those less fortunate.
“I regard animals and humans in the same light,” Mohammad told Newsweek. “All of them suffer pain, and all of them deserve compassion.”
GNN has published stories of refugees successfully bringing their pets with them on the dangerous voyage to safety, but many of them don’t get the chance—and animals can get left behind in the wake of the war.
This man and his wife were so inspiring that a Caldecott award-winning children’s book was even written, called The Cat Man of Aleppo.
This Detroit gang doesn‘t ride motorcycles—they get out their lawn tractors to volunteer their time to clean up the city’s park and schools so kids have a safe place to play.
In 2010, Tom Nardone founded the Detroit Mower Gang in response to overgrown city parks and playgrounds caused by Motown’s financial problems. Open to everyone—and growing in numbers—the mowing gang meets every other Wednesday evening in the spring, summer and fall to manicure more than 40 parks and playgrounds.
To fertilize the altruistic efforts of these renegade landscapers, the Craftsman tool brand this year donated $18K worth of lawn and garden equipment, including five riding mowers, trimmers, hedgers, gear.
The company was so inspired by the Nardone‘s group, it’s now calling for submissions for other like-minded organizations to which they can donate products.
When a New Jersey police officer arrived on the scene of a car accident, he found a South Carolina man traveling with his beloved basset hound, Bella.
The man was in need of medical attention so Bella was taken to the local Humane Society. The organization said they could only keep the dog for a week.
But the victim was unable to retrieve his dog, and Bella’s co-owner was unable to get up to New Jersey from Myrtle Beach to take her home.
“It pulled on my heartstrings a little bit,” officer Frank Kuhl told CBSNewYork.com. “I have two dogs at home, and I got a vibe that this guy feels the same way about dogs that I do.”
He and his squad mate Michael Tancredi made the nearly 650-mile drive down the Eastern seaboard, finally getting Bella back home.SHARE the Kindness—Spread the Love…
Before we began cheering on our national teams, President Obama and the First Lady teamed up to share their favorite Olympic memories.
The Summer games in Rio de Janeiro are now in full-swing, but as Team USA prepared to bring home the gold in swimming, gymnastics, and more, Barack and Michelle Obama looked back at a few of their favorite golden moments from Olympics past.
Oprah surprised a Washington, DC charity with a huge announcement and a donation that would make Tom Cruise jump on her couch again.
The philanthropist who has given millions to help girls in Africa opened her checkbook in June and gave one million dollars to N Street Village, an organization that helps homeless and low-income women with housing, employment, and health services in the nation’s capital.
The group was already thrilled to have Oprah Winfrey’s attendance at a luncheon there, and were eager to be inspired by her words, but ended up in tears, inspired by her stunning generosity.
No matter how young you are, you can still make eggsellent achievements like 14-year-old Lucy Gavaghan.
Since the young teen took to Change with a petition demanding major UK supermarket chain Tesco to stop selling eggs from caged hens, 280,238 people signed in agreement.
Tesco, one of the only major grocery stores remaining that hasn’t switched to free range chickens, recently announced a plan following the petition to transition to 100% cage-free eggs, moving to alternative sourcing methods, such as barns, free range, and organic.
At present, some 43% of the 1.4 billion eggs sold by Tesco each year come from caged eggs, also known as enriched colonies. Some 57% of eggs sold by Tesco in the UK come from free Range or organic methods.
“Our decision on caged hens is one of a number of Tesco initiatives designed to ensure sustainable sourcing, and improve animal welfare.” said Matt Simister, Tesco’s Commercial Director for Fresh Food. “We carried out an extensive and collaborative review with our suppliers and key industry experts to help us work through how best we can move to 100% cage-free eggs. This will ensure we give our supplier partners the certainty they require, to make the significant and necessary investments needed for the new farming systems.”
Click To Share The Good News With Your Friends – Photo by Lucy Gavaghan
Sometimes the smallest act of kindness can make a huge difference. That was the case at a rental car agency in Tulsa, Oklahoma last month.
After a hit-and-run accident left Coty Vincent in need of a rental car, she was forced to bring her two twin babies along with her to fill out the paperwork.
Without a double stroller for her twin boys, she fully expected to spend an exhausting morning holding and entertaining both 11-month-old boys while attempting to rent a car.
That’s when John Goodlet, an Enterprise Rent-A-Car employee who had just started working at the new job, stepped in to help. He went above and beyond what was expected, scooping up one of her twins into his arms before starting to process Coty’s rental request.
That small act of kindness prompted Coty to snap a photo to share with the world.
Her original caption on Facebook read, “One of the most compassionate and caring people I’ve ever met. We need more people like John who go that extra step. Be a John. #BeAJohn”
After she posted the photo, the story earned 250,000 likes, and moved people to share it more than 30,000 times.
“As a mom of twins, simple gestures go a long way, so it was a great feeling that John recognized I needed help,” Coty says. “Without a blink of an eye, he just jumped in and said he could help hold one of the twins. The world needs more people like John.”
When asked why he took it upon himself to help Coty, John explained, “I’m a twin myself and it was instinctual. I understood she just needed somebody to help her out. I try to be a positive influence in the lives of anyone I meet, and I wanted her to have to do less work.”
The former Oklahoma State University football player was amazed by the reaction. “I’ve never had this much attention, especially for just doing my job. I was a college athlete so I try to take the hard work it took on the football field and apply it in the branch. It’s really motivating to see people like who I am and what I do.”
Once Enterprise saw the post, their corporate team wanted to help, too. They gave Coty a much- needed double stroller as a thanks for sharing her experience and also gave John a gift card and a large donation to his favorite charity, The Boys and Girls Club.
We can all hope that someday when we are struggling, someone will #BeAJohn for us and go that extra mile.
Even though Brenda Jones had been on the organ donor wait list for over a year, she didn’t mind waiting a little longer if it meant keeping a young woman from dying.
Doctors at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas received a liver donation while Brenda and 23-year-old Abigail Flores were both waiting for a transplant – however Abigail wouldn’t last more than a few days if she didn’t get a replacement organ fast.
So they asked the 69-year-old if she was willing to give up the transplant so Abigail could live, to which Brenda didn’t hesitate to say yes.
“In my heart, I wouldn’t have been able to live with the liver if I had let this little girl die,” Jones told WFAA. “And I still had more time … I would have been a very selfish person.”
