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Quadriplegic Dad Dances First Time in 17 Yrs For Daughter’s Wedding

By
BrittAbleThrive
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Untitled

My dad was in a tragic car accident when I was 12 and has been paralyzed from his chest down without the use of his fingers ever since. Dancing was one of the first things on his mind after his injury – he loved it, but it was too painful to think of dancing in a wheelchair. Unfortunately for me, that meant dancing with my dad became nothing but a memory.

I always knew how painful it was for him to leave dancing behind, but when I got engaged almost 17 years later, I had one request: a father-daughter dance. It wasn’t an easy sell, but he eventually agreed, and we killed it on the dance floor!

SEE More: Good News Stories About Dance

Not only that, but that one dance broke through all the walls he had built up. He was transformed – he danced all night, he danced at another wedding two weeks after mine, and he has even taken dance lessons with my stepmom since.

RELATED: Dad Builds Halloween Costumes Around Wheelchairs As A Nonprofit

Sharing my dad’s story has already inspired others to dance, showing that you can have a disability AND a fun, fulfilling life. This is the core value of AbleThrive.com, my startup social enterprise that curates resources on living well with a disability so that it’s easier to find what we need to thrive.

Nothing should ever stop you from doing what you love.

Woman Offers Lifeline to 300 Single Mothers with Cancer

By
Terry Turner
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Farley-Berens 1 screenshot CNN Heroes

For nearly a decade, 300 single mothers fighting cancer have relied on one woman for help.

When her best friend began undergoing treatment for cancer, Jody Farley-Berens of Phoenix, Arizona stepped in to help the single mother of four in any way she could.

During the process, it occurred to her that other women were going through similar struggles and needed helpers, too. That’s why she founded Singleton Moms in 2006, a nonprofit that provides both emotional and financial support to single mothers with cancer, helping them pay bills and even sending crews to clean their houses.

WATCH: Nurse Stunned to Tears by Parade of Grown Babies Whose Lives She Saved

“Neighbors helping neighbors, family helping families. This is what we should be doing for one another,” Farley-Berens told CNN.

Her work has made Farley-Berens one of CNN’s Top Ten Heroes of the Year.

You can vote for her as your choice for Hero of the Year at CNNHeroes.com. The network will announce the winner at their annual televised award show December 6, and present the 2015 winner with $100,000 for continuing his or her good work.

(WATCH the video below from CNN)

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Big Hearts in Aisle Five: Grocery Store Buys Special Cart for Special Toddler

By
Terry Turner
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Beatrices cart Colorado screenshot KUSA

Grocery shopping was a struggle for the mother of a little girl with cerebral palsy, until a grocery store manager rolled out a “princess wagon.”

That’s what Melody Leach calls the cart her local grocery store bought for daughter Beatrice. You can tell by the smile on her face, the little girl loves her new ride.

The two-year-old can’t sit in a regular shopping cart, so mom would have to shop while juggling a basket and a wheelchair down the aisles

Dad Builds “Awesome” Giant Swing so Daughter in Wheelchair Can Play

Assistant Manager Mike Myers was familiar with cerebral palsy and asked his bosses at King Soopers to buy a cart built for special needs kids.

The staff in Loveland, Colorado surprised Melody and Beatrice with the new cart, which has an adjustable seat they won’t outgrow anytime soon.

And while it’s available to any family for use in the store, Myers and his staff decorated it with sparkly signs and balloons, christening it “Beatrice’s Cart.”

(WATCH the video below from KUSA news) — Photos: KUSA video

 

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“Best Ever” Parliament of World’s Religions Finds Harmony in 50 Faiths

By
Terry Turner
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Parliament Religion CC Ryan Hyde

The best qualities of the world’s many religions were on display in Salt Lake City, Utah last week where the Parliament of the World’s Religions convened.

Roughly 10,000 people representing 50 faiths attended, taking part in discussions focused on ending violence, tackling climate change and addressing income inequality.

The gathering also featured its first Women’s Assembly addressing religion’s role in empowering women and its responsibility for dignity and human rights of women.

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

Primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall spoke to attendees about uniting religious and spiritual communities to save the environment. More than 70 other speakers, including three Nobel Peace Laureates, covered issues from ending war to countering extremism with acts of compassion.

Nearly 1,000 volunteers worked behind the scenes as attendees put their faiths’ activities on display. Buddhist monks worked on an intricate sand painting as Sikhs served up to 7,000 meals at a time from their local langar — a community kitchen that feeds people of all faiths free of charge.

On the final day of the Parliament, the sand painting was brushed away to demonstrate the impermanence of this world and the Sikh langar donated thousands of pounds of unused food to a Catholic charity that feeds the poor in Utah.

Muslim Woman Disarms Anti-Islam Protester With A Hug (WATCH)

The Parliament is the oldest and perhaps most diverse interfaith gathering in the world, dating back to its first meeting in Chicago, Illinois on September, 11 1893. Since 1999, it has gathered people of faith together every five years.

The board of trustees announced during the gathering that the Parliament would meet every two years now, instead of five.

Muslim Mosque Helps Catholic Church Recover Following Shocking Vandalism

Chairman Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid closed this year’s session saying that participants had been telling him all week, “This was the best Parliament ever.”

Photo: Ryan Hyde, CC

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Leonardo DiCaprio Redefines Eco-Tourism With New Island Resort

By
Terry Turner
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In his latest project, the “Wolf of Wall Street” is focused on the manatees of Belize.

Actor Leonardo DiCaprio plans to turn a 104-acre private island in Belize into a game-changing new model for eco-tourism around the world.

When it opens in 2018, the resort and conservation areas on Blackadore Caye will host both tourists and scientists, while creating habitat for marine life, and restoring native species both on the island and in the water around it – including manatees.

RELATED: New Zealand to Create Massive Ocean Sanctuary the Size of France

“The main focus is to do something that will change the world,” DiCaprio told the New York Times. “I couldn’t have gone to Belize and built on an island and done something like this, if it weren’t for the idea that it could be groundbreaking in the environmental movement.”

Shortly after his first visit to the Central American country in 2005, Dicaprio bought Blackadore Caye for $1.75 million – then spent nearly ten years looking for the right developer to create a new model for eco-tourism resorts.

He finally partnered with Paul Scialla, the chief executive of Delos, a New York developer, and architect Jason McLennan, head of McLennan Design and founder of the Living Building Challenge.

The island has been uninhabited for as long as anyone can remember. But the damage around the cay has been significant–waters overfished and trees cut down by fisherman who want to smoke their catches.

ALSO: DiCaprio Donates $15 Mil to Help Save the Planet and Animals On It

DiCaprio’s plan is to clear invasive plant species from the island and replant native mangrove trees. A nursery will grow marine grass to support a manatee conservation area.

A series of 68 villas will rest on platforms built in the water off the island’s shore, creating artificial reefs for fish and other marine life. There will be 48 houses — costing between $5 million and $15 million — built on the beach. One of those houses has already been auctioned off for charity — raising $11 million for global wildlife conservation through the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.

At least 45% of the island will be reserved as conservation areas, promoting the growth of native plants and animals.

RELATED: Power Plant Will Use Motion of Ocean Tides to Power 155K Homes

Eco-tourism is big business for Belize, worth about $196 million a year and accounting for 15% of the country’s gross domestic product. While most of the visits support existing wilderness and wildlife reserves, DiCaprio’s plan is to restore a place that has been damaged by human overuse.

While most eco-tourism is meant to leave a limited footprint–or no footprint– on the environment, DiCaprio wants to actually heal a habitat that had been abused, by building a resort that restores.

– Photo: McLennan Design

Half-Price Hummus Brings Arabs and Jews Together Over Lunch

By
Terry Turner
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A restaurant is “giving chickpeas a chance” – to promote peace in Israel.

The Hummus Bar in Netanya is now offering half price hummus to every table shared by Jews and Arabs.

The restaurant posted the deal on Facebook October 18, and customers have been eating it up ever since.

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

Manager Kobi Tzafrir was fed up with growing intolerance by both Arab and Israeli extremists and decided he could make a small difference by feeding people who were willing to bridge the gap over lunch or a snack.

His Facebook post essentially says there are no Arabs nor Jews at Hummus Bar, only human beings. It touts “really excellent” Arab hummus and Jewish falafel and invites people of all faiths and backgrounds to dine together — and enjoy free refills on soft drinks.

מפחדים מערבים? מפחדים מיהודים? אצלנו אין ערבים! אבל אין גם יהודים... אצלנו יש בני אדם! וחומוס ערבי אמיתי ומעולה!...

Posted by חומוס בר - Humus Bar on Monday, October 12, 2015

 

The post has generated 6,700 likes and 1,700 shares with comments coming in from all over the world.

“If there’s anything that can bring together these peoples, it’s hummus,” Tzafrir told the Times of Israel.

Photo permission from Hummus Bar, Facebook

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Donated Laptops Are Flying Right Into Laps of African Entrepreneurs

By
McKinley Corbley
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guinea-businesswoman-receives-laptop-Gloebtops-released

Got any spare laptops lying around?

Now you can donate the key for business success to a mom opening an internet café or a repairman needing a better filing system–on the other side of the world.

In this amazing modern digital age, it can be easy to take technology and it’s benefits for granted. Some are not as fortunate to have the same access to electronics that are essential to cutting-edge thinking.

Globetops is a Brooklyn-based nonprofit that meets the needs of both low-income innovators and people looking for a meaningful way to recycle their computers. Entrepreneurs from Guinea, East Africa Haiti, Nepal, India–and the U.S.– can submit brief profiles on their ideas, stating the possibilities that could come from owning a laptop. After that, donors can choose to support their favorite cause by shipping off their old machine for better use.

Good News Asia: Teen Girl Turns Plastic-Trash Into Million Dollar Biofuel

The founder of Globetops, Becky Morrison, partnered with Northern Lights editor Chris Carson to make a video illustrating just how much of an impact their donations have made.

“I’m very passionate about depicting images of people in the developing world who are not needy and suffering, but who are passionate and powerful,” says Morrison. “There are people doing big things throughout the world, who simply don’t have the resources that they need.”

ALSO: Once a Desert, Ethiopia Turns Wasteland Into Fertile Farms

The heartwarming clip shows the recipients grinning from ear to ear and hugging the newly-gifted tech to their chests.

Donate a computer on the Globetops website, or contribute money for delivery fees and laptop batteries.

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Promise to Her Grandmother Brings Better Life to Native Americans

By
Terry Turner
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Rochelle Ripley screenshot CNN Heroes of the YearA little girl’s promise to her grandmother has meant nine million dollars in goods and services for Native Americans on a South Dakota reservation.

Today, a half-century later, Rochelle Ripley is keeping that promise, working alongside the Lakota tribe with volunteers to improve their health and education, and rebuild homes for the Lakota people.

Ripley’s grandmother was full-blooded Lakota and entertained her as a child with stories of life on the reservation.

“My grandmother was my world,” Ripley told CNN. “She asked me if I would go back home and help our people when I grew up.”

RELATED: Navajo Lady Delivers Water 75 Miles Every Day to Homes Without Plumbing

Ripley travels to her ancestor’s homeland four times each year from her home in Glastonbury, Connecticut, since creating a nonprofit called Hawkwing. She brings in donations and coordinates volunteer efforts to help her grandmother’s people on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.

She recently worked with a national teachers’ sorority to provide a bookmobile, delivering reading materials to kids scattered throughout the 4,200-square-mile reservation. Ripley also rallies volunteers to spend two weeks every year building and repairing houses — termed the “most urgent need” by the Lakota Tribal Chairman. Her nonprofit supports medical and dental clinics and mental health counseling. It has also partnered with Vitamin Angels to provide $300,000 worth of vitamins to children and mothers.

Also: Irish Town Builds Memorial Thanking Native Americans Who Helped During Famine

Ripley and Hawkwing have created a food pantry and arranged for outside shipments of fresh produce – and even delivered greenhouses to help the Lakota grow their own organic crops.

Her work has made Rochelle Ripley one of CNN’s Top Ten Heroes of the Year. You can vote for her as your choice for Hero of the Year at CNNHeroes.com. The network will announce the winner at their annual televised award show December 6, and present the 2015 winner with $100,000 for continuing his or her good work.

(WATCH the CNN video below)

Every Week Boy Packs 100 Bags w/ Food and Hope for the Homeless

By
Terry Turner
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Dusty Liulay sacks of hope screenshot KOIN

This nine-year-old boy is packing quite a punch against hunger while filling as many as 150 sack lunches for the homeless every week.

Dusty Liulay came up with “Dusty’s Sacks of Hope” after a soup kitchen told him he was too young to volunteer. He sat down at the kitchen table and starting packing the brown bag lunches.

Every Sunday, he and some volunteers deliver the lunches to Portland, Oregon’s homeless.

His cousin, Caelie Agosta, helps with the fundraising to pay for the Sacks of Hope. They have a GoFundMe page that’s raised more than $2,600 in about a month. The kids say $200 will provide food bags for 120 to 130 people.

(WATCH the video below from KOIN News) — Image: KOIN video

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Strangers’ Kindness Flipped 20-yo Homeless Guy’s Life in 5 Days

By
Terry Turner
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Shylow Murphy Twitter Abbi Claxton

In just five days, the kindness of strangers completely transformed a 20-year-old homeless man’s life — Shylow Murphy went from playing music for tips on a street corner to a full time job with a roof over his head.

Abbi Claxton couldn’t just walk by Murphy as she saw him busking on a street in Norwich, England, wearing a pair of tattered jogging pants. The web analyst, gave him a new pair, brought him some food, and started a conversation.

Mom Turns Canceled California Wedding Into a Feast for the Homeless

In the video below, Murphy explains how he drifted into homelessness and how Claxton gave him hope. He calls her “a godsend to my life.”

Ms. Claxton said she decided to help Murphy get back on his feet when she realized he could be “anyone’s son or brother or friend.”

Her Facebook campaign raised $1,200, found him a place to live, lined up a job interview, and got him a salon makeover with donated business attire.

 

Murphy landed the job — as a street fundraiser — and started work Monday. Instead of asking people for handouts for himself, he’s raising money for charity to help others.

“I’m just so happy now. I’ve broken out of my shell again. I’m out here again and can be myself, and don’t have to carry 35kg on my back every day and feel rubbish.”

(WATCH the video below or READ more at the Eastern Daily Press) — Photo: Abbi Claxton, Twitter

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Hundreds of Jews and Arabs Rally Arm-in-Arm for Peace in Israel

By
Good News Network
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Givat Haviva-line-of-peace-demonstrators-FB-watermark-bukjaDOTnet

Nearly 1000 Jewish and Arab residents joined seven mayors from different municipalities to form a human chain north of Israel, calling for coexistence and condemning violence.

They lined up along the road in the Wadi Ara region to call for calm, understanding, and cooperation in creating a shared society for all citizens.

“Arabs and Jews want to live in security,” organizers wrote on Facebook. “We know that only with a just solution to the conflict will we be able to stop the killing and the hatred, to build a different reality. A reality of security.”

Givat Haviva, a non-profit group founded in 1949 by the Kibbutz Federation, organized the Friday afternoon event, and afterward, hosted dialogue and sharing circles under a big tent. You can see photos on their Facebook Page.

RELATED: Bereaved Palestinian, Israeli Parents Unveil Something Beautiful at U.N.

The Mayors signed this public declaration:

In light of the present hostilities and the tense situation in Israel, we, the mayors of neighboring Jewish and Arab local and regional authorities who are working with Givat Haviva for a shared and secure life for our populations, issue this declaration:

1. Israel’s Declaration of Independence affirms that the State of Israel is based on the principle of equality, and has been a shared home for both Jews and Arabs since its inception.

2. We call upon all the citizens of Israel, and residents in Wadi Ara and the Triangle in particular, to maintain an attitude of respect and avoid any harm to one another. We vehemently condemn any attack on body, soul, or property, as well as any expression of physical or verbal abuse.

WATCH: Dance Teacher Pairs Jewish and Palestinian Children With Award-Winning Results

3. We appeal to the leaders of both peoples to refrain from incitement and the ferment of emotions. Our task at this time is to inspire calm and ensure public safety. We appeal to religious leaders, intellectuals, educators and teachers to lead us in a dialogue that will help adults and children to deal with the complex situation in a way that will not lead to manifestations of racism, revenge, injury, or threats to the other.

4. We recognize the reality that the State of Israel’s near 50-year occupation of the West Bank has deeply affected us on a daily basis, causing tension, violence and danger to the existence of a democratic society in Israel. We urge the Israeli government to pursue a political solution that will enable all people in Israel to live in security and peace.

5. We recognize the great sensitivity of the Temple Mount / Al Aqsa Mosque for both Jews and Muslims. We ask the Israeli government, the government of Jordan and the Palestinian Authority to manage the crisis responsibly and to return to the preservation of the status quo on the Mount.

In recent years we joined Givat Haviva’s “Partnership between Communities” program, through which we seek to live as good neighbors and establish healthy, constructive relationships which can bestow security and social and economic advancement to all the region’s residents, Jewish and Arab.
Today, with the deterioration in security and in relations between Jews and Arabs, we want to preserve the fabric of life together that we have put great effort into building. During this time of crisis, we will continue to maintain good relations and promise to remain faithful and committed to our partnership, which is based on mutual responsibility and equality between Jews and Arabs in the region and in the country.

Signatory Mayors:
• Itsik Cholevsky, Megiddo Regional Authority Head
• Hassan Atamna, Kafr Kara Local Authority Head
• Mustafa Agbaria, Maali Iron Local Authority Head
• Ilan Sade, Menashe Regional Authority Head
• Ibrahim Muassi, Acting Mayor of Baka el Garbiya
• Diab Ghanem, Zemer Regional Authority Head
• Rani Aidan, Emek Hefer Regional Authority Head

– (Photo credit: bukja.net, FB)

Muslim Mom Wins Prestigious UK Bake-off, Recipe for Race Relations

By
Terry Turner
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A popular cooking show may have come up with the best recipe yet for improved race relations in the UK.

As The Great British Bake Off began its sixth season, Nadiya Hussain was worried viewers would write her off as “a Muslim in a headscarf.” But by the time she was declared the 2015 season winner, millions of Britons were cheering her on.

Muslim Mosque Helps Catholic Church Recover Following Shocking Vandalism

The show focuses on traditional British baking, which conjures certain stereotypes. Hussain not only broke that mold, but turned preconceived images of Muslims in the UK upside down with her elaborate cakes and pastries perfect for any British celebration or afternoon tea.

peacock-cake-325px-youtubeOver the course of the season, Hussain won over the audience with her wit, charm, modesty and amazing baking talents. One of her cakes, described as “a great piece of art” by a judge, was shaped like a peacock, with elaborate tail feathers.

A record 14.5 million people saw Nadiya win the award on the BBC television show.

Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, founder of “British Muslims for Secular Democracy,” writing in the Daily Mail said Hussain had done more to further tolerance for Muslims and Asians “than countless government policies, think-tanks, initiatives and councils put together have achieved in the past half-century.”

Muslim Woman Disarms Anti-Islam Protester With A Hug (WATCH)

Over the course of the season, Hussain transformed from “a Muslim in a headscarf,” as she put it, to someone audience members could identify with. Awaiting the announcement of the winner in the video below — you can see her anticipation, and her tearful reaction as she takes the top honors.

(WATCH the BBC video below)

Read more in a long feature from the Daily Mail — Image: BBC video

Woman Helps Others Break Cycle of Prison She Endured (WATCH)

By
Terry Turner
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Kim Carter Heroes screenshot CNN

A woman who says she spent 12 years being “recycled” in and out of the prison system has turned it all around to help others in the same position.

Kim Carter spent years moving from prison to the streets and back again. She wanted something better, but faced an uphill challenge simply finding a place or home, where she could start over.

Eventually, Carter was able to find the services she needed while still in prison, but made up her mind to work toward preventing other women from having to go through what she did and helping them break the cycle of incarceration and homelessness.

RELATED: Woman Fills 200 Backpacks With Love for Homeless, Delivers in Single Night

That decision led to the inception of a number of programs for former female inmates to help them adjust to life outside of prison, recover from addiction, get counseling, and find shelter.

She founded her nonprofit, Time for Change, in 2002, and has since provided housing, job training, and counseling to 800 women.

The organization even runs a shelter for homeless women and supports them as they move into permanent housing.

“Homeless women and children — I call them invisible people. We pretend that we don”t see them,” Carter told CNN. “But I see them. And I know there’s something we can do to help them.”

Watch: Surprise for Hero Mechanic After Thieves Ruin His Good Deeds

She frequently returns to California women’s prisons to run her “Positive Feature” program, and works to reunite moms with children whose custody was lost because of being homeless or in prison.

Her work has made Carter one of CNN’s Top Ten Heroes of the Year.

You can vote for her as your choice for Hero of the Year at CNNHeroes.com. The network will announce the winner at their annual televised award show December 6, and present the 2015 winner with $100,000 for continuing his or her good work.

(WATCH the CNN video below) — Photo: CNN video

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UK Football Stars Buy Hotel, Invite Homeless to Stay For Winter

By
Good News Network
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Gary Neville-University of Salford-Sock-Exchange

Typically, when homeless activists occupy a vacant building, someone calls the cops.

In this case, the building’s owners were Manchester United football stars Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, who welcomed them to stay.

The duo, who plan to turn the £1.5 million Stock Exchange building into a boutique hotel, have granted homeless advocacy group the Manchester Angels use of the building throughout the winter so that about 30 young men will be guaranteed shelter. The group also plans to bring in social services that can offer recovery programs and health care, and other necessities to those in need.

Wes Hall, one of the homeless activists, told Channel 4 News he burst into tears when he got the call from Neville, the Manchester United coach. “To us, this is a lifeline; this is saving lives throughout the winter period.”

RELATED: The First Canadian City to Eliminate Homelessness –Here’s How They Did It

Construction isn’t set to begin until February, so, as long as the men allow contractors in with no trouble, it’s fine with the owners if they want to stay and keep warm. The homeless activists will be documenting their care of the building, too, leaving it in better shape than when they arrived.

The group has nicknamed the building “The Sock Exchange” for their goal of collecting clothing for the homeless.

(WATCH the video below from BBC News) – Photo of Gary Neville by University of Salford, cropped, CC

Toxic Algae Could Power “Super Batteries” of Tomorrow

By
Terry Turner
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algae bloom electrode released Da Deng - Wayne State University

Alga blooms may have earned a bad reputation underwater, but above ground, they could rise to power in a very noble way.

Below the surface, these swarms of algae cut off oxygen in the water, threatening wildlife, livestock, and humans by making the water too toxic to drink or use for anything else.

But one group of scientists has taken an environmental threat and turned it into a green solution for supplying energy.

“We call it a ‘trash-to-treasure’ approach,” lead researcher Dr. Da Deng told Phys.org.

RELATED: Pesky Packing Peanuts Find New Purpose As Powerful Batteries

Scientists at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan harvested some harmful algal blooms (HABs) and heated them up to 1800 degrees Fahrenheit in argon gas.

They ended up with something they called “hard carbon,” which can be used as low cost, high-efficiency electrodes for sodium-ion batteries.

In short, they have turned these harmful organisms into electrodes for a future generation of high performance batteries, the likely replacement for the lithium-ion types currently used in devices like computers and smartphones.

SEE Also: Teenage Girl Turns Plastic Trash Into Million-Dollar Biofuel

Hard carbon is usually made from petroleum, but the process the Wayne State team found shows it can be created from HABs without a lot of the complex purification process needed for oil based electrodes.

Unlike petroleum, HABs could be farmed — grown in labs or factories to supply a renewable supply of material.

How a Smartphone Case Charges Batteries Out of Thin Air

The researchers are now working on improving the efficiency and reliability of their electrodes to make the approach marketable while looking at ways of harvesting HABs.

These findings have been published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

– Photo: Da Deng, Wayne State University

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

By
Terry Turner
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Tyler myBivy app Screenshot KARE

A teenager’s concern for his dad has kept him up at night worrying, but his ultimate solution could help millions of veterans sleep better.

Tyler Skluzacek’s father returned from a year’s service in Iraq suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The veteran would wake up from deep sleep with night terrors or panic attacks.

Now an app to track heart rate and movement has been created by Tyler and his friends to gauge what the onset of an attack looks like in terms of physical benchmarks. When the symptoms occur, the app could nudge the wearer out of deep sleep — away from a night terror — without fully waking him.

The Android phone app can connect to a Bluetooth watch (costing as little as $30), which would be worn at night. Essentially, the system would detect the onset of night terrors and prevent them from happening.

The team, who call themselves “The Cure,” created the app in just 36 hours during Hack DC — an annual coding contest that had a theme of “hacking PTSD” this year. The Cure team took first place for their myBivy app, short for “bivouac,” a place where soldiers sleep in the field.

CHECK Out: All the Inspiring Stories About Veterans at Good News Network

Tyler set up a Kickstarter page to further develop the app for Android, iOS, and Pebble devices. It has raised nearly $14,000, more than 10 times its original goal, in just nine days.

They plan to begin tests in January and make the app available sometime before summer of 2016.

If successful, this innovation could mean a good night’s sleep for many of the more than three-and-a-half million veterans in the U.S. with PTSD.

RELATED: Once Speechless, Teen Finds His Chatty Voice Among Veterans at VA Hospital

“My team and I have a saying right now,” Tyler told KARE News, “‘We won’t sleep until the veterans can.’”

(WATCH the KARE News video below) Photos: KARE video

Mom Turns Canceled Wedding Into a Feast for the Homeless

By
Good News Network
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Thanks to one mother’s enlightened thinking, a canceled wedding resulted in a huge feast for nearly 100 of Sacramento’s homeless on Saturday.

When Kari Duane learned that her daughter and groom-to-be would not be going through with the ceremony, she decided to put that $35,000 reception to good use by inviting families who were going through hard times.

The decision drew the diners to one of the California city’s best hotels.

RELATED: Homeless Find New Life Working at 22-Acre Organic Farm and Restaurant

A grand total of 90 people—including parents with newborn babies— gathered at Citizen House hotel to dine on food from its four-star restaurant.

“When you’re going through a hard time and a struggle, for you to get out to do something different with your family is really a blessing,” Rashad Abdullah, a homeless man who attended the dinner with his family, told KCRA.

For the bride’s family and so many others, Saturday still turned out to be a night they’ll never forget.

(WATCH the video above from KCRA)

Muslim Woman Disarms Anti-Islam Protester With A Hug (WATCH)

By
Christina Caballero
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signs Muslim protestor-Cynthia Eugenia Cox DeBoutinkhar-permission

What do you do when a protester stands outside your place of worship preaching words of hatred and intolerance?

If you attend the Noor Islamic Cultural Center, you give them a hug and free breakfast.

The mosque was prepared for angry protesters and signs after a Facebook campaign tried to organize picketing at dozens of mosques around the United States on Oct. 10.

With police and heavy hearts at the ready, the people who gathered to defend the mosque in Columbus, Ohio were surprised to be met with just a single protester–and, with a single act of kindness, that number went from one to zero.

Muslim hugs protestor-Micah David Naziri-permission
Photo by Micah David Naziri

While many tried to welcome the lone protester and offer her coffee and bagels, she repeatedly refused and stayed outside holding two signs denigrating Islam.

Then an inspiration came to Cynthia DeBoutinkhar, who bravely went up to “Annie” and asked a daring question – could she embrace the protester with a hug? The answer was a reluctant yes.

The newlywed later wrote on Facebook, “I felt her body go from tense to soft and I asked her to please come inside with me.” With this small act of kindness Annie agreed to walk into the building that housed a culture and religion that she honestly believed she hated.

Muslim-hug-permission-Cynthia Eugenia Cox DeBoutinkhar

DeBoutinkhar promised to stay by Annie’s side in the mosque to provide comfort and a guarantee of safety–an offer that was quickly deemed unnecessary the moment the two women stepped into the lobby and were welcomed with a grand applause.

Annie was asked another daring question, and to everyone’s surprise she agreed to accompany the group on a complete tour of the mosque. DeBoutinkhar led Annie to the ladies room to watch her take off her hijab, “so she could see that I’m just a normal person under my scarf.”

“I usually don‘t wear them, actually,” she told Good News Network days after being inundated with media requests for interviews about the incident.

CHECK Out: 6 Quran Quotes That Teach Love, Tolerance and Freedom of Religion

“It’s been an overwhelming response. I think it struck a nerve with people. I think Muslims see it as finally some good press–and non-Muslims seem to like it because it shows the religion in a good light.”

Comfortable with her new acquaintance, Annie confided in DeBoutinkhar the source of her beliefs regarding Islam–a friend from Turkey who told her terrible things about Islam, and Fox News.

By the end of the tour, which included classrooms filled with children, and a glimpse of afternoon prayers in session, the protester began to ask her own questions that the president of the mosque answered enthusiastically. He also presented the Annie with an English Quran as a gift.

RELATED: Muslim Groups Give $100K To Help Detroit Residents Without Water

Afterwards the two women were both enraptured by open discussions on topics from holy books to Jesus, miracles and more, for two hours.

“You were all really nice,” Annie told them when she finally turned to go. “I had no idea Muslims could be nice to me, even after I stood out there with those signs… Sorry.”

DeBoutinkhar gave her one last hug, and the protester left without her signs.

(Watch the video below from In The Now)

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John Williams (Star Wars) is First Composer Honored With AFI Lifetime Achievement Award

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Good News Network
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John Williams-AFI-website

For the first time in AFI history, America’s highest honor for a career in film will be bestowed upon a composer–John Williams, who has written the soundtrack to our lives.

“Note by note, through chord and chorus, his genius for marrying music with movies has elevated the art form to symphonic levels and inspired generations of audiences to be enriched by the magic of the movies,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Chair, AFI Board of Trustees. “AFI is proud to present him with its 44th Life Achievement Award in 2016.”

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John Williams’ storied career as the composer behind many of the greatest American films and television series of all time boasts over 150 credits across seven decades. Perhaps best known for his enduring collaboration with director Steven Spielberg, his scores are among the most iconic and recognizable in film history, from the edge-of-your-seat Jaws motif to the energy of Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the haunting notes of Schindler’s List. Always epic in scale, his music has helped define over half a century of the motion picture medium. Three of Williams’ scores landed on AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores — a list of the 25 greatest American film scores of all time — including the unforgettable Star Wars soundtrack, at number one.

With five Academy Award wins and 49 nominations in total, Williams holds the record for the most Oscar nominations of any living person.

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Williams will be honored at a gala Tribute on June 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. The AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute television special will air on TNT later that same month, followed by an encore presentation on Turner Classic Movies.

Dad’s Touching Anti-Bullying Song for Daughters is Now a Global Inspiration

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Good News Network
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A California father of three, has turned a negative into a positive after his six-year-old daughter was bullied at school. He used his talent as a spoken word poet and musician to create a positive family-oriented rap music video called Love Yourself.

Khari said people love his anti-bullying song.

“It’s resonated with so many people who tell me it’s empowering,” he told the Meredith Vieira Show. “They’ve internalized the words and it’s changed their lives.”

RELATED: 8-Year-old’s ‘Buddy Bench’ for Lonely Kids in the Schoolyard is Catching On

On September 24 he reported on Facebook that he has already performed “Love Yourself” at three public schools in the Bay Area and now is being asked to perform at more schools.

“I’m currently in the process of finishing a Love Yourself Children’s Book and new album. Hopefully, I’ll be able to perform at schools throughout the country once my book and album are released in December, 2015.”

WATCH the video below and Download his song on iTunes

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