All News - Page 968 of 1715 - Good News Network
Home Blog Page 968

Christian College Kids Raise $800K in 2 Days for Women’s Hospital in Syria

 

Passion Audience Instagram Passion

When Christian college students set out to help build a hospital for women and children in Syria, they didn’t need a miracle to raise beyond enough money in a single day.

The students were attending an annual conference called Passion, a global gathering of college-age students that attracted 40,000 attendees over the past weekend in Atlanta, Georgia and Houston, Texas.

RELATED:  30,000 US Teens Converge on Detroit in Massive Christian Volunteer Clean-up

The passionate youth at the arena events, and others online watching the live-stream, donated $785,000 on the first day of the campaign alone.

The $811,813 raised in two days was more than the $575,000 needed for “Project Haraka,” the planned hospital that will serve 12,000 people a year in northwest Syria, including refugees in nearby camps. It will feature the country’s first newborn intensive care unit.

The extra $236,000 raised at Passion will go toward medical care for an additional 10,000 people in the country.

CHECK OUT: Sikhs Set Up Free Bakery Near War Zone to Feed Fleeing Syrians

“Most people will seek a political angle any time Syria or the Middle East is mentioned,” Zach Walden, a law student at the University of Alabama, told USA Today. “But the reality is that the love of God transcends nations and politics.”

In past years, Passion events, organized by Choice Ministries, has raised money to fight modern slavery and human trafficking.

SHARE the Good News… (Photo via Passion268, Instagram)

A Random Act of Kindness Caught on Camera Leads a Homeless Man to Shelter

officer and homeless man Facebook Alex Fischbach

This photo tells the story of an act of kindness credited with finding a homeless man a place to stay in the cold of winter.

A sheriff’s deputy spotted an unidentified homeless man alone in the cold midwestern weather. Sergeant Depuy gave the man a ride to a nearby McDonald’s, where he asked the staff to let him stay inside to get warm.

RELATED:  New Jersey Police Officer Surprises Homeless Man With New Boots -Watch

Alex Fischbach was watching the scene when he said the lawman pulled some money out of his pocket and told the homeless man to buy something to eat.

“The man tried to refuse but the officer said, ‘I’m not asking you to take it, I’m telling you to take it.’” Fischbach wrote on his Facebook page.

Fischbach says the two shook hands before the officer left. He snapped a photo as the sergeant left, and says he was touched that the officer wasn’t looking for “gratitude or recognition.”

This picture is a quick snap of one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. We pulled up to the McDonalds in...

Posted by Alex Fischbach on Saturday, January 2, 2016
 

The photo on Facebook was quickly shared around Morrison, Illinois, and a pastor located the homeless man — identifiable by his coat in the photo — and took him to a nearby shelter run by a church.

Sergeant Dupuy says he was just doing his job.

RELATED:  Deputy Leaps To The Rescue Of Homeless Mother and Children

“He was basically just…showing that police officers have hearts,” the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department spokesman told ABC News. “It goes on often, but someone caught it which is nice. It’s recognition for doing a good deed.”

Doctor Carries Injured 280-Pound Man Two Miles to Safety

Doctor Carries Man to Safety 2 screenshot FB Dan Reardon

What started as a pleasant New Year’s Day hike for a doctor and his girlfriend, turned into a rescue mission, with the need to carry a 280-pound man two miles to safety.

Dr. Dan Reardon and Dina Zaky were strolling around Escondido Falls on a holiday hike when they came across Mark Martinez, who’d fallen and hurt his ankle.

RELATED:  Family Braves Carolina Floodwaters to Rescue Elderly Man and His Dog

The man was hopping around on one leg, trying to get back down the mountain in Malibu, California. They didn’t know it at the time, but Martinez had broken his ankle and one of his lower leg bones.

The young doctor hoisted the man onto his back, even though Martinez was one-and-a-half times Reardon’s own weight–and the hero spent two hours carrying him out of the woods.

Zaky ran ahead of them until she could find cell phone reception to call for an ambulance.

Reardon, a former ER doctor, is CEO of a company that helps people get into healthy shape by analyzing their DNA. He plans to help Martinez lose some weight after his new patient and friend recovers from the broken bones.

CHECK OUT:  Teens Rescue 89-yr-old Who Didn’t Know Her House Was On Fire

“I’m happy to have been able to bring Mark to safety,” Reardon told TODAY. “The instinct of doctors is to help people and I don’t like to see people struggle.”

(WATCH the video of Reardon carrying Martinez below) — Photo: Dan Reardon, Facebook

Well today's hike with Dina turned into something a little different. As you'll see in this video, I ended up carrying a 280Ib guy 2.3 miles out of Escondido Falls, who'd injured his ankle and knee, so couldn't walk. Dina ran back to the beginning of the trail to call for assistance (no cellular reception whilst hiking), and so we had the EMT's waiting for us at the other end.Thank goodness I took today as my rest day, and thank goodness the FitnessGenes Muscle Building System has been helping me get stronger!I was very pleased to see Dina at the other end with a big bottle of water!The guy has a fractured ankle and proximal fibula!

Posted by Dan Reardon on Friday, January 1, 2016

Texas Businessman Offers Mansions to House Tornado Victims

Ron Sturgeon Mansions for Tornado Survivors screenshots KDAF Zillow

A Texas millionaire is opening two mansions as temporary housing for families who lost their homes in the state’s recent storms. The payment due for rent? One dollar per month.

Businessman Ron Sturgeon, a property investor who owns RDS Real Estate, was moved to action by the devastating pictures from last month’s storms.

CHECK OUT:  Australian Widow Leaves $4 Million Mansion To Help Homeless Kids

His company usually focuses on commercial real estate, but he had a pair of two million dollar mansions purchased as investments that are currently up for sale. He says the idea to offer them as housing for displaced families “just overtook me.”

“I was just thinking about having those two big homes,” Sturgeon told KDAF News. “It doesn’t make sense for them to be vacant when somebody could be using them that obviously would have a great need.”

He’s had more than 70 people apply, even though his properties are a two-hour commute from the Dallas-area communities where the storms struck.

RELATED:  People Respond with Texas-Sized Generosity to Dallas Tornados

His plan is to let one family live in each mansion for up to three months, but Sturgeon says he could extend that if he still hasn’t found a buyer by then. He hopes the amenities such as swimming pools, hot tubs, and personal theaters may “lift the spirits” of families who lost so much.

(WATCH the videobelow from KDAF News) — Photos: KDAF, Zillow

MULTIPLY the GOOD, Share the Idea…

Mother and Kids Treat Homeless Community To Sweaters and Food

giving-sweaters-to-homeless-submitted

Every year around the holidays, since my kids have been little, we take home baked cookies down to the men and women who are homeless in Philadelphia.

This year we brought warm socks and clothing and my children really got a first-hand experience of talking to these men and women and seeing that they’re just like us.

I reached out to the community in which I live through Facebook asking for donations and we went back on New Years day and delivered over 100 pairs of socks, hundreds of pairs of sweatpants, and lots of food.

CHECK Out: Homeless Family Given Home in Time For Christmas From Florida Cop Who Calls-in Favors

My kids want to go back on Martin Luther King day and bring sandwiches instead!

Write Your Own Good News Blog –> Here

Get Daily Good News With Our New APP –> Download Free for Android and iOS

Muslims Come to Times Square to Take Stand Against Extremism

Muslims protest extremism released Salaam Bhatti

Amid the revelers and high security on New Year’s Eve in New York’s Times Square, there were also dozens of Muslims ringing in the New Year with a message of peace.

Just as they did the year before, members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association USA carried banners demanding an end to extremism..

2 Muslims protest extremism released Salaam Bhatti

It’s part of a campaign this year called “True Islam and the Extremists” that will send the Muslim group traveling to mosques around the country speaking out against ISIL and other extremist ideologies.

Salaam Bhatti from Queens in New York City said if a celebration to mark the changing of the years gave his group just a few seconds to change people’s minds about his religion, it would be worth it.

RELATED: Muslims Protect Christmas Mass, After France Heightens Security at Churches

3 Muslims protest extremism released Salaam Bhatti

In the wake of the San Bernardino and Paris shootings, and the ensuing backlash against Muslims, the young emissaries, dressed in t-shirts with the word “Extremists” crossed out, gave away flyers listing the differences between what terrorists embrace and what mainstream Muslims actually believe.

The group even returned after the celebration to help clean up the tons of litter left behind. Bhatti said helping the community demonstrates that good deeds are the true heart of Islam throughout the year.

Photos: Salaam Bhatti

Rally Your Friends To This Story, Share It…

Pizzeria Delivers 80 Free Pies to Homeless Shelter for New Year -Watch

Pizza Neon Sign CC Thomas Hawk

A spur of the moment decision led to an impromptu pizza party for dozens of people staying at a Michigan homeless shelter–a gesture from a businessman who wants to make it an annual tradition.

Alex Garcia, the general manager at Flo’s Pizzeria Ristorante, had been thinking about a holiday pizza delivery for the homeless before floating the idea to the pizza parlor’s owner on New Year’s Day.

RELATED:  Domino’s Driver Delivers More Than Pizza to Elderly Man Left in Cold

Owner Davide Uccello thought it was such a good idea, he decided to do it right away.

“2015 was our biggest and best year we’ve ever had at Flo’s,” Uccello told WXMI News. “So this was something, with my heart I wanted to say, ‘Let’s give back now.’”

The kitchen whipped up 80 pizzas in 45 minutes and Garcia and others rushed them to a shelter in Grand Rapids in what Uccello hopes will become a New Year tradition for his restaurant.

WATCH:  $700 Tip Leads to Rehab Support For Humble Pizza Delivery Man

And when the pizzas showed up, shelter residents gave the pizza delivery guys the best tip ever — a standing ovation.

(WATCH the video from WXMI News below) — Photo: Thomas Hawk, CC; Solorzanos Pizza on Facebook

Give Your Friends A Slice Of Good Stuff, Share This…

Goat is Off the Menu as Tiger Strikes up Unlikely Friendship with His Meal (WATCH)

Timur and Amur Facebook Timur and Amur

Fortunately for Timur the goat, dinner didn’t go quite as expected. He was supposed to be a meal for Amur the tiger, but became the big cat’s best friend instead.

Timur was released into the tiger’s enclosure at Primorye Safari Park in Russia as live prey for hungry Amur. But something about this goat earned him a reprieve.

WATCH:  Video of Unlikely Animal Pairs Breaks Sharing Records with Cuteness -Watch

“The goat showed his bravery and the tiger respected that,” park director Dmitry Mezetsev told BBC News. “He said, ‘Let’s be friends.’”

And they have been the best of friends for more than a month now, roaming the enclosure and playing together to the delight of park visitors, whose numbers have tripled since the formation of the unlikely alliance a month ago.

(WATCH the video from BBC News below) — Photo: Timur and Amur Facebook page

Share the Wonder of Nature With Your Friends…

Volunteers Turn Abandoned Buildings into Apartments for Homeless Vets

Volunteers Rehab Apartments screenshot WKBN

Volunteers have started remodeling hundred-year-old apartments in Ohio to serve as new homes for homeless veterans.

Iron Soup Historical Preservation is reworking old buildings in Campbell, Ohio, and hope to have the first apartments completed shortly. They believe they can remodel 160 old apartments in town to create a “veteran community” and roll back homelessness among vets.

WATCH:  Strangers Donate So Ill Veteran Can Reunite with Dogs for Christmas

Brian Reed owns a construction company and spent the weekend putting down tile, setting up drywall, and modernizing bathrooms in two apartments—all for free. Other companies and professionals have donated building materials and furniture to the cause.

The old apartments are part of a “company town” housing development constructed by Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company for its workers a century ago, which are abandoned but now on the National Registry of Historic Places.

Work started on the first pair of units which will provide shelter for four vets until they can find permanent housing.

RELATED:  Rockford, Illinois Ends Veteran Homelessness, Sets Higher Standard

“There are all kinds of units around here,” Iron Soup’s executive director Linda Gens told WKBN News. “They can all be rehabbed and it doesn’t take much money.”

Iron Soup has raised thousands of dollars toward their goal, but volunteer labor is going a long way in rehabbing the apartments. DONATE toward this major effort at the group’s GoFundMe campaign.

(WATCH the video below from WKBN News) — Photo: YouTube

MULTIPLY the Good– Share This…

Rescued Shelter Dog Becomes The Rescuer: Finds Missing Senior

Roxanne dog finds lost woman screenshot WVEC

A dog rescued from a shelter in August turned into the hero who did his own rescuing this week– finding a missing elderly woman who was lost in the cold wearing just a nightgown.

Rebecca Burley was taking Roxanne the Labrador-hound mix for a walk around their Suffolk, Virginia neighborhood last week when they ran into a police search party.

RELATED:  Dog Spends Over an Hour Pulling Injured Woman to Phone to Call 911

The officers were looking for an elderly woman who’d wandered away from a relative’s house.

Rebecca promised to keep her eyes open for the missing woman, but it was the dog who tracked down the senior later on their walk.

The dog started tugging on her leash, pulling Rebecca off the sidewalk and toward a ditch where the dog had spotted the missing woman, lying on the ground in distress.

WATCH:  Shelter Dog Can’t Contain Emotions, Realizing He’s Rescued

After the ambulance and police were called to take the woman to a hospital, Roxanne the hound got an extra dog treat at the heroic day’s end.

(WATCH the video from WVEC News below) — Photo: WVEC

Share This With Your Rescue Friends…

Hold On For Deer Life: Man Risks His Own to Rescue Frozen Doe (Video)

steven peterson pets frozen deer-youtube
A man risked his life to save a young deer after it fell through the ice covering a freezing Minnesota river.

Steven Peterson didn’t know how long the doe had been languishing in the Kettle River outside Duluth when he first spotted her, but he knew every minute was critical.

WATCH:  Family Finds Frozen Kitten Under the Snow and Brings it Back to Life with CPR

Peterson is deaf, and decided that trying to communicate with an emergency operator could waste precious time. So, instead of calling 911, he set out across the ice to rescue the deer himself.

Carrying a tree branch to spread out his own weight across the ice, he crawled out to tie a rope around the deer’s neck, before returning to pull the animal out of the water.

The deer was covered in ice but had only minor wounds. Peterson stayed with her for about an hour to make sure the doe, which he’d named “Miss Ice River,” could take care of herself.

WATCH:  Stuck to a Tree, Wild Sheep’s Majestic Horns Freed By Jogger

“I am so glad she is safe,” he signs in the video at the bottom. “Now we need to find her mother.”

(WATCH the video below of the actual rescue and Peterson telling the story)

 

Share the Compassion With Your Friends…

Breakthrough Smart Watch Converts Text and Email into Braille

braille watch-released-Dot-Inc

207 years ago today, the man who devised a system for reading and writing for the blind, was born. Now, Louis Braille’s system of dots has been given a hi-tech design upgrade by a company called Dot, Inc.

The Dot Watch, which turns text messages into braille for the blind, is being celebrated as the first major innovation for visually impaired readers in nearly 15 years.

After seeing a blind classmate lugging around a heavy braille bible, which contained only five percent of the contents of the holy book, Eric Ju Yoon Kim was surprised that nothing like a Braille iPad existed.

So the University of Washington student set out to invent one.

RELATED:  Touching the Mona Lisa: Now the Blind Can Enjoy Art Masterpieces Too

His first product is a smart watch that raises and lowers pins on its face to create four Braille characters at a time. The watch works with both iOS and Android devices, allowing the blind to immediately read texts, alerts, and other short messages.

Electro-mechanical Braille readers can translate text on computer screens in a method similar to the DOT watch, but the bulky machines can cost more than $2,000.

CHECK OUT:  Teens Won’t Rest Until Vets Do: App Aims to Stop Night Terrors

His company, DOT Inc, plans to sell their wearable device for about $300.

It’s impractical for reading longer text such as an e-book, so DOT Inc’s next project is the world’s first Braille smart device which they plan to deliver in 2017.

The DOT Pad will feature multiple layers of Braille pins, allowing a more natural reading experience. The DOT Pad will also let users feel shapes, math symbols, and read e-books.

RELATED: Eye Drops May Promise a Stunning Alternative to Cataract Surgery

Only about one percent of all books in print have been translated for the blind. Having a pocket device that could translate vast libraries of e-books into Braille would write a whole new chapter in reading for the blind.

(WATCH the video from Arirang TV below) – Photo: DOT Inc

Multiply the Good… SHARE the Breakthrough.

Non-Chemo Cancer Treatment, Simple as Flu Shot, Moves Closer to Reality

patient gives thumbs up

nurse middle-aged-man vaccination Public Health Image Library CDC

Imagine treating cancer as easily as taking a monthly shot in the arm.

Doctors in Texas have been cleared to move forward with another round of human trials on a “cancer vaccine” that turns a deadly disease into a chronic one that can be more easily treated — allowing patients to live far longer.

It’s a form of immunotherapy that eliminates the need for chemotherapy and other difficult treatments — allowing cancer to be treated like diabetes or hypertension.

CHECK Out: Asthma Could Be Cured Within 5 Years With This New Breakthrough

“We don’t cure, but we control the disease,” Dr. Maurizio Ghisoli told KTVT News.

The immune system doesn’t recognize cancer cells on its own, so it needs outside help to attack the disease. With this particular type of immunotherapy, doctors create a personal shot for each patient. They take cells from the patient’s tumor, modify them so the immune system can attack the cancer, then re-inject the cells back into the body.

RELATED:  Cancer Cells Self-Destruct With New Therapy, Patients Live Longer

Monthly doses allow the immune system to keep cancer growth in check.

Researchers at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Texas have been working on the experimental treatment for two decades. They have used it to control a wide range of cancers including throat and ovarian cancer and Ewing’s Sarcoma, a fast-spreading bone cancer that typically targets children, teens, and young adults.

CHECK OUT: Science Just Saved A Baby, Beating Cancer With Untested, Last Try

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved more extensive human trials on the Baylor treatment and the “cancer vaccine” could be available in four to five years.

WATCH the 2016 video at KTVT News.  (Photo: CDC)

Give Your Friends A Shot of Hope, Share This…

Science-Proven Ways to Stick to Your New Year’s Goals

new years resolution help-Happify-infographic-croppedIt’s 2016 and many people have set resolutions to create a fresh start to the New Year. But sometimes we need help sticking with it.

Scientific research has shown what works best for achieving your goals. For example, did you know that you are more likely to reach a goal if you partner up with someone else? In one study, couples that were part of a 12-month fitness program had a drop out rate of 6% compared to a whopping 43% for people trying to stick to the program on their own.

Check out this info-graphic for a quick perusal of helpful strategies for success.

happify_goals_goodnewsnet

For more info on building happiness skills through scientifically designed activities and games, visit Happify. (Updated from a post in 2015)

Doctor Fulfills Girl’s Wish to Hear Him Sing After Successful Surgery (WATCH)

 

When Kaylee Peebles was recovering from her intestine surgery, she asked if her doctor could make her feel better by singing her a song.

Ready to serenade the young 17-year-old, Dr. Leinwand grabbed a guitar from the Bronson Methodist Hospital’s music therapy room and strummed out a sweet cover of “Closer To Fine” by The Indigo Girls–while someone recorded the impromptu music on their cell phone..

(WATCH the video above)

3,000 Life Vests Arranged On Mountain Sends 2016 Message of Hope -WATCH

lifejacket-peace-sign-Facebook-screenshot

Over 100 volunteers from Greenpeace, MSF, and other organizations just kicked off 2016 with more compassion and grace than ever.

Designed to be a message of hope, 3,000 abandoned life jackets were arranged in the shape of a peace sign on the Greek island Lesbos where thousands of refugees arrived in 2015 seeking solace.

Greenpeace’s Facebook page posted the video today with the tagline “Peace and #safepassage to all in 2016.”

(WATCH the video below)

100 volunteers, 3000 life jackets. One message.

On the first day of the new year, more than 100 volunteers from Greenpeace, MSF and other organisations used 3000 discarded refugee life jackets to form one simple message to the world.Peace and #safepassage to all in 2016

Posted by Greenpeace International on Sunday, January 3, 2016

Bus Driver Gifts Special New Wheels To Challenged Passenger

 

Lori Hiles boarded her usual bus in Washington with tears running down her cheeks: her bike had been stolen.

When Lori’s bus driver Sylvie Pelesasa asked why she was crying, she explained how difficult it is getting around the city without wheels due to her mobility issues.

LOOKING FOR A SMILE?….GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—>  Download FREE for Android and iOS

With a little help from Sylvie’s Facebook friends, the transit driver raised enough money to get her special passenger a brand new bicycle.

(WATCH the video above and SEE More Inspiring Hero Stories on Our Uplift Page)

13-Year-old Helps Homeless By Giving Them Nights of Fun (WATCH)

 

Caleb White may be young, but he sure knows how to party.

Since handing out Christmas packages of food and toiletries to the homeless as a 6-year-old, Caleb’s philanthropic efforts have evolved into giving those in need something a little more fun to raise their spirits.

LOOKING MORE GOOD NEWS?….SEE All the Inspiring Heroes on Our Uplift Page

Now, as a young teen, he hosts monthly game nights in Detroit area shelters filling out the fun with board games (like Operation), pizza, and soda, for the women and children.

“I love it,” said Kisha Woods-Mathis, director of the Detroit Rescue Mission Ministry’s Genesis House II, which provides transitional housing and employment and educational services to women and children. “The kids love him.”

(WATCH the Video above, and MULTIPLY the Good by Sharing this Inspiring Idea)

Pope Francis Asks Media to Cover More ‘Good’ News (WATCH)

pope-at-podium-reuters-tca-video

In his solemn end-of-year church service at the Vatican, Pope Francis asked journalists to shine more light on the GOOD news in the world.

The pontiff doesn’t want the world to ignore the suffering of so many people, but he said the good deeds shouldn’t be forgotten, either.

He said to the congregation, ”How many great gestures of goodness, love and solidarity have filled the days of this year, even if they are not on television news programs?”

“Good things don’t make the news.”

The Argentine pope said the media should not keep “so many great gestures of goodness” hidden while only reporting on the evil deeds. “Good always wins, even if sometimes it many seem weaker and hidden.”

(We all need to tweet to the Pope about Good News Network!)

(WATCH video below from Reuters)

Homeless Family Given a Home in Time For Christmas From Florida Cop Who Rallies Realtors

Officer Hanning with Andino Family-submitted

When a family was in need of a Christmas miracle to get them back on their feet, a compassionate police officer became their guardian angel.

Grisela Andino and her two kids were living in their car in Boynton Beach, Florida after the person they were sub-leasing their apartment from stopped paying rent to the landlord. Between working a full time job and getting the children to school on time, sleeping in the Walmart parking lot was their only option left.

LOOKING FOR A SMILE?….GET OUR NEW GOOD NEWS APP—>  Download FREE for Android and iOS

That’s where Officer Craig Hanning found them.

When Hanning looked into the family’s background, he found Andino had never missed a day of work and  her girls had excellent grades, while never missing a day of school–even during recent hard times.

MOREBurglarized, But Still Going to Disneyland Thanks to Police Officers

With that news, Hanning did what he does best: he reached out to his contacts in the community. Rallying support at the real estate agency Remax Direct, they not only found Grisela a place to live, but all 120 agents at the company agreed to contribute money to cover the first and last month’s rent and security deposit, and supply some furniture and supplies for the family.

The Community Caring Center and Easy Pay Tire also gave money for Christmas gifts, food for the pantry, and tires for Andino’s car so she could get to work safely.

LOOKPolice Surprise Humble Boy After Thieves Steal His Xbox

“My husband has been a police officer for 18 years,” Hanning’s wife Amanda told the Good News Network. “He has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met.”

“This is an inspiring reminder of how going above and beyond to help others in their time of need can have a lasting impact,” she added. “So proud of him and wanted to share the story of this dedicated mother who refused to give up hope.”

(WATCH the video and READ the story at WPBF) – SHARE This Good News to Ring in 2016