Me too. Great photos of sweet Bentley.
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Pass It On
I was at Wal-Mart with my family and there was this older lady with a couple of kids. She had not been able to pay for all of her groceries. She was only behind by $10. When I saw that she couldn't afford her stuff I got out my wallet and gave her $10 for her to pay for herself and the kids. She began to tear up and she thanked me. Later, my grandmother went to the same place and she had her last $10 paid off, because the person that had already bought her groceries paid for it in advance.
These photos make me smile. What a patient pup! Somehow I don't think my kitties would be so accomodating. :)
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A well-known and loved member of the reptile community fell over the 4th of July this year and is now paralyzed from the waist down. In an effort to help his family defray the massive costs of his initial and ongoing care, the entire reptile community banded together and raised thousands of dollars to help him out. Many breeders auctioned off valuable animals and donated the proceeds to his family. He's doing quite well, in large part thanks to all of the donatoins (and his incredibly supportive lady!)
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/good-news/pour-forward-stories-kindness-canadian-streets-204758922.html
‘Pour it forward’ stories of kindness from Canadian streets
Have you ever had a total stranger pay for your purchase before walking away? Turns out, many people placing orders across Canada have experienced this kind gesture. On Saturday, we ran a Maclean's story of drive through goers dabbling in the art of pouring it forward at Tim Hortons: Winnipeg motorists paying for lunch and coffee orders of the strangers lined up behind them. It may be spreading through the city now, but the tradition of "paying it forward" has been around for a while — for centuries, according to Maclean's.
One Yahoo! Canada News reader explains the practice was popular at the Golden Gate Bridge toll booth in the '70s. And based on other responses, this trend's been rolling through our country for a while, too.
[ More Good News: Scott Sowle provides footwear for the homeless ]
Suzzanne McDonald, from Guelph, Ont., wrote that she saw quite a few customers do so during her five-year stint at Tim Hortons.
For the past eight Decembers, Ryan Berry's coworkers have been getting gift cards and using them to pay it forward for other people's orders at a coffee shop.
"One of the best team building things we do in a year," he wrote on our Yahoo! Canada News Facebook page.
It's refreshing to hear of such kindness, as news of online bullying and violence continues to spread. And some take this beyond paying for your donuts and bagels.
"Doesn't only have to be Tim's. I've done it at the grocery store. The gesture makes you feel emotionally rich," posted Rosie on Yahoo! Canada News.
"The first time it happened to me I was floored," stated Jeremy, who now returns the favour whenever he has spare change. He enjoys seeing the treated drivers of the cars behind him as they try to chase him down to see who he was.
Garry B had experienced this firsthand in a Toronto airport three weeks ago, when a woman grabbed his shirt and said: "I'll buy."
"At first I thought it might be some trick to talk about my insurance needs," he wrote. "[But] It was just indeed a kind stranger."
But the most touching story we've seen so far came from a man who had an oyster dinner with his wife to mark their fifth anniversary. When the couple asked for the bill, the two were told that a stranger sitting beside them paid it all, almost $300.
"He had paid and left without saying a word," the commenter wrote.
"Come to think of it, I've never returned that favor to anyone. I will very shortly."
Lost Backpack
About six months ago I found a backpack/work bag in my front yard, thought it belonged to my son and just took it inside. Decided to take a look inside and found a wallet with over $700 in it! Plenty of ID but from another state, but then I found a mobile phone and search through until I found 'Mother' and then rang that number. Lady said her 26 yr old son had been in my suburb the night before and left his bag on the roof of his car when he drove home so it must have fallen off at the corner near my house. She was shocked when she picked it up to find all the money still in it. They had recently moved here and knew nobody so she was very happy to find someone honest. I kept thinking "of course the money would still be there, he earned it not me!" :)
When I was a little girl we had gone to the grocery store. When we went out to our car we noticed someone had left their purse in a cart in the parking lot. My dad found the woman's ID and we took her purse to her house. She also had a lot of money in it. The woman was sooo happy she wanted to give my dad some of the money. He refused.
Also, my parents owned a Drycleaners for over 40 years. Our policy was to return any money found in pockets that was over $5. I think the largest amount we found was a few thousand dollars. I always think "how could you misplace that much money!?"
Oh, and the next time I go to Starbucks I am going to pay for the person behind me. My only problem with that is I have personalized plates on my car. :o
Stephanie Klinzing, the mayor of Elk River, Minnesota, challenged the people in her town to perform 1,000 acts of kindness in a month. Elk River's 24,000 residents answered the call, with good deeds like giving out cookies, paying for other people's groceries, and babysitting for free. After a month the people of Elk River had surpassed their goal with 1,400 good deeds -- and they don't plan to stop anytime soon.
The owners of Blue Marble ice cream shops, in Brooklyn, New York, are expanding their business to Butare, Rwanda. Alexis Miesen and Jennie Dundas are building their first store there, which will be run (and co-owned) by Rwandan women.
Laura Miller’s first act of anonymous kindness was placing a single lavender hydrangea bloom on the windshield of a stranger’s car in July 2009. Ever since, Miller has left a trail of small favors for unsuspecting residents of Pittsburgh. Nothing expensive, but delightful nonetheless: Starbucks gift certificates, uplifting messages, rolls of quarters, and other treats. “If I had the money, I would do it every single day,” says Miller, who recently revealed her identity at a fund-raising party, helping to attract other well-wishers to the effort. She now counts more than 1,600 people across the world in her cause for kindness. “It sounds dramatic, but I wish for a world where we all take care of each other,” says Miller.
Because Teachers Do More Than Help Kids Learn Their ABC's
When Jennifer Marciano, a school counselor in Nashville, donated 10 inches of her hair to make wigs for cancer patients, her students asked how they could help. They now hold regular hair-donation drives for Locks of Love and raise money for patients at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
1,000-Lb. Pig Rescues Cat After Fire
Three days after a fire blazed through a New Hampshire farm on Sept. 6, the only thing more devastating than the physical damage was the presumed death toll: 14 horses and three cats.
But if there was someone who hadn't lost hope, it was Colby, the farm's 1,000-lb. pig.
After breakfast, the Bedford, N.H., Perry Hill Farm mascot, characteristically slow and sluggish, started wandering into the woods nearby.
"She was on a mission," her caregiver and farm owner Harriet Finks, who followed the pig, tells ABCnews.com. "For her, it was quite a distance."
The 9-year-old pig, sniffing around the woods, led her caregivers to Gumbo, one of the cats they never found after the fire.
"He would have died out there," Finks said. "Now we have him back."
Gumbo's ears, tail, back and one side of his body were charred from the fire, and the burns on his feet prevented him from walking. His whiskers were gone.
But he's now home with Colby after spending a month in a veterinarian's care – and he's spending time with his sister Gidget, who found her way back to the farm two weeks after the fire. She, too, had been presumed dead. (Seven other cats, seven ponies, two goats and a miniature horse also survived.)
"We're thankful for Miss Colby," added Finks. "We're thankful for everyone."
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A Mystery Hero in Water Rescue by Vera H-C Chan
A slip, a scary splash, then a scream. It took just seconds for a two-year-old girl to fall 20 feet into New York's East River waters. Many reacted quickly to rescue 2-year-old Bridgette Sheriden, but two men reacted even faster: Bridgette's father David Anderson and a still unknown French tourist who, after helping in the rescue, walked way and took a cab to destinations unknown.
They won the lottery - and gave the money away
Allen and Violet Large, a loving elderly couple from Nova Scotia, Canada, won $11.2 million in the lottery. But instead of living happily ever after in luxury, they decided to give their winnings away.
Worried about scam artists and content with their average, peaceful lifestyle, they decided that the money would bring them unnecessary stress. They helped their family with some of the money and then divided the rest of the money between churches, organizations fighting cancer, Alzheimer's and diabetes, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, cemeteries, hospitals, also their local fire department.
The couple has no regrets. "What you've never had, you never miss", Violet said. They are happy just to have each other.
Many years ago I was on my way from Vancouver to the Shuswap area of British Columbia to visit my parents and sister. The Greyhound bus was full - we were all getting comfy and soon the bus was lumbering on its way.
Across the aisle and just one row up a man was battling a cough. It wasn't all that loud, but it was quite constant and we all sensed that this would be one of those things we would put up with during the trip. I put my hands in my coat pockets and found about a half-dozen wrapped hard candies. I had forgotten they were there and didn't want them so I reached across to the man and offered them, saying it might help his cough.
I will always remember the look of relief and gratitude on his face, as well as the silent but huge sigh of relief from all others aboard.
We completed our various journeys in comfortable quiet.
Out of the Mouth of Babes.
I received a call from my daughter she said, She was shopping with her son Dionte 5 years old at a Wal-mart store when he yelled out to her with excitement saying. Mom, Mom look a Super Hero. She turned to look at said son I don’t see any Super Hero. Once again he said mom look while pointing to a woman wearing military fatigues. Mom it’s a Super Hero. A passerby heard what had been said and turned to Dionte and said you are so right. She is our SUPER HERO. Thanks for Serving.
William and Digna Suarez of Colorado Springs. CO
Undefeated Arizona high school football team lends bullied special-needs teen girl some tactical defense
A group of kindhearted seniors on Arizona’s Queen Creek High School football team have helped Chy Johnson, 16, fight bullies. She has a brain disorder that once made her an easy target for some peers.
By Charlie Wells / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
A harassed special-needs student, Chy Johnson, 16, got some special help from her schools’s undefeated football team.
They’re an undefeated team used to throwing touchdowns, and now they’re making high school better for a girl used to bullies throwing trash at her.
A group of kindhearted seniors on Arizona’s Queen Creek High School football team have lent Chy Johnson some tactical defense, helping a girl whose brain disorder once made her an easy target for bullies.
The new friendship started when Elizabeth Johnson, whose daughter said girls threw trash on her at school, contacted starting quarterback Carson Jones.
Chy Johnson, 16, suffers from a brain disorder that made her an easy target for peers.
“I emailed Carson, told him that Chy was having some issues, was just wanting some names,” she told a local television station.
“He took it a step further and went and gathered Chy up at lunch and she’s been eating lunch with them ever since,” Johnson said.
Jones, fellow teammate Tucker Workman and many other Queen Creek Bulldogs have also started looking after Chy throughout the day, a move that has stopped people from bothering her.
“I guess they’ve seen her with us or something,” Jones said.
Carson Jones and teammate Tucker Workman have undertaken to look after Chy throughout the day, a move that has stopped people from bothering her.
Teammate Workman said it feels good to know that the players are helping someone who needs a little help.
“We’re doing good and everything for us is going well but someone else needs to feel good, too,” he said.
This is a big change for Chy, who suffers from a brain disorder called microcephaly. It’s a condition which makes her head smaller than normal and usually renders life expectancy down to only 25 or 30 years.
But for now, the 16-year-old sophomore calls the players “her team.”
The Queen Creek High School Bulldogs have been nominated for the Americas Team award for their big-hearted actions.
“They save me because I won’t get hurt again,” she said. “They’re not mean to me because all my boys love me,” she said, just recently named a Queen Creek High School “Fan of the Week.”
As for the Bulldogs, they have been nominated for the Americas Team award for their big-hearted actions.
They also won their football game Friday night, 49-6.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...#ixzz2AmKCmrwY
Ian’s story:
My event took place two weeks ago at the Eagle River Carrs (A grocery store here in Alaska). My daughter and I were standing in line to purchase some items for dinner that night. As my daughter and I were talking and waiting I would periodically look up to see where we were in the check-out process. As the last item was rung up for the woman in front of me, she reached into her wallet to pull out her payment method and realized her bank cards were left at home and the $7 she had on her wouldn't cover the cost of her groceries.
As tears began to well up in her eyes and her child screamed out from impatience I told the cashier that her items were part of my daughter and my own bundle of items. She looked at me with confusion and I leaned over and told her not to say anything but if she ever got the chance to return the favor for a random family in the future, that she take the opportunity. She smiled, had her items loaded into her cart, then went on her way. I never got her name but as she walked away I looked down at my daughter and the smile on her face let me know she learned a valuable lesson. And that is all the payment I need.
Elyse,
Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful story! There are good kids out there and this proves it. All of these team members deserve all the credit they can receive for stepping up to help and protect this young girl from further abuse. How great that they had such a decisive victory! This story belongs on the front page of every newspaper everywhere! May this wonderful team enjoy many many more victories for the good they're doing!
Free Gas
I was pumping gas on a day when I had only $10 until payday. When I went inside to pay, the pump had been pre-paid with a twenty dollar bill by a stranger! The clerk said the person's instructions were simply, when the next person who comes in to pay with cash, surprise them with free gas. I was so surprised and have repeated the act of kindness twice since. The clerk has fun too!
When Allison Winn was eight and her family adopted a dog named Coco, they had no idea how much the little bichon frise would change her life. “Coco helped me feel better,” says Allison, who was recuperating from 14 months of treatment for a brain tumor at the time. “She would cuddle with me when I didn’t want to play.” Allison loved Coco so much that she told her parents she wanted to help other sick kids find the same kind of comfort.
She started small, raising money by selling lemonade and homemade dog biscuits in front of her house. Her first customer was the mailman. By the end of that summer, she had raised nearly $1,000, enough to adopt, train, and spay or neuter two dogs and give them to children with cancer. Now, a little more than two years later, corporate groups and civic organizations gather to make dog treats at a Denver kitchen for Allison’s cause.
Her organization, the Stink Bug Project, named after a picture she drew commemorating the end of her chemotherapy, is run and managed in partnership with the Morgan Adams Foundation. Stink Bug helps families adopt pets from the Colorado Correctional Industries Prison Trained K9 Companion Program, where inmates teach commands to rescued dogs. To date, the program has raised $33,000 and facilitated the adoption of ten dogs, paying for the $450 adoption fee plus a starter kit of a dog bed and crate, food, toys, a leash, and a collar, which gets embroidered with the pet’s name and phone number. “We ask the kids their favorite color,” Allison says, so she can coordinate ribbons for the dogs.
With the leftover funds, Allison’s mother, Dianna Litvak, who helps run Stink Bug, hopes to extend the pet-adoption program statewide and continue donating some of the proceeds to help fund pediatric cancer research.
Her daughter is just as ambitious. “I wanted to do a million adoptions, but my mom made me lower it,” says Allison. Still, she’d eventually like to get dogs to sick kids in other states.
“Allison has figured out how to help—in a way that no one else has,” Litvak says proudly. “We involve her younger sister, Emily, her friends, the adopting families, and the women at the prison. It took the love of a little girl to wrap all that together into one amazing package.”
Go to stinkbugproject.org to donate or to buy Allison’s dog biscuits.
Thankful for Safety
I live in the midwest where we get a lot of snow. One night I got off work late and it was nearly a white out with all the driving snow. I caught up to a county snow plow and followed him the next 20 miles to my home town. We were the only two vehicles on the road. He pulled into the same gas station I did to fuel up. When I went inside to pay I picked out a big chocolate chip cookie and told the clerk to give it to the plow truck driver when he came in to pay. I appreciated that he was out working late in terrible conditions so that I could make it home safely!
Nancy Lawlor collects bouquets—flowers from hotels and weddings and corporate events, in cities like New York and Los Angeles. Then she gives them away to people in need, often breaking down larger bouquets so there’s more to go around.
Lawlor was inspired to start her nonprofit organization, FlowerPower, eight years ago. Sitting in the lobby of the Waldorf Astoria, she was riveted by its towering floral displays. Where did they go at the end of the day? After getting her answer — a Dumpster — Lawlor volunteered to take them away instead. Once the hotel agreed, Lawlor delivered $2,000 worth of large pink bouquets to a New York City hospital. “It all started with one person saying yes,” she says.
To date, FlowerPower has distributed more than $2.5 million worth of flowers to hospitals, rape crisis centers, and rehabilitation clinics. The bouquets last several days, giving patients a healthy dose of good cheer. “I’ve seen thousands of people transformed,” she says, “all over a simple bouquet of flowers that originally would’ve been thrown away.” Now, that’s a beautiful arrangement.
Lisa - thank you for your dedication to this thread, and thank you to others that have posted stories too. We read of so much bad in the world today, that it is refreshing to read of the good all around us that would otherwise go unnoticed and unacknowledged.
It's heartening to hear that people are reading and enjoying. I love hearing stories from others and am enjoying searching for more stories.
I set a personal goal this year to not forward on any of those sad, awful e-mails we get daily. I found myself getting so depressed reading sad stories about man's inhumanity to man and animals. Who does it help to spread that sick news around the globe? I've found that I'm happier these days since I've been concentrating on sharing stories about people and animals who help make the world a kinder, nicer place to be.
The world seems to have its values skewed sometimes. Like, people will buy a celebrity a round of drinks or comp them dinner. The celebrity could probably buy everyone’s dinner and not miss the money. Heck, they could probably buy the restaurant itself with just their pocket change. But, people will give a rich person something “on the house” instead of giving it to the homeless person who might not have eaten for a while. So, I’ve always wondered about this and one day found myself in a sorta similar situation.
No, I’m not rich and I’m not a celebrity, but whenever I got my hair colored and cut, my hairdresser would load me down with a bag of free products and samples that she wanted me to try. Sure, she was hoping I would fall in love with some of them and become a repeat customer, but I’m not a girly-girl and ended up just throwing them in my car trunk and forgetting about them. I could well afford these products but because we are friends, she gave me lots of freebies. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by turning them down.
After my hair appointment, I go next door and pick up a pizza for dinner. Bobcat loves their pizza but it is on the far south of town where we hardly ever go, but that’s where my hairdresser is so we have a monthly routine of hair and pizza.
A young lady with thin, limp, lifeless hair scraped back and secured with a rubber band started waiting on me. She is a single mother and can’t afford all the pricey products they sell next door. So, after I ordered my pizza, I asked her if she wanted to try some of the samples. She jumped at the chance. Now, each month I give her the bag of freebies and we visit for a few minutes while I wait for the pizza. She tells me about her little girl and her life. Between working full time and going to school part time, she is a very busy lady and can’t afford the little things that make life a little nicer. Her hair looks so much better these days. :) Still haven’t told my hairdresser that I give the products away to someone who can really appreciate them. I about fell over when she told me her name – Cat. It’s not short for anything. Her name is actually Cat! And you know how much I love cats. :)
Lisa Tennison ~ Anchorage, AK
Aww Lisa what a heart warming story ,isn't it wonderful how people come in to our lives,through different circumstances,and how they can enrich our lives and vice versa,you are always a very caring and giving person ,and it is so lovely you can bring some joy in to cat"s life,how gorgeous her name being that.
When I arrived in Sydney Australia two years ago from Brazil to study, I struggled to find work to support myself. My savings soon became dangerously low and I was distressed that I might have to give up my overseas dream.
One day, I was at the park, worrying about the future and arguing with my own thoughts. A lady sitting next to me noticed the concerned expression on my face and gave me a sincere smile. She asked if I was OK, if something bad had happened and if I needed any help. I did not want to bother someone I had just met with my problems, and so pretended that everything was fine. But we ended up chatting for nearly two hours about life in Brazil and what I thought about Australia. This woman gave me lots of tips about places to visit.
Before we knew it, it was almost five o’clock. She said she had to get to work and unexpectedly invited me to accompany her. Why not? I thought.
We arrived at a restaurant and the most amazing thing happened. She said that she owned the place and needed some help in the kitchen. She asked if I wanted to work for her. I accepted, of course, and started the next day.
I spent almost a year working there, improving my English, developing my skills, and, most importantly, building a good relationship with my boss. Even now, living in different cities, we are still close friends and enjoy sharing long chats about life.
Because Help Comes in Many Forms
When my 2-year-old son, Ben, died from a genetic disorder, I couldn't bear the thought of cleaning out his room. So I gratefully accepted when Ben's physical, speech, and occupational therapists offered to do it for us during his funeral. After we got home we found that not only had they packed away his clothes and toys and removed the medical equipment but they also cleaned the rest of our house, left gifts for our older child, and stocked our cabinets with supplies. There was even a bouquet of flowers on the table. They went above and beyond to make our tough day a little more bearable.
-- Jamie Fields, Malvern, Arkansas
Corrections
I have been a Corrections Officer in Ohio for a little while now and as most people can imagine, you see a little bit of everything. Whenever someone new comes in to serve their jail sentence, I have to book them into the jail where I also talk to them and get a sense of their personality. This particular man told me of his massive run of bad luck which eventually ended with him in this position. He got into a fight with his wife that will most likely end in a divorce and drove off angrily into the night. Unfortunately, he drank literally one too many before he left and he totaled his car in a ditch which resulted in his arrest. Now, I must have heard a MILLION sob stories from people who got busted, but for some reason… I felt really bad for this guy. During the booking the man unexpectedly began to cry so naturally, I asked him what he was crying about. He told me that his wife was going to leave him because of his drinking problem and that he said some things to her that he believed he couldn’t take back. I said, “You’re not a bad man, you just made a mistake. I’m not here to judge you for anything that you’ve done. We all make mistakes and we’ve all said something in anger that we later regretted. In a couple days when you get out of here, apologize to your wife and work it out. I can’t guarantee she’ll forgive you, but I will guarantee that an apology will make a huge difference to her. The man looked up at me in shock and said, “You’re the first person I’ve met in law enforcement who cares about my side of the story. All they see is a miserable drunk.” When the man was released a few days later, I noticed him walking out the door as my shift was ending and I remembered that he totaled his car. His house was at least 10 miles away from my facility and he just started walking. I hopped in my car, still in uniform, and pulled up next to him. I said, “You want a ride?” He hopped in and nearly cried with relief. When I dropped him off I shook his hand and wished him good luck. To my surprise, he shook my hand and hugged me with the other, then said, “Thank you… thank you for your kindness. I wish there were more officers out there like you.” I drove home knowing that I helped that man with his personal problem and I restored some of his faith in law enforcement.
Bright sun
I was driving along a country road on a lovely sunny day when I saw an elderly gentleman walking on the footpath in the opposite direction. He was holding his hand above his eyes to shield them from the very bright sun. We were at least a mile from the nearest house so he was quite clearly going to be struggling to see for some distance ...... so I did 2 U turns to bring myself back to him and stopped alongside him and gave him my baseball cap. He was amazed that I would do something so kind. He was really grateful and offered to pay for the cap, but I said no and told him it was a gift. As we parted I saw him walking off with a smile and a renewed vitality.
“Am feeling both good and a little stupid.” This is the comment Carolee Hazard posted on Facebook after a woman ahead of her in the grocery line said she’d lost her wallet. The woman was so upset that Hazard paid her $207 grocery bill “and just asked her to send me a check,” Hazard says. She figured now the money was as good as gone.
But a day later, a check arrived in the mail for $300, along with profound thanks from Jenni Ware, 45. Ware suggested that Hazard use the extra $93 for a nice massage.
Instead, Hazard went back online and asked her friends to recommend a better use for the money. Times are tough, one friend wrote back, and suggested a donation to Second Harvest, a Bay Area food bank.
Hazard agreed and then matched Ware’s original $93 with her own. Word spread. A little kid gave 93 cents. A single mother donated $9.30 from the last $25 in her monthly budget. By the end of its first year, the newly christened 93 Dollar Club had bequeathed $100,000 to Second Harvest.
But the story doesn’t end there. “We want to raise $200,000 this year,” says Hazard. And they just might. The 93 Dollar Club recently received a second donation of $9,300—its largest yet.
A Cup of Kindness
In college I had a job as a counter person. Every morning the same people lined up for their coffee. Eventually, whenever I saw a regular customer, I'd just hand over "the usual." On my last day at the job I mentioned to a couple of my regulars that I was leaving. They came back at lunchtime with a bouquet of flowers. That gesture made me feel as though I mattered, that I wasn't just another nameless, faceless service provider.
-- Sabrina Regan, Rosedale, New York
Four years ago, after hearing about a boy with a program to give away backpacks, Jacob Rice decided to do something similar for disadvantaged kids in East Tampa. A local social services agency tipped him off that kids’ shoes were needed, and Rice had found his cause. At his first event, a back-to-school night, 72 kids signed up for shoes.
Rice found a local store that agreed to provide him with shoes at a bargain price. It took private donors and a foundation to help, but eight months later, Rice was able to deliver every last one of the 72 pairs of shoes. Now Rice’s nonprofit charity, Shoe Giver of Tampa, works with Soles4Souls of Nashville, Tennessee, a group that collects and distributes shoes worldwide. Every few months, Rice measures dozens of kids’ feet and sends the sizes to Soles4Souls founder Wayne Elsey, who finds the shoes and has them delivered to Rice. Then Rice distributes them to the youngsters. To date, Rice has handed over more than 1,300 pairs of shoes, not only in East Tampa but also in the Dominican Republic and Liberia.
His current goal: to donate 10,000 pairs of shoes. “I’ve learned how important it is to help your community,” says Rice. “When you’re in a position to help, you have an obligation to do it.”
James’s story:
Several years ago we packed all we had into a storage unit back in the lower forty-eight and hopped a red eye flight to get to Valdez, Alaska – where we were headed. When we landed in Anchorage, we had no money and no way of getting the rest of the way to Valdez. We were hungry and didn't know what to do. Kindly, a stranger bought us pizza and sodas while we were stuck at the airport for nearly two days, until we were able to locate a friend living in Valdez. Despite being very sick with the flu, she drove for nearly seven hours through bad March weather to pick us up in Anchorage, then turned around and drove us all the way back to Valdez. She is a true friend and that has to be an act of kindness.
Frank Made My Friday
And I became a believer in the existence of random acts of kindness. I was sitting in my local Japanese restaurant waiting for my take-out order, passing the time playing a game on my iPhone, when a young man standing next to me struck up a conversation. I put down my phone and we spoke briefly about our lives, our jobs and when both of our orders were finished, he picked up my check and said, "I'm paying your bill." I was shocked and said, "WHAT!! Oh, no!" He said, "Oh, yes!" I sat at the table for a few moments completely dumbfounded, went up to him at the register and said, I don't even know your name. He responded, "Frank, and have a great weekend." In that moment, through that random act, a cynic became a believer.
Spring Training
Every year I go down to Spring Training in Clearwater, Florida to see the Philadelphia Phillies play. Every game we go early to catch and get some baseballs during hitting practice. My brother and I get so many baseballs we don't have enough room for them. One time, a ball went over my head. I ran over and picked it up, there was a disabled kid and his two parents a couple feet away from me. I walked over to them and gave the boy my ball. His parents insisted I keep it, but I told them I had plenty. His mom started to cry, they were all so happy. Then, they all started crying tears of joy. The boy was so happy he got a baseball, it made his day and it made me feel happy.
Jason Kroft: Heart Attack Victim Searches for Savior
Have you seen a 40-year-old red-haired hero in dark blue blazer and dress pants on the streets of New York City? If so, two children want to thank him for saving their dad's life. On October 5, Toronto-native Jason Kroft, his wife, Marci, and their two kids, Harper, nine, and Sloan, seven, were strolling though Midtown Manhattan to get a tour of 30 Rockefeller Plaza from brother-in-law, Andrew Zeller. Kroft, 40, who had no history of heart disease, suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed to the sidewalk. His wife screamed for help as he stopped breathing. Suddenly, a stranger appeared and placed his briefcase under Kroft's head, tore open his shirt, and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). While Kroft sustained a couple of broken ribs during CPR, Zeller tells Shine, "If he hadn't done CPR compression between cardiac arrest and the time the ambulance arrived, Jason would have severe brain damage." In the commotion after the paramedics arrived, the man disappeared into the crowd before the family could discover his identity. Kroft is recovering at St. Luke's Hospital on the Upper West Side and will eventually be moved back to Toronto for rehabilitation. Over the weekend, Zeller put up about 20 signs around Midtown and Times Square hoping the Good Samaritan would step forward. "We want to thank him," he says. "He's a hero." When doctors began operating on Kroft, they discovered he had suffered two aneurisms caused by a rare congenital condition. After triple bypass surgery, the medical team had to cool his body to 30 degrees Celsius for 24 hours to prevent brain damage. Despite the harrowing treatment, Zeller reports his brother-in-law is "doing really well, It's amazing." He adds, "He is weak, but he's the same old Jason. He has a long road to recovery, but he'll be okay."