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Watch 196 Countries Approve Historic Climate Agreement in Paris

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Good News Network
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On Saturday, after two weeks of grueling negotiations, delegates to the climate change conference in Paris broke out in cheers following unanimous approval of an agreement on how to mitigate global warming across the globe.

Representatives of nearly 200 countries did what some thought couldn’t be done, agreeing on a climate change document that calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Watch the historic moment in the video above, and read more about the accord from the Los Angeles Times below…

Teen Reunites With Doctor Who Saved Her Life: The Best Homework Ever

By
Terry Turner
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Ashli Taylor Robt Goldstein screenshot WFAA

A high school writing assignment began with a thank you letter, and ended with a tearful reunion between a teen and the surgeon who saved her life.

15 years ago, Ashli Taylor was born with a failing liver and needed a transplant to survive.
She never met the surgeon who performed the operation, but she says the stories her parents told her about the experience had taught her to be grateful for everything she has.GNN-app-banner-ad-opt

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So when her creative writing class was told to write about anything, she penned a page-and-a-half long thank you letter to Dr. Robert Goldstein for saving her life as a child.

“You probably have no idea who I am, but you had a great impact in my life,” Taylor wrote. “I know you’ve had a lot of patients over the years and they appreciate your work. But my parents’ lives would be totally different if it weren’t for you.”

Dr. Goldstein was so moved, he drove two hours to surprise Ashli in front of her classmates in Temple, Texas.

“It had been 14 years and out of the blue you get a letter like this and I can’t tell you what this means,” the doctor told the Temple Daily Telegram. “The words moved everybody in the office.”

RELATED:  Paramedic Saves Doctor Who Saved His Life 30 Years Earlier

After surprising her–flowers in his hand–he reached to embrace her and the two weren’t the only ones to wipe away tears in the classroom.

“I got my letter,” Dr. Goldstein told the class, pulling the folded-up note from the pocket of his scrubs. “I’m going to keep it.”

With that, the class learned a lesson in just how powerful their words can be.

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

Queen Elizabeth Personally Thanks Man for 60-year Christmas Card Ritual

By
Terry Turner
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Queen Elizabeth Christmas Cards FB Andrew Simes

When a young man took over his grandfather’s Christmas tradition, he was brought to tears by a personal letter from Queen Elizabeth II.

Every year since she ascended the throne in 1952, Andrew Simes’ grandfather would tenderly address a Christmas card to the queen.

When they eventually met at a reception in Turkey in 1972, the Queen skipped the usual formal introduction and handshake.

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“So it’s you who keeps sending me those lovely Christmas cards,” she said.

When his grandfather passed away at 102 years old, Andrew decided to continue the tradition. But shortly after mailing his first card, Andrew got a letter back from Buckingham Palace.

“When I received a letter from a different Simes this Christmas, I instructed my office to research your grandfather’s whereabouts,” the letter read. “Therefore it is with much sadness, I have learned of his passing and extend my condolences to you and your family.”

RELATED:  William And Harry Roll Up Their Sleeves, Build Homes For Vets In Need

The message brought tears to his eyes when he received it nearly four years ago.

Andrew recently shared the story on Facebook as he prepared to leave for the post office with a bundle of Christmas cards, carrying on an unbroken family tradition.

(READ more at Andrew Simes’ Facebook page) — Photos: NASA; Andrew Simes, Facebook

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Football Star Pays Electric Bills for 83 Fans as Holiday Kindness

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Terry Turner
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When you’re facing fourth down and 20 yards on the football field, it’s time to call in your punter — they make the best of a bad situation for their teams.

This one did the same for fans — paying the electric bills for 83 families.

If they weren’t fans before, they are now, after Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee laid down $18,000 so people could keep more of their own money for the holidays.

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McAfee asked Indianapolis Power and Light for their busiest hour of the week for people standing in line at the “pay in person” customer service desk.

When they told him it was the hour before closing on Fridays — payday for most customers — McAfee told the utility he’d cover the bills for everyone in line.

Customers found out only after walking up to the window — but the Indiana utility tweeted word of the good deed.

CHECK OUT: Woman Donates Entire Toy Store to Kids in Homeless Shelters

“Just trying to do my part to make this world a happier place,” McAfee responded on Twitter. “I hope you all have a great Saturday.”

Photos: Pictures of Money, CC: theilr, CC; Jeffrey Beall, CC

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Family Finds Frozen Kitten Under the Snow and Gives Life Back with CPR (WATCH)

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Terry Turner
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Frozen kitten lives screenshot Branden Bingham

A family’s home movie turned into an epic story of a holiday miracle when they refused to give up on a frozen kitten they found in the snow.

On Thanksgiving morning, November 26, Branden Bingham’s family rushed out to play in a foot of fresh snow that had fallen overnight outside their cabin in Bear Lake, Utah.

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Bingham was making a home movie when his son found a lifeless kitten, buried in the snow.

The family rushed it inside, and Branden’s brother, Justin, started performing CPR on the little cat. Even though the kitten showed no response, Justin kept rubbing and pumping its chest – and kept at it for an hour. Just when he was about to give up, the cat started breathing on its own.

“I think the thing that was most shocking for me was the eyes, he had the most beautiful blue eyes,” Justin told KSTU News.

“I thought to myself, ‘We just witnessed a miracle’,” Branden says in the video below.

RELATED:  New Study Says Watching Cat Videos is Good For You – Especially at Work

Named Lazarus, after the Biblical figure brought back from the dead, the cat was given a Thanksgiving feast of his own later in the day — a whole plate of salmon — before going to his new home with one of Branden’s cousins.

(WATCH the video below from KSTU – and see home video, below that)

 

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99-Year-old Wins Shopping Spree at Dollar Store, Uses It For Needy Kids (WATCH)

By
Terry Turner
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Donna Goldstein shopping spree screenshot KCAL

Given a free shopping spree for her 99th birthday, this woman filled her cart not for herself, but with stocking stuffers for needy kids.

Donna Goldstein is a weekly fixture at the California 99-cent store in Beverly Grove, where the staff knows and appreciates her kind heart.GNN-app-banner-ad-opt

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They noticed her buying items for Thanksgiving charity baskets last month, and gave her a beautiful gift for her birthday–a chance to fill her cart with anything she wants at no charge.

Goldstein filled up a cart with $163 worth of items — a huge haul when nothing in the store costs more than a dollar. She’s taking the load to her church where the items will be boxed up for needy kids this Christmas.

RELATED:   First Grader Trades His Christmas Presents for Gifts to the Homeless

She says she already knows it will be appreciated.

“I’m going to cry I’m so happy,” Goldstein told KTLA News.

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


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Rare Quadruplet Calves Are Together Again After Miracle Birth

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Terry Turner
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grass Public Domain-4-calves

Holy cow! A herd of cuteness survived odds of 11 million to one, on a farm in Texas, and it’s been reunited as a family once again.

Back in March, a cow delivered rare, quadruplet calves, against huge odds. Now, nine months later, Eeny, Meeny, Miny and Moo can be spied on Facebook, healthy and happy.

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Extra tiny bovines, the smallest, Meeny, was just 25 pounds — one-third the weight of a average newborn calf.

They’ve put on some weight since then.

The Quads "together again" on the farm

Posted by Eeny, Meeny, Miny, & Moo on Tuesday, September 22, 2015
 

Their mother could handle only one of the calves, so neighbors in DeKalb lent a hand to farmer Jimmy Barling and his wife, Dora Rumsey-Barling, helping to raise the other three.

WATCH the video below from WFAA News and READ more at the Quads’ Facebook Page, Eeny, Meeny, Miny and Moo.

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Kirk Douglas Gives $15 Million on 99th Birthday to Build Alzheimer’s Center

By
Terry Turner
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Image includes photo by Angela George, CC license

Kirk Douglas Care Pavilion screenshot MPTF CC Angela George

Screen legend Kirk Douglas celebrated his 99th birthday last week, but instead of receiving gifts, he used the occasion to give one — a new Alzheimer’s treatment facility to Southern California.

He used his birthday party to announce the $15 million donation to the Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF). The money will help pay for the Kirk Douglas Care Pavilion, which will be able to take care of up to 80 Alzheimer’s patients from the entertainment industry.

SEE MORE INSPIRING STARS: Visit Our Celebrity Good News Page

Douglas and his wife, Anne, have donated $40 million to the fund over the years and in 1992 launched the fund’s first Alzheimer’s facility, Harry’s Haven, named for Douglas’ father.

The star of “Spartacus” broke the news as party guests including his wife and four children gathered at his Beverly Hills, California home.

WATCH:  Dick Van Dyke Celebrates 90th Birthday With Flash Mob of Chimney Sweeps

“My son Michael is here,” Douglas said, “Which just proves if you have enough money, you can have Michael Douglas speak at any event.”

(WATCH the video from MPTF below and READ more at Deadline Hollywood) — Photo: Angela George, CC; MPTF, video

Berlin Turns Former Secret Police HQ into Home for 500 refugees

By
Terry Turner
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Stasi HQ Home to Refugees 2 CC MetropolicodotOrg CC Claire

Once the most feared building in East Berlin, the headquarters where the communist secret police plotted Cold War spy operations, is now a welcoming safe-house shielded against the cold for asylum seekers.

Offices leftover from the dreaded East German Stasi now provide warm beds for more than 400 refugees. Plans for the three-month temporary shelter include housing up to 900 refugees at any point during the winter.

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City leaders in Berlin raced to convert the building in late November, as they saw the first snow of the season and temperatures drop into the thirties while refugees arrived at the border.

800,000 displaced people are being welcomed into Germany as the country looks for places to put them all. Gyms, public halls, and empty airplane hangars at the former Tempelhof Airport are all being used as temporary shelters, according to The Telegraph.

(Photos: NikiSublime, CC; Claire, CC; Metropolico.org, CC)

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

By
Terry Turner
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Prostate cancer cells by National Institutes of Health

640px-Prostate_cancer Public Domain National Institutes of Health

Jimmy Carter’s quick cancer recovery in 2015 is part of a revolution in how doctors treat cancer – it’s called Immunotherapy.

While the former president’s medical staff used it to quickly and effectively treat his brain cancer, doctors in Texas report their work with immunotherapy and prostate cancer is letting more patients live longer with the disease.

GNN-app-banner-ad-optTheir process causes prostate cancer cells to self-destruct, leading to a 20% improvement in the number of patients surviving at least five years following treatment.

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Researchers combined traditional radiation therapy with what they called “suicide gene therapy” to get the results. The new process works by genetically altering the cancer cells so they alert the body’s immune system to attack them. It’s effectively a personalized cancer vaccine created with a patient’s own cancer cells.

The immune system normally doesn’t attack cancer cells because they evolve from existing, healthy cells already in the body, and the immune system can’t tell them apart. Now it can.

Doctors at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas tried the combined radiation-gene therapy on 62 patients. After five years, the survival rate was 97% for patients who’d been in early stages of prostate cancer and 94% for patients facing a more aggressive form of the disease. That’s 20% better than average survival rates.

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

“We may be able to inject the agent straight into the tumor and let the body kill the cancer cells,” Dr. Brian Butler said. “Once the immune system has knowledge of the bad tumor cells, if they pop up again, the body will know to kill them.”

The work was supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute, the Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation and the General Clinical Research Center.

The researchers’ study was published in the online issue of the Journal of Radiation Oncology (JRO).

(Photo: National Institutes of Health)

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Muslims Raise Nearly Quarter Million Dollars for San Bernardino Victim Families

By
Terry Turner
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Muslims United for San Bernardino Families-fundraising page

A fund started by American Muslims to raise money for families of the San Bernardino shooting victims reached nearly a quarter-million dollars in its closing hours last night.

Over the 12 days, more than 2,000 people contributed $215,515 to the “Muslims United for San Bernardino Families” crowdfunding campaign on LaunchGood. The initial goal was just $50,000.

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“We wish to respond to evil with good, as our faith instructs us, and send a powerful message of compassion through action,” Faisal Qazi wrote on the page he set up after learning the shooters were Islamist radicals.

The money will be distributed to families by MiNDS (Medical Network Devoted to Service), a Southern California community development center.

Photo: Muslims United for San Bernardino Families, LaunchGood

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Ed Norton Moved to Tears by Syrian Scientist Story, Raises $400K to Bring Him to USA

By
Terry Turner
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the scientist and ed norton FB HONY and CrowdRise

Hollywood superstar Edward Norton was so “moved to tears” by the story of a Syrian scientist whose home and family was bombed that he launched a campaign to bring him to America – raising more than $400,000 in just two days.

Dubbed “The Scientist” on the Humans of New York (HONY) Facebook page, the man tells a tragic story of loss, but never loses his optimism and determination to use his engineering talents for good in the world.

The Scientist was away from home, working on a project, when Syrian government missiles crashed into his neighborhood two years ago. His brother’s entire family died in the attack along with the Scientist’s wife and daughter.

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His two remaining children suffer – one from PTSD having been at home during the attack and the other with shrapnel in her body.

He fled with his surviving children to Turkey but has been unable to fulfill his potential while waiting in Istanbul the two years it takes to be vetted before coming to America. Even with a doctorate, he can only earn as a refugee about one percent of what a Turkish citizen would make for the same work.

The stress and strain of all these issues he thinks contributed to the development of his stomach cancer, which they cannot treat in Turkey without insurance. Despite all this, he still wants to make the world a better place.

“I still think I have a chance to make a difference in the world,” he told HONY. “One of my inventions is being used right now on the Istanbul metro to generate electricity from the movement of the train.” He also has created plans for a plane that can stay in flight for 48 hours without fuel and an invention for detecting earthquakes.

RELATED:  Refugee Selling Pens Benefits From Huge Outpouring, Hires Refugees to Work in His Bakery

The Scientist learned recently he and his family will be relocated to Troy, Michigan. He knows nothing about the town, but looks forward to returning to his work when he arrives.

“I still think I have a chance to make a difference in the world. I have several inventions that I’m hoping to patent once I get to America.” the Scientist says in the Facebook post accompanying his portrait. “I just want to get back to work. I want to be a person again. I don’t want the world to think I’m over. I’m still here.”

President Obama answered him with his own Facebook comment, “You and your family are an inspiration. Yes, you can still make a difference in the world, and we’re proud that you’ll pursue your dreams here.”

The three-time Oscar-nominated actor’s fundraiser will pay for the family’s relocation costs and medical expenses for the Scientist’s cancer treatment. Any money left over will go toward relocating 11 other Syrian refugee families profiled on the HONY site.

“Let’s show that a country built by the energy and dreams of immigrants still believes in brave people who come here with hope for better life,” Norton wrote.

WATCH:  Canada Welcomes Refugees At the Airport With Coats and Healthcare

Norton also talked CrowdRise into waiving credit card transaction fees for the campaign to get the most money possible to the Scientist and his family.

In his desire to make difference in the world, the Scientist has a great start. His story has triggered a wave of human kindness – and awareness of refugees – as people around the world contribute to make a difference for his family.

(READ more at ABC News) – Photos: HONY, Facebook; Ed Norton, CrowdRise

20 Women Elected in Saudi Arabia as Females Vote for the First Time

By
McKinley Corbley
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Saudi-Arabia-women-voting-youtube

In a landmark election on Saturday, 20 women were elected to public office in Saudi Arabia– a first in that country’s history.

Not only were they allowed to run for local municipal council seats, this was the first election in which women could vote. 131,000 registered females showed up at polling place to participate.

Because Saudi women still are not allowed to drive a car, although some have openly defied the ban in posted videos, female voters had to rely on men to drive them to the polls–until Uber stepped in. The transportation app offered a free ride to any ladies who needed to cast their votes and were in need of a lift.

RELATED: Saudi Girls Get Gym Classes for the First Time (And Other Advances)

Recent political reform in the conservative patriarchy began in 2011 when King Abdullah granted women the rights to hold office and participate in local elections. Years earlier, he began to encourage their pursuit of higher education and employment.

CHECK Out: The Most Amazing Woman Born 200 Years Ago, But Most Americans Don’t Know Her Name

The conservative capital of Riyadh saw the most women candidates win, with four elected. The Eastern Province, where minority Shiites are concentrated, saw two women elected, and a small town where the Prophet Muhammad’s first mosque was built also elected a woman, reports the New York Times.

Women in Kuwait gained the right to vote and run for local office in 2005. The first woman to run for a seat on that country’s national assembly was finally elected four years later in 2009.

(WATCH a video below from India)

Orphan Burn Survivor Gets 185,000 Christmas Cards, $300K in Donations

By
Terry Turner
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Burn survifor FACEBOOK Safyre Schenectady Super Survivor

Thousands of people have fulfilled an eight-year-old’s wish for Christmas cards — and also donated $300,000 for her future.

Safyre Terry survived an arson attack on her upstate New York home two years ago that killed the rest of her family. She has endured 20 surgeries since then.

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When her aunt, Liz Dolder, brought home a tree that could hold dozens of Christmas cards, the little girl wanted to fill every spot.

“My response was ‘I don’t think it’s gonna get filled up but I am sure we will get a few more cards’,” Dolder wrote on her Facebook page.

Hundreds of thousands of people viewed the post, and were moved to action.

On Friday a two-ton Postal Service truck pulled up to the Dolder home to unload 18,000 cards, letters, and packages for the holiday-loving orphan. Today, another 185,000 cards and 4000 packages.

The local postmaster expects the next delivery will require a tractor-trailer rig later this week.

GIVING Back: Syrian Refugee Feeds Homeless to Thank Germany for Taking Him In

In September Christine DelGallo started a crowdfunding campaign at YouCaring, hoping to raise $15,000 for the little girl, but after the massive media given to the card drive, the fund has reached $331,000 with the last week.

“She believed… and all of you are making it happen,” Dolder wrote in an update.

In addition, The non-profit “Baking Memories” granted the whole family an all-expenses-paid one week trip to Disney World–with a pass that puts them at the head of every line.

CHECK OUT:  Police Surprise Humble Boy After Thieves Steal His Xbox

Read more details from Associated Press – The mailing address is Safyre, PO Box 6126, Schenectady, NY 12306

(Photo via Safyre Schenectady’s Super Survivor, Facebook)

New Cure For Hepatitis C Heals 90% of Patients

By
Terry Turner
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Steve PB

pills CC stevepb

Scientists have announced they now have a cure for the hepatitis C virus.

The pills not only wipe out the virus in nine of ten patients who suffer from the disease, they also restore liver function.

When attacked by the virus the liver gets scarred or even cancer as a result, making hepatitis C the leading cause of liver transplantation in the United States.

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In just 12 weeks, the new drug treatment can cure advanced cases of the disease and eliminate the need for a transplant.

The treatment involves a combination of two drugs — sofosbuvir and velpatasvir — in a single pill.

Over the course of 36 months, doctors at Utah’s Intermountain Medical Center oversaw drug trials at 47 sites around the country, at which 260 hepatitis C patients took one to two pills a day for three months each.

The doctors announced Friday, 90% of the patients in advanced stages of the disease – on the verge of needing a transplant – were cured. Those in earlier stages of hepatitis saw a 99% rate of being cured — with no resurgence of the disease.

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

“The virus will go away and not come back,” lead researcher Dr. Michael Charlton told Deseret News. “You’re cured of Hep C.”

As recently as five years ago, only 25% of people who went through standard treatments were cured.

The pills studied in Utah are a completely new class of drugs that attack the disease differently — and more effectively — than existing treatments.

Gilead Sciences, makers of two expensive hepatitis drugs, funded the Utah research. Gilead’s pills on the market can cost as much as $95,000 for a full course of treatment.

CHECK OUT:  Discovery Promises New Treatments, Possible Prevention of Alzheimer’s

It’s not clear how much the new pills will cost, but they could be available as early as mid-2016 if the FDA approves it.

The researchers published their study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

(WATCH the video below from KxWIKINews) — Photo: stevepb, CC

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Tinder Users Can “Swipe Right” to Become Organ Donors in UK

By
Terry Turner
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Tinder Organ Donor 1 screenshot Tinder UKIt’s a match made in heaven.

The dating app that can find your perfect match — can now find the perfect organ donor for people awaiting transplants.

Tinder is working with the UK’s National Health Service to let its users become organ donors by “swiping right” — the same action that lets a user “like” a profile on the dating site.

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British celebrities, including actress Gemma Oaten (pictured above), got involved by creating Tinder profiles to promote the campaign.

Users who swipe right on those profiles will get a message saying: “If only it was that easy for those in need of a life-saving organ to find a match.”

The user will then be asked to join the donor registry.

CHECK OUT:  Long Separated Brother and Sister Are Reunited… After Matching on Tinder!

The idea is to show people that signing up as an organ donor takes only as much time a few seconds using the app.

About 7,000 people are on transplant waiting lists in the UK and the NHS believes the partnership with Tinder will encourage younger people to sign up as donors.

(READ more from BBC News)

France Votes to Force Supermarkets to Give Away Unsold Food

By
Terry Turner
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French Produce Section CC francois schnell

The French parliament has voted unanimously to require supermarkets to give away — rather than throw away — the food that reaches its “sell-by” date.

France throws away 7.8 million tons of food every year — more than a quarter of that is by restaurants and shops, which could result in as many as 858,000 tons redistributed to the nation’s hungry.

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The law will take effect when it is expected to be passed by parliament’s upper house — the Senate — on January 13.

It allows citizens to seek approval from the agriculture ministry for creating groups to collect and distribute the saved food.

At least 100 Paris restaurants already take part in a program to redistribute unused food to the city’s poor and hungry.

CHECK OUT:  People Can Pay Their Parking Fines With Cans of Food for the Hungry

Activists who backed the law are now turning their attention to the rest of the European Union and passing similar laws in each of its member nations.

The plan had already been adopted in May by France’s National Assembly as part of another law, but courts annulled it on a series of technicalities. This time, it passed quickly on its own, after lawmakers fixed the issues raised by the courts.

(READ more in The Guardian) — Photo: francois schnell, CC

24 Ideas for Raising Kind and Grateful Kids

By
Good News Network
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Brad Aronson submitted his boy in spiderman costume

It’s a great time of year to remind ourselves how we can reinforce and encourage kindness and gratitude in our kids. Especially in December, there are so many great opportunities to do this.

Brad Aronson and his wife have often thought about how to make sure their son will turn out to be a grateful, kind and compassionate young man, but parenting is difficult.

“We have no idea what we’re doing, but we wanted to share some ideas and related thoughts.”

From these examples, you will agree the Aronsons DO know what they’re doing:

  • Help develop your child’s identity as a caring person. Rather than telling your child “That was a kind thing to do,” say, “You’re such a kind person.”
  • At dinner we discuss acts of kindness that each of us saw during the day. As we’ve been doing this, I’ve noticed that our son has begun doing many of the things we mention in conversation.
  • Give stuff away. At Halloween our son loved giving out candy. Jack even chased down adults clearly returning from work to give them candy. Even the people who seemed to be in a bad mood smiled. And, Jack learned the joy of giving. Set up a free lemonade stand or find something else to give out. Practice giving.

(READ the full article at Bran Aronson’s blog)

How An Angel Tree Gift Changed One Boy and 1000s of Lives

By
Good News Network
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angel-tree-purchased-bradaronson submitted

Jimmy Wayne’s introduction to music came in the form of a guitar he received through the Christmas Angel Tree Program when he was eight-years-old – a random act of kindness from a caring person. The guitar, the first gift he ever received, ignited Wayne’s love of music. That love took Wayne down the path of becoming a musician, and eventually, an award winning country music star.

“None of this would have happened had it not been for a guitar.” said Wayne. “So I’m in debt and making sure that I do my part in raising awareness for a program that helped me out when I had nothing.”

WATCH: Seinfeld Cast Makes Dying Man’s 67th Birthday One To Remember

To “do his part” Wayne wrote a song that tells of the enormous impact Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program has on the kids in need who receive gifts from strangers. Wayne hopes people will hear Paper Angels and be inspired to participate as gift givers in the Angel Tree Program.

The singer wound up doing a lot more than writing a hit song. In the middle of his career, Wayne decided to take a break from music and use his stardom to help nurture foster children in ways that go beyond lyrics.

(READ the full story at Brad Aronson’s blog)

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Canadian Kids Are The Most Welcoming People Ever (WATCH)

By
McKinley Corbley
-

 

Canadian kids sure know how to make people feel special, eh?

A video of Canadian children singing a historical song from the Middle East was published Friday as a welcome gift to the the new refugees flying to safety in North America.

The choir’s performance has not only scored a half million views for its beauty, but also touched the hearts of foreign speakers for a wonderful reason: the kids are singing in Arabic.

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The song’s significance comes from its reputation for having been sung to the Prophet Muhammad when he was looking for solace. For the 163 Syrian refugees who were greeted with residency and warm winter coats by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after landing at the airport, the new video is just one of many gestures by Canadians to make the asylum-seekers feel safe and welcomed.

And speaking of feeling welcomed, the kindness doesn’t stop there.

CHECK Out: Refugee Selling Pens Saw Huge Outpouring, Now Owns Bakery, Hires Refugees

An adorable video produced by World Vision Canada featuring Canadian children joyfully exclaiming “Welcome to Canada!” has gotten 150,000 views since it was posted Wednesday.

Kids of all ages filmed clips of themselves saying “I love you,” “See you in school,” and “I hope we get to be friends” to welcome every refugee to their new home.

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