The good guys thread

[cassiesmom]

Drew Carey did something good after an ice bucket challenge went terribly wrong... (source: Fox 8, Cleveland Web site, but I heard it on the news here in Chicago.)

BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — Drew Carey has weighed in on social media after a Bay Village boy with autism was bullied on video.

Carey, who was born and raised in Cleveland, also offered up $10,000 as either a reward or a donation to Autism Speaks after hearing about the prank.

Video of the bullying first aired on Fox 8 News Wednesday at the request of the 15-year-old victim’s parents. The parents wanted people to see the cruel prank they say high school students pulled on their son.

They said their son thought he was taking the ice bucket challenge to raise money for ALS research, but instead high school students dumped a bucket of human waste and cigarette butts on him.

The prank has sparked outrage in Northeast Ohio and even across the country.

Carey tweeted after seeing the story Friday. He called it “horrendous” and said “These kids should be arrested and expelled.”

He also tweeted that he would donate $10,000 to start a reward fund or give the money to the Autism Speaks organization.

[phesina]

Oh my God... I just can't believe there are "people" that would do something like that "prank" ... and that is no prank, that is an act of unspeakable cruelty. Those dirtbags should indeed be arrested and expelled.

Good one, Drew Carey.

[kuhio98]

Meet the Hero Dog Who Helped His Owner Fight Off a Black Bear

Man's best friend, indeed.

On Thursday, Steven Krichbaum, 59, was walking with his yellow Lab mix Henry in West Virginia's George Washington National Forest when they were confronted with something bear-y scary: two cubs and a larger black bear, who wasn't happy to see them. The animal proceeded to attack, and the guys leaped into action.

"Krichbaum and his dog attempted to fend off the attack and were subsequently injured," reads a press release given to NVDaily.com. According to the report, Krichbaum said the dog saved his life by attacking the bear while he kept striking it with a rock.

Their efforts worked: They managed to escape and were able to drive to a fruit market in Middletown, Virginia, where both of them, quite bloodied, received help from bystanders.

"He was really bleeding out," Eddie Richard, the store's owner, told NVDaily.com of Krichbaum's injuries. "He had a huge open gash on his forearm."

Witnesses told NVDaily.com that Krichbaum, who is reportedly in stable condition at Winchester Medical Center, suffered serious scratches and wounds, including a hole about the size of a 50-cent coin in his upper thigh. He is expected to recover.

His furry hero, who was taken to a local animal hospital, suffered wounds also, mostly to one of his hind legs, but should also be okay. Here's hoping he gets lots of treats upon his release!

[kuhio98]

Awww, pupper with 2 broken legs perseveres with style. Made me smile today.


When this pup got hurt, she got creative.

In a video Jason Sanders posted on YouTube, an adorable pup who broke her two front legs after jumping off a 6-ft.-tall deck figures out the easiest way to get around with two casts and an Elizabethan collar.

With just a hop and a tail wag she takes on this doorway (twice!) like it's no big deal. We think even her shadow is impressed!

[kuhio98]

Happy Ending For Taunton Boy Whose Wagon Was Stolen

TAUNTON (Mass) (CBS) – A Taunton woman received plenty of help from police and social media users after a wagon was stolen from her son with special needs.

Taunton police posted to the department’s Facebook page on Monday that they are looking for a wagon stolen from the back yard of a Vernon Street home.

Marjorie Dutra, the mother of the 10-year-old boy, told police she confronted the man who allegedly took the wagon. Dutra said she was nearly hit by the man’s older model black pick up truck as he drove away from the area where the wagon was stolen.

Dutra provided a possible license plate number to officers, but they were unable to track down the vehicle when they ran the plate.

The photo of the wagon posted by Taunton police has been shared nearly 1,600 times and generated about 150 comments.

The boy’s mother said “it’s not just a wagon,” adding that she bought it as a gift for her son on his first birthday. “It’s the first thing he ever wanted, it’s very important.

While Dutra said her son feels violated that someone stole from him, she added that the outpouring of support in the aftermath has helped boost her family’s spirits.

“All I can say is Faith in humanity is restored,” Dutra commented on the Facebook photo on Monday night.

“From the actions of one rotten soul, hundreds of people are reaching out to help. All in all we are overwhelmed with the response from so many amazing people willing to help. All he honestly really wants is to find his wagon in our yard again tomorrow morning.”

An outpouring of support included the donation of a nearly identical wagon, along with monetary donations that will go to the family as well.

The donated wagon came from a 10-year-old in Bridgewater. “It was because I was just feeling good and I didn’t really use it that much anymore so I just wanted to donate it,” Nick Rae said.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/video?aut...lipId=10540836

[kuhio98]

A Love Like Millie's
By Edward Grinnan, July 25, 2014

Millie and I detect Maurice about a hundred feet down the block. Millie’s nose rises in the hot air. Sniffing. I wish I could cover mine. Pretty soon she is pulling at her leash, tail-slapping me and dragging me over to her friend’s doorway where he is liquidly slouched.

“Millie!” he cries, arms out, speech garbled, eyes just red slits even at this time of the morning.

Maurice is a wino. Not homeless. He is very particular about that, though he certainly has no home, and I’m not sure he’d want one if you offered. Maurice could never manage a home even if you gave him a mansion with a butler and a staff.

He says the high point of his day is when he sees “Queen Millie.” Then in a wheezy aside he says,” I tell that to all the girls.”

How old? Hard to say. Life on the streets ages you badly. Forty, maybe?

By now Millie is trying to bull her way onto his lap. She might weigh more than he does. With the toe of my shoe I inch his paper bag with a fresh pint of Mad Dog 20-20, Maurice’s lifeblood, out of harm’s way.

We see the homeless, for lack of a better term, in all our cities, and it’s always painful to imagine how they fit into our society and even more difficult to figure out how to help them, how to change them…or change ourselves, perhaps.

We give up because we think they’ve given up. They become part of the urban scenery. Maurice says he was born a wino, as if he has no say in the matter, no tragic story, no fall from grace, no trajectory. No story where he miraculously changes his life and becomes the hero.

Maurice and I are clear on one thing: I don’t give him money. We both know what he’ll do with it. I know what I did with it back when I was Maurice and I was begging change on the streets of New York.

Once, I bought him a pack of cigarettes–probably not very Christian of me–but he said he was dying for a smoke and I thought, “He’s dying anyway.”

I gave him a Subway sandwich when he looked particularly gaunt. He put it by his bag and said, “Maybe I’ll get to it later.” (Millie almost got to it first.) I gave him a Manhattan AA meeting book, and he tossed it back. “Got a collection of ‘em.”

Julee reminded me, “Make sure to get him a bottle of water. The heat is horrible.” While he scratched Millie’s belly I put the water down next to the paper bag, not wanting to touch anything.

I watched him dig his grimy, encrusted fingers deep into the creamy fur of Millie neck knowing I would wipe that area down immediately when we got home. Not that Millie minded being mauled on the streets of New York by a dirty old wino. She was in ecstasy. She had her dog grin going big time.

It was Millie who struck up the friendship with Maurice, and we do not deny her anything that she loves. She looks for him during his periodic absences and is overjoyed when he returns sporting one of those plastic hospital i.d. bands. Maurice has had lots of those, all different colors, his stripes.

I'd been half-tempted to give him a copy of my book, The Promise of Hope, about how I found grace and sobriety at the most hopeless moment of my life. But it didn’t feel right. My book wouldn’t get him sober. My book was my story. I look at him now and can’t help but think, “There but for the Grace of God go I.”

Eventually Millie and I headed toward the dog park, her glancing back at her friend. Friend. To her that’s what he is. She fully recognizes and embraces his humanity and treats him like anyone else, as good a human as any. Had I lost sight of Maurice’s humanity? Have we all? Just another part of the urban scenery?

Back home I knelt down to wipe the grime from Millie’s golden-white coat. I wondered if she felt I was taking something away from her. I didn’t know how to pray for Maurice but I tried: Dear God, please help Maurice. Please help him find a new story.

[kuhio98]

Not too practical for Alaska -- but the point is, they are making a difference in their community.

Heroes Among Us
Flip Flop Drop Provides Shower Shoes to the Homeless in Georgia

Most high school students kick off their shoes and laze poolside during the summer. But not these six Georgia teens – they celebrated the break by volunteering to improve their community.

Daniel and Brendan Mahoney, Oliver Howell, Megan Slatkovsky, Lily Kate Conneff and Ashley Ambos, ranging from ages 14 to 18, came together from across their Savannah, Georgia, community to pioneer a project that has purchased more than 3,200 pairs of shower shoes for the city's homeless population.

It all started because Mahoney wanted to do some type of volunteer work during the break.

"I knew I wanted to do something to give back to the community," rising senior Mahoney, 18, who spearheaded the aptly named Flip Flop Drop, tells PEOPLE.

Most high school students kick off their shoes and laze poolside during the summer. But not these six Georgia teens – they celebrated the break by volunteering to improve their community.

Daniel and Brendan Mahoney, Oliver Howell, Megan Slatkovsky, Lily Kate Conneff and Ashley Ambos, ranging from ages 14 to 18, came together from across their Savannah, Georgia, community to pioneer a project that has purchased more than 3,200 pairs of shower shoes for the city's homeless population.

It all started because Mahoney wanted to do some type of volunteer work during the break.

"I knew I wanted to do something to give back to the community," rising senior Mahoney, 18, who spearheaded the aptly named Flip Flop Drop, tells PEOPLE.

Keep up with your favorite celebs in the pages of PEOPLE Magazine by subscribing now.

During the summer months, the ICNS and the nearby Social Apostolate, which offers food and showers to the homeless, average 112 showers a day for men, women and children who live in area shelters and camp out in the wilderness.

Mahoney teamed up with his younger brother Brendan and four other motivated students to begin the two-week drive with the original goal of $1,000 for 1,000 pairs of flip flops.

After broadcasting their cause on the local news and doing widespread fundraising, the small group of leaders received an overwhelming community response, beating their goal by $2,000.

"One dollar is one pair of flip flops," Lily Kate Conneff, 15, tells PEOPLE, "and that's one shower, so it just makes you want to do more and more."

The flip flops themselves weren't the only things that generated excitement from the homeless community – it was also the assortment of color and size, and the option to choose their own preference.

"It was the talk for at least a good week, week and a half about these shower shoes," says Heckman. "Everybody had a smile on their face and if they didn't like the color, [they were] able to come up and get the color that they did like, and that made them really happy."

Some are even wearing them as everyday shoes, he says.

"When you have something that you're satisfied and proud of," he says, "you can show it and walk around with pride back in your heart again."

The students were so successful, the shelter was even able to partner with America's Second Harvest's Kid's Café, a summer program that feeds underprivileged children in the community, to put summer shoes on children who can't afford them.

"It went far beyond the shower shoes," Pryor tells PEOPLE. "They're putting shoes on the feet of the community."

Mahoney and the Flip Flop Drop gang hope to continue their community leadership by holding the drive again next year and partnering with the ICNS for fundraising projects, like an upcoming 5K.

They've even discussed doing a similar drive for jeans, another shelter need, in the fall.

"The earlier you start, it'll just keep increasing exponentially," says Mahoney. "You never really think of it, but it's really surprising how much we can make a difference."

[kuhio98]

Chicago Man Agrees to Pay Homeless Little League Champ's Rent for a Year

Little League World Series star Jaheim Benton is a hometown hero – and now, thanks to one big-hearted fan, he has a home.

A Chicago businessman has agreed to pay the Benton family's rent for a full year after learning they recently lost their home after Jaheim's mother had her hours cut at her home-care job.

"Superstar and homeless don't mix," Spencer Leak, owner of Leak and Sons Funeral Home in Chicago, told the Today show. "We've got to do something about that, and for the next year, little superstar Jaheim is going to have a home."

Jaheim, 12, charmed Chicagoans as a key player who helped lead his team, Jackie Robinson West, to become U.S. champions in the Little League World Series before losing in the international game to South Korea, 8-4.

But privately, Benton and his family faced a scary struggle: the loss of their home caused the family to split up and sleep on family members' couches.

Because their homelessness came in the midst of the team's incredible run, Jaheim's family simply tried to keep him focused on the game.

"It's been hard, but I just tell my baby to hold his head up," said Jaheim's mom, Devona. "I told him to get out there and play ball, despite his knowing that we lost our home."

Leak said he could not resist assisting a boy who helped bring so much joy to the Windy City.

"They have united the city. They have united the country. And now, they are known all over the world," Leak told Chicago's ABC 7.

Leak said he hopes his gift will help the family get back on their feet – permanently.

"I would hope that this rent turns into a mortgage that turns into home ownership for them," he told the news station. "We want our little superstar to have a roof over his head, because that's what he is. He's a superstar."

[kuhio98]

Real-Life 'Rapunzel' Gets First-Ever Haircut for Kids with Cancer

Growing up, Britain's Charlie Tillotson swore a vow against haircuts. For years, she declined even the smallest of trims, and by the age of 6, her blond locks had grown so long that they reached all the way down her back.

All that changed after Charlie watched a television documentary about children with cancer. She threw aside her hatred of scissors and decided to cut her hair off in order to donate it to the Little Princess Trust, where it would be used to make wigs for kids who needed them.

"I welled up," Charlie's father Steve told the Sidmouth Herald.

Inspired by their daughter's dedication, Charlie's parents set up a JustGiving page to publicize her efforts and asked fans to raise money for Children with Cancer UK.


The support they received dwarfed the family's expectations – they raised more than £1,300 ($2,200) – greater than double their goal. Once they reached the thousand-pound mark, Charlie's parents posted a video of her thanking everyone who donated:



On July 14, Charlie received the first haircut of her young life from family friend Rianne Woodruff, who transformed her Rapunzel-style locks into a sleek bob.

[kuhio98]

Carmel autism center donates "nice bucket" to teen prank victim

CARMEL, Ind. - First there was national outrage. Now a local center for children with autism is sending messages of support to an Ohio teenager duped into a fake ALS "ice bucket challenge."

Instead of ice, the 15-year old's classmates dumped urine and tobacco on him.

The story has prompted action at the Little Star Center in Carmel where students have created a "nice bucket" for the 15-year-old who also has autism.

Little Star's Executive Director Mary Rosswurm came up with the idea after hearing about what happened.



Children at the center made special cards and filled a huge bucket with fun and special treats.



Rosswurm says she was heartbroken to see the video that went viral on the internet. She and her staff want the student to know he has support in Indiana.



"As a mom of a child with autism and just working with these wonderful children with autism it just broke my heart. I thought, 'Gosh, why can't we be nice to each other?' and I thought why can't we send him a nice bucket and it started as simple as that," Rosswurm explained.

Ohio prosecutors are now reviewing evidence to determine if charges should be filed against the teens behind the prank. As many as 350,000 people have signed petitions asking that charges be filed.



Little Star is a not-for-profit center that provides Applied Behavioral Analysis for children with autism. The center provides scholarships for treatment for children without insurance. The scholarships are provided with gifts from individual donations.

If you'd like to give to the "nice bucket" or the scholarship fund, you can contact the center:

Little Star Center
12726 Hamilton Crossing Blvd.
Carmel, IN 46032
(317) 249-2242

[kuhio98]

Mayors in 55 Cities Fill Backpacks with Food for Hungry Children

Thousands of students across the country this weekend will bring home backpacks filled not just with textbooks, but with plenty of food to carry them through to Monday.

Blessings in a Backpack, a nonprofit based in Louisville, Kentucky, provides food-filled backpacks every Friday for children in hundreds of schools across 45 states. PEOPLE introduced readers to the organization in 2012 as part of the PEOPLE First: Help Feed a Child initiative.

Mayors Jim Schmitt of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Greg Stanton of Phoenix, Arizona, sponsored the resolution made by the United States Conference of Mayors that declares Sept. 18 "Blessings in a Backpack Day."

In 55 cities, mayors stepped out into their communities Thursday and packed backpacks for hungry children.

"If a child doesn't come to school well-feed and with a nutritious meal, that affects every aspect of their life," Stanton tells PEOPLE.

Stanton, the father of two young children, says childhood hunger "is not an acceptable situation in the most prosperous nation on earth."

Backpacks were also filled yesterday in Arab, Alabama, a city with roughly 9,000 residents.

"A lot of students here come from [troubled] homes," Mayor Bob Joslin tells PEOPLE. "They don't have food on the weekend, so these backpacks are so important."

Every Friday during the school year, three churches in the area hand out 470 backpacks to children who need them. "Our community takes care of its own," Joslin says.

When the organization was first featured in PEOPLE in 2012, it comprised 329 schools helping 23,490 students. It now has 696 schools feeding 65,000 students.

Blessings board member Richard Gordon says the PEOPLE First initiative helped to raise more than $1.5 million in direct donations and local funds to start new community programs.

Michael Gouloff, an architect, started a program at four elementary schools in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2006. All together, these programs send home 1,750 backpacks every Friday.

"It's so important we are feeding these kids," Gouloff says. "But the real message is that people in their community care about them."

[momcat]

We live on a rather quiet street in Trenton. There are also a lot of kids with not much room to play other than in the street. There's a young high school student that really deserves a shout out. Just about every day this fine young man is outside teaching the smaller kids how to shoot a basketball and how to play football. He gives a lot of time to the younger ones helping them learn and sharpen their skills. They're getting pretty good too. Right now 5 or 6 of them are playing football.
The good kids, like this high school student, are the ones that belong on the front page of the newspaper. One day I thanked him for what he does with the smaller children and his humility was an inspiration. The good kids far outnumber the bad but seldom get the recognition they're due.

[kuhio98]

... The good kids, like this high school student, are the ones that belong on the front page of the newspaper. One day I thanked him for what he does with the smaller children and his humility was an inspiration. The good kids far outnumber the bad but seldom get the recognition they're due.

I agree 100%. Why our society is fascinated with bad boys, bad behavior and Kardashians, I'll never understand.

The good guys go about their lives quietly making the world a better place. The bad ones are always in the news shouting LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME. Most of us are the good ones and we desire to leave a situation better than how we found it.

It's just the little things. I thanked a young man for holding the door open for me at the post office the other day and he looked shocked. It made me wonder how many times we forget to acknowledge a kindness.

[kuhio98]

Moms Stitch Together Memories To Fight Gun Violence

DENVER, Colo. (CBS4) – Mothers across Colorado are using quilting to fight gun violence.

The group called Moms Demand Action is stitching together memories and a message as part of their Mother’s Dream Quilt Project.

Each quilt will contain meaningful fabric from a victim or survivor of gun violence.

“It was really hard to cut up her shorts,” volunteer April Rodgers said, while stitching fabrics that belonged to Jessica Ghawi.

Ghawi was killed in the Aurora theater shooting.

“This teal was her favorite color,” Rodgers said.

Another block of fabric was made from the wedding dress of Mary Sherlach, the school psychologist killed at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Jennifer Hope of Moms Demand Action said the group will make a series of quilts using a quilting pattern known as Mother’s Dream. The pattern represents the bonds of grief shared by mothers, families and friends of gun violence victims, Hope said.

The victims’ fabrics will be surrounded by blocks donated by supporters of the group.

The group, that has chapters across the nation, is making quilts to send a message to everyone.

“(That) we can we do more to prevent gun violence,” Hope said.

Hope said the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action will make their own quilt to tour nationally before it goes on display back home.

“Generations ago this was a way that moms were able to come together,” Hope said. “I really think that quilting is very healing.”

It’s healing that volunteers like Rodgers say takes time, dedication and patience — the same things required to sew a quilt.

“It makes me sad but it’s the least I can do,” she added.

[kuhio98]

These Surfers Went Out For A Morning Of Surfing And Ended Up Being Heroes To This Wallaby!
Adam G. I knew wallaby’s liked to swim, but this little guy tried to go out into the ocean and bit off more than he could chew! Two surfers saw him and put their aquatic skills to work bringing him to safety. Talk about a stroke of luck! This is a great example of people helping an animal and releasing them the right way.

Watch the heroic event below!