Page 53 of 62 FirstFirst ... 34344454647484950515253545556575859606162 LastLast
Results 781 to 795 of 924

Thread: The good guys thread

  1. #781
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
    Location
    Windham, Vermont, USA
    Posts
    40,828
    Awww, how nice! And away he hopped, away from those scary waves!
    I've Been Frosted

  2. #782
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  3. #783
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Corona Firefighters Save Man — And Then Finish Mowing His Lawn

    There is going above and beyond, and then there is really going above and beyond.

    A Corona man lost consciousness while mowing his lawn.

    Officials said a crew from Engine 1 came to the man’s aid, provided lifesaving treatment and taking him to a hospital.

    After the ambulance left the man’s house, fire crews did something extraordinary.

    The firefighters finished the man’s yard work. The front lawn was growing rapidly, in definite need of a mow.

    The grateful homeowner, Willy G., spoke to KCAL9’s Crystal Cruz.

    “This my machine here. My grass was so, so high,” Willy said.

    Wednesday morning Willy and his lawn mover were in the front yard working hard — so was the sun.

    “I was cutting grass here, I feel dizzy a little bit, so I stand over by the car here,” he recalled.

    In the drive way Willy face planted.

    Corona Fire showed up and he went to the hospital with a scratched up face, but firefighters stuck around, finishing what Willy started.

    “We all kind of looked at each other, kind of looked around at the lawn equipment and realized this family was going through a very traumatic event right now and they some simple acts of kindness,” said Fire Dept. Engineer Jamie Pirritano.

    “The five guys, they went down and cleaned all the grass for us I say that’s so nice. I never had the experience like that before. I feel like safe,” said Willy.

    Just one family of guys helping out another family, whose lawn wasn’t going to cut itself.

    “I appreciate what they did,” Willy said.

    Willy told Cruz he fainted because there was too much heat and too much exertion.
    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  4. #784
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Heroes Among Us
    Meet Jeff Balek – the Blind YMCA Volunteer Who Teaches Children How to Read

    Jeff Balek has never actually seen a book – but that hasn't stopped the blind man from teaching struggling kids how to read.

    Growing up learning braille, "I felt pretty empowered thanks to teachers and my family," he tells PEOPLE. "Teachers were very supportive of me, working with me through high school on my braille and computer skills," he says.

    So thankful is Balek, 34, to the people that taught him, that when his sister forwarded him an e-mail about volunteering for the Y Readers program at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte in North Carolina two years ago, he signed right up.

    "I was really excited to help these kids," he says of joining the after-school program, which aims to boost literacy among first, second and third grade children who are reading below grade level.

    "They need help, and I've always been into reading – it's really rewarding," he says.

    Balek uses twin vision books to read along with the children, reading a page in braille then listening to them read the next in print.

    "They're reading the same thing I'm reading, so I can help them with sounding out or spelling a word," he explains.

    Naturally curious, "kids ask me questions about my blindness – how I became blind, the challenges I had to overcome," Balek says.

    "They put a lot of confidence in me reading braille; and I think for them, [learning some] braille gives them confidence, too," he says.

    The kids like him, too.

    "He's so unique," says Michael DeVaul, senior vice president of organizational advancement at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte.

    "We hear from a lot of kids about how 'cool' he is," he says. "And he really has a passion for kids, and a passion for reading. I think parents who have met him know that.

    He also seems to be the most popular volunteer at the YMCA.

    "He doesn't know this, but he usually gets moved around a lot because he's so good at what he does," DeVaul adds.

    "Most volunteers see two kids in an hour, but Jeff sees four to five because kids want to touch his books, learn braille," he says. "It's beyond words – it really cements the concept of reading comprehension, which is what we're after."

    Though Balek is humble about his contributions – "I'm just glad I got chosen to participate," he demurs – DeVaul contends he's brought more to the table than he'll ever know.

    "He's extraordinary in general," he says. "But it goes beyond reading, to this life lesson of pushing through challenges and being resilient. It's powerful."

    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  5. #785
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Texas Homecoming Queen Gives Her Crown to Friend Who Was Pranked

    Lillian Skinner was thrilled when she was told she'd been nominated for homecoming queen at Grand Prairie High School in North Texas.

    But the news turned out to be a cruel joke made by some unnamed girls at her school.

    Thankfully two young ladies who were actually nominated have hearts of gold. When Anahi Alvarez and Naomi Martinez, who are longtime friends of Skinner's, heard about the prank, they vowed to give their pal the crown regardless of who won.

    "We promised each other and we were like, 'No matter what, no backing down. If one of us wins, we're giving Lillian the crown,' " Martinez told NBC 5 in Dallas.

    And when Alvarez was named homecoming queen, that's exactly what happened. She called Skinner up to the stage, much to the teen's surprise.

    "I said, 'It's okay. It's okay. It's your crown ... My name is not on the list,' " Skinner recalled.

    "Seeing the look on her face and the way she reacted toward it, it was priceless," Martinez said. "I knew it was the right decision."

    "For me, I want to say, and I always say, 'Lilly won. I just ran in her place, in her position,' " Alvarez added. "When they ask me, 'Were you homecoming queen?' I say, 'No, Lilly is homecoming queen.' "


    From left: Naomi Martinez, Lillian Skinner and Anahi Alvarez
    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  6. #786
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Hundreds of 'Tyler's Troops' help celebrate boy's 7th birthday
    First responders gather to honor Tyler Seddon

    BURRILLVILLE, R.I. —First responders have gathered in Rhode Island Thursday to help a very special boy celebrate his birthday in a big way.

    Battling leukemia for a second time, Tyler Seddon turned 7 on Thursday, and the firefighters and police officers he loves so much really came through for him.

    Tyler's birthday party began at the police station, where he wore his own uniform as he was sworn in as honorary police chief for a day.

    Tyler stopped at his school to see his friends before continuing to another celebration at Wrights Chicken Farm, in Burrillville.

    "We have officers in the audience here today who just arrived from Hew Hampshire. We have police officers that arrived here yesterday from Ohio," Burrillville Police Department col. Stephen Lynch said.


    Tyler was released from the hospital just in time for the big party. Birthday messages keep pouring in.

    Hundreds of first responders gathered to wish Tyler well brought him gifts, cards, patches, uniform and memorabilia.

    "My house is full of boxes. We have a 10-by-20 storage unit that's half full. So, we'll have a lot of presents to go through -- probably until next birthday!" Tyler's mother, Rachel Seddon said.

    One of the gifts was presented by someone who feels a special kinship. Deborah Hanna-Kearney is the daughter of a Massachusetts State Police trooper killed in the line of duty.

    "I was given this jacket and I want to give it to you. This is a real State Police jacket," she said.

    Hanna-Kearney loves the police as much as Tyler, but she also understands his illness.

    "It touches me because I'm a carcinoid lung cancer survivor. So, I wish Tyler the very best of luck," she said.

    "Honestly, I think the whole world needs to see something positive in the news and I'm glad that we're part of it. I think it's amazing that there's so much support out there one child," Seddon said.

    The celebration has grown out of Rachel Seddon's Facebook post that asked first responders to send cards to Tyler to make his seventh birthday special. He's had a tough fight with leukemia.

    "He touched our heartstrings. It was something we wanted to do," said Deputy Rhonda Rose, of Fairfield, Ohio. "We are 700 miles (away)."

    Tyler is also in need of a bone marrow transplant, and party guests can sign up to be possible donors.
    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  7. #787
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    People.com Heroes Among Us
    Teenager Nicholas Lowinger Gives Thousands of Shoes to Homeless

    Laid off from her job at a grocery store just before Thanksgiving, Brittany Taylor, 28, and her children John, 7, and Johneya, 5, soon found themselves at a homeless shelter in frosty Providence, R.I.

    Among needs the shelter couldn't fulfill were children's shoes. With a snowy winter approaching, Johneya only had flat, ballet-style shoes that were peeling, and John's sneakers were dirty and worn out.

    Within days, however, the children were handed new sneakers and new winter boots by local teen Nicholas Lowinger, whose Gotta Have Sole foundation has distributed nearly 16,000 pairs of shoes in 32 states.

    "It definitely made me happy to see my children in a better mood, and it took a little stress off of me," Taylor says. "It warmed my heart."

    Nicholas, 16, says his interest in helping homeless children started at age 5, when his parents took him to visit a homeless shelter. His excitement over a new pair of shoes with lights turned to sympathy for children who barely had anything to wear.

    "I couldn’t imagine how some kids were unable to make it to school because their shoes were falling apart," Nicholas says.

    Nicholas started donating his outgrown shoes to shelters, but realized it's uncomfortable to wear shoes broken in by someone else. For a community-service project tied to his bar mitzvah four years ago, he created a project to donate new shoes to homeless children, and what started as one bin in one temple dedicated to one shelter has grown into a national operation with several shoe retailers (including 6pm, Timberland, Stride Rite and Walmart) as sponsors.


    A Homespun Operation
    Although the base of the operation is the Lowinger family garage in Cranston, R.I., the effort is extremely well-organized. Shelters turn in orders for shoes, and Lowinger and his volunteers fill them using shoes provided by sponsors. If he doesn't have the right shoes handy, Nicholas will buy them, using donations. If the shelters are local, Nicholas will hand out the shoes in person.

    The gift packages include socks and messages personally written by Nicholas on cards shaped like shoes, saying things like, "This is a gift because you're worthy."

    Nicholas says he's "trying to also change people’s mindsets about homeless people, that they're just people who have fallen on hard times."

    Lori Lowinger says she's blown away by her son's service to others.

    "I look at this young man here whose heart is bigger than anything I've seen," she tells PEOPLE. "He's changed who I am as a person."


    Stepping Things Up
    Gotta Have Sole has chapters in Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts and South Carolina, with a rotating roster of roughly 2,000 volunteers participating at any given time.

    Rachael Kaplan, 38, is one of several moms in Rhode Island who bring their children to Nicholas's home to volunteer. Her daughter, Madelyn, was 6 the first time she volunteered (she's now 9 and still volunteers), and Kaplan wanted to "teach her to feel lucky with what she has." They picked up one of the many orders sent to Gotta Have Sole, had Madelyn buy shoes that her family paid for, and brought the shoes to Nicholas, who explained what he was trying to do. Madelyn also helped design and write several cards.

    "Through opportunities like that, we are becoming better people," Kaplan says.

    In February 2014, Nicholas received a Charlotte Bacon Act of Kindness Award, named after one of the children killed in the Newtown shootings.

    As he accepted the award, Nicholas told the crowd: "I just have a challenge to all of you … to find some way to be a kinder person or be a peacemaker, and make the world a better place. I think there's a peacemaker in all of us."

    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  8. #788
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Paying it forward: Stranger picks up $93 tab for Maumee woman's groceries

    Jessica Wagner had her young children with her in line at register nine at Kroger when she realized her wallet was at home.

    "I sort of panicked," Wagner said. "I've never done that before."

    She turned to the cashier, Emily Gratcl, embarrassed.

    "[I said,] ‘I'm sorry. I live about 10 minutes down the road. I'm going to have to run home,'" Wagner recalled.

    The store was ready to hold her groceries, but another customer decided to "Pay it Forward."

    "The lady behind her just inched forward and swiped her card," Gratcl said. "And she was like, ‘It's OK. It's on me. I got this.'"

    "And I'm like, ‘No, no. I can't let you do that,'" Wagner said.

    The kind stranger not only saved Wagner the trouble of running home, she also saved her a significant amount of money. Her total for groceries was $93.

    "I got tears in my eyes. I started crying," Wagner said. "I was so overwhelmed that somebody would just do something like that, without asking anything back."

    "It was an emotional fest after that, and we were just all in tears," Gratcl said. "Thank God for people like that!"

    Even the Kroger employee bagging the groceries was crying, according to Wagner and Gratcl.

    Wagner says she tried to get the stranger's name and address to pay her back, but the woman would only accept a hug as thanks. She just wanted Wagner to take her groceries home and enjoy time with her children.

    "That's a lot!" Wagner said. "I mean, imagine someone, like I said, like a stranger, just handing you $100. Like, what? That doesn't happen!"

    Wagner says she plans to pay it forward to someone else in need, and so does Gratcl. They hope others are inspired to do the same.

    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  9. #789
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Family kicked out of Racine homeless shelter receives a new home

    RACINE-- A father and daughter were kicked out of a Racine homeless shelter left with no place to go, but thanks to the kindness of many strangers-- tonight, they have a place to call home.

    "It's going to be filled with so much warmth and love," said Derreck Gray, inside his new home.

    Candles light the way through Derreck and his daughter's new home. Their family is still waiting for power, but Derreck says they're just lucky to have a roof over their head.

    "I was kind of speechless, overjoyed," said Derreck.

    A generous stranger gave them the house after they were told to leave the Halo homeless shelter Monday.

    "I had no idea where I was going to go, I have no family out here," said Derreck.

    Derreck says they were kicked out of the shelter after a dispute over lunch. We asked Halo for comment, but officials declined our request.

    "It wouldn't have been a bad idea if they put me out," said Derreck, "but putting my daughter out on the streets, that's what really upset me."

    The single father and his ten year old daughter, Alexis, soon met a woman who would put a roof over their head.

    "I'm just so glad she opened her heart," said Derreck, "and welcomed us into this nice, beautiful house."

    Together, Derreck and Alexis walked into a two bedroom house to call their own.

    Not long after opening the door, Alexis picked out her bedroom upstairs.

    When she saw the pink sticker on the wall that said "Girly," she knew the room was hers.

    The sticker was pink-- Alexis' favorite color.

    "When I get it all situated, I want to paint my room pink," said Alexis.

    The woman who gave Derreck and Alexis their home, only would be the first of many generous strangers.

    There was the person who gave Derreck a new bed, the people who filled their kitchen cupboards with food, and the ones who gave their family some of the things-- many of us take for granted, like hygiene products.

    For The Grays, the community's generosity has been overwhelming, and once they settle in-- they plan to pay it forward.

    "I can share the opportunity by helping other people out," said Derreck.

    Derreck says he will open his home to friends from Halo who need a place to go during the day. He says he also plans to donate some of his daughter's old clothes to help other children in need.
    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  10. #790
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Illinois, USA
    Posts
    28,379
    Doctor uses social media to help her patients

    Krupali Tejura, MD, a radiation oncologist, treats patients at the Corona Cancer Clinic in Corona, Calif. And via the internet, she channels another powerful form of energy on behalf of patients with advanced-stage cancer — the goodwill and kindness of other people.

    Krupali uses the tools of social media to fulfill the wishes of patients, many of them with terminal conditions. Tweeting and posting on her blog, which reads like an open letter to the world, Krupali has fulfilled patients’ dreams as varied as—attending a taping of the Ellen DeGeneres show and meeting a famous violinist—to seeing a Pittsburgh Steelers football game at Heinz Field.

    “My wife is a big Steelers fan, and Dr. Tejura arranged an all-expenses-paid trip and even got NFL Hall of Famer Lynn Swan to meet my wife and sign her jersey,” writes Chuck Chavez, whose wife has late-stage breast cancer. “It was the best medicine for my wife.”

    On her blog, Krupali writes, “I honestly don’t do anything but put out a call to the world and at times the world responds.”

    Krupali describes how it all started: “I have a patient support group called Ruby Red Slippers, and at one of our meetings, I heard a young patient with Stage IV cancer say she wanted to go to the Ellen show (Ellen Degeneres’ talk show). I went on the Ellen’s website but I could not get any tickets.

    “So I put it out on Twitter, and a follower of mine who is a breast cancer survivor who works in the industry—she’s a makeup artist—got two VIP tickets so I could take my patient. When I first met this girl, she was metastatic and couldn’t walk because her knee was riddled with cancer. But by the time we went to the show, she was walking on her own, which was amazing.”

    Through her unique care of terminally ill patients, Dr Tejura is showing us how to transform a seemingly hopeless situation into one filled with joy and caring.

    For Dr Tejura social media has been an incredible tool to change the lives of her patients.
    Praying for peace in the Middle East, Ukraine, and around the world.

    I've been Boo'd ... right off the stage!

    Aaahh, I have been defrosted! Thank you, Bonny and Asiel!
    Brrrr, I've been Frosted! Thank you, Asiel and Pomtzu!


    "That's the power of kittens (and puppies too, of course): They can reduce us to quivering masses of Jell-O in about two seconds flat and make us like it. Good thing they don't have opposable thumbs or they'd surely have taken over the world by now." -- Paul Lukas

    "We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays." -- Persius, first century Roman poet

    Cassie's Catster page: http://www.catster.com/cats/448678

  11. #791
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Devils Lake runner carries injured Fargo South runner during championship race

    Glyndon, MN (WDAY TV) - Every once in a while in athletics, the scoreboard; who wins and who loses just doesn't matter.

    Saturday, more than 20 teams and hundreds of competitors competed in the EDC Cross Country Championship.

    The real winner? A show of compassion; a young woman from Devils Lake, who finished 8-and-a-half minutes behind the first place finisher.

    This picture says it all. Devils Lake Senior Melanie Bailey carrying a distraught and injured Fargo South runner Danielle LeNoue…

    Danielle LeNoue- Fargo South Runner: “I was past the two-mile mark; close to the finish line.”

    …at the EDC Cross Country Meet held at the Ponderosa Golf Course near Glyndon.

    LeNoue: “It happened instantly and felt like a pop in my knee… Down I went.”

    “My left leg.”

    Danielle, just back from the doctor Thursday, hurt her knee. Her left leg buckled during the run… That fast… An injury to her patella tendon.

    LeNoue: “Just sobbing and so I started walking and I could not go any farther and she said, ‘here, hop on my back,’ half my size.”

    The good Samaritan was Devils Lake High School runner Melanie Bailey…

    Melanie Bailey: Devils Lake Runner: “All I could think about was she was in a lot of pain. And I wanted to help her.”

    …A competitor, who says she was doing the right thing.

    LeNoue: Honestly, I loved the way I ended it. It was a great way to end my cross country season.”

    Now this is what winning is all about: Two runners finishing the race together, one carrying the other… Because that's what you do.

    LeNoue: “So nice, she didn't have to do that. How many people ran past me? And she stopped.”

    The two girls have been Facebooking each other. Strangers now friends. It's good to give someone the shirt off your back; even better to carry them on it when they're down.

    LeNoue: “Pretty cool, touching moment for me.”

    And the Devils Lake Senior plans a career in physical therapy.


    http://www.wday.com/content/devils-l...ce?hpt=us_bn10
    Last edited by kuhio98; 10-18-2014 at 12:42 PM.
    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  12. #792
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    6th grader raises money for teacher battling Lymphoma

    CULLMAN COUNTY, AL (WBRC) - Eleven-year-old Coleman Callan has always had a creative mind and now he's using his skills to help a teacher at his school.

    "I like using my hands to make stuff and craft stuff," said Callan.

    Add that to his passion for helping others and it was no surprise to his parents that he wanted to help Tamika Powell, a teacher at his school battling Diffused Large B Cell Lymphoma.

    "He said, 'I just need to do something to help them.' Whatever it is to raise money or what," said Coleman's mom, Amanda.

    Amanda Callan said her son learned how to make key chains out of paracord at camp.

    Now, in a matter of ten minutes he's making them by the dozens and selling them to raise money for Powell.

    "It's just very inspiring. You know, to see a little child that can make such a difference," said Powell.

    Since her diagnosis in June, Powell and her family have been through a rollercoaster of emotions and the financial strain of battling cancer.

    But it's the actions of Callan that help keep their positive attitude and faith.

    "He took time out of his weekend, out of his life and did nothing really but make key chains for Tamika and our family. That's the inspiring part. He could have been doing anything. Playing on the iPad or anything. He chose to support us and help us," said Powell's husband, Cliff.

    Since June Coleman has raised close to $400 for the Powell family.

    For the Powells, the gesture means just as much as the financial support.

    "He literally didn't just give us $300. He gave us a weekend to a week of his time. And is willing to do it again," said Cliff Powell.

    Callan still has orders coming in and said he plans to continue making the bracelets as long as there's a demand.

    If you would like to buy a keychain or help the Powell family contact Amanda Callan at [email protected].
    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  13. #793
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Teens Save Dog Trapped in Mud

    DES MOINES, Iowa — Students with an 8th grade class from Bergman Academy are being hailed as heroes. They were jogging around the drained Greenwood Pond as part of a gym class Thursday when they spotted two dogs, one stuck in the mud and the other by its side.

    “It was a pretty short dog. It didn’t have very long legs so it was stuck in there pretty good and it couldn’t get out because its legs were too short,” says student Maev Cleary.

    “The dog was right here,” adds student George Holtz, pointing to a hole in the mud, “The black dog was right here and looking at the dog with concern. And then we put this stick down so then we wouldn’t sink in the mud when we tried to rescue them.”

    It took some work but the kids finally freed the dog.

    “The dogs were really scared at that time. They were like shivering and whimpering and all that stuff,” said student Nate Stenberg. “It was an awesome feeling after they got finished because they saved their lives, so,” adds teacher Cristy Reeves.

    And, like any real heroes they’re humble — sort of.

    “I wouldn’t say heroes. I guess,” Stenberg says, “If you want to call us heroes I guess you can.”

    The ARL tells us the dogs were micro-chipped so they were quickly returned to their owner.

    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  14. #794
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Texas Woman Helps Women Battling Cancer Get Their Homes Cleaned – for Free!

    It started with a phone call.

    Years ago, Debbie Sardone, owner of Buckets & Bows Maid Service, got a call from a woman inquiring about a price quote for Sardone's cleaning service.

    "I gave her our rates," she tells PEOPLE, "and she went, 'Oh I can't afford that, I'm undergoing cancer treatment' and hung up."

    It was a literal wake-up call for Sardone.

    "I sat there and realized I could have given her the cleaning for free, and I was disappointed it didn't occur to me until too late," she recalls.

    "There's no way for me to call that first woman back," says Sardone, 55, of Flower Mound, Texas, explaining that it was in the days before caller ID.

    "But she inspired me to change, inspired a policy that eventually became a nationwide nonprofit," she says.

    That nationwide nonprofit is Cleaning for a Reason, an organization that provides housecleaning services free of charge to women battling cancer. www.cleaningforareason.org

    Since the organization was founded in 2006, more than 1,100 maid services across the nation and in Canada have signed up to dedicate their time to women in need.

    "Maid-service owners have told us it's the most rewarding thing they've ever done in business," says Sardone.

    Her own mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, so she knows how difficult it can be to keep up with day-to-day tasks when undergoing treatment.

    "If she couldn't have afforded a cleaning service," she says, "she wouldn't have been able to keep up with her home."

    Adds Sardone: "Women have said it's the most normal they've felt in months, walking into a clean home.

    "One woman told me she felt like her whole life had spiraled out of control, but when she came home to a clean house, she felt just a little bit more like herself."

    Tanya Dodd-Hise, 44 of The Colony, Texas, was diagnosed with cancer in early 2013. Her friend signed her up for Cleaning for a Reason's services, and despite some initial reluctance on Dodd-Hise's part, she's grateful for Sardone's help.

    "For me it was great, because I am typically the one who stayed home with our little one and got the big one off to school and did the cooking and did the cleaning and did the dishes and then suddenly, I wasn't able to do any of that," Dodd-Hise says.

    "My wife is an attorney," she adds. "She was going to work all day long and then taking care of our little ones, but I didn't want her to have to come home and clean, too. Cleaning for a Reason was so helpful. More than most people would ever realize."

    And now Sardone has teamed up with Swiffer and Walmart to help raise awareness of the nonprofit service.

    This month, Walmart will carry pink-branded Swiffer products directing shoppers to Cleaning for a Reason.

    "We're the best-kept secret in North America," jokes Sardone. "Swiffer and Walmart have helped us get the word out to women and other cleaning services alike."

    But one woman she hasn't heard back from? That initial caller who changed her life.

    "If I could talk to her again," says Sardone, "I would tell her that because of her phone call, she inspired me to give away free cleaning to women who need my help."

    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

  15. #795
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Alaska: Where the odds are good, but the goods are odd.
    Posts
    5,701
    Trucker helps reunite dog with owners
    By Kevin Boughton

    OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - A family from Nebraska is finally complete in Arizona. But it wouldn't have happened without Jimmy Dimmit, a truck driver from Ashland, and an article in a local newspaper.

    A friend of Dimmitt read a story about Dani and Jason Windham’s Koda who ran away from their home in central Lincoln in August. The female mastiff got loose just hours before the two left for their wedding. “We went to say ‘I do’ and then we got in the car and started driving around looking for her,” Dani said.

    The next week, the Windhams moved to Camp Verde, Arizona, after Jason got a new job. Driving away, they resigned themselves to the fact it wasn't likely they would see Koda again. “It was horrible, we were so sad,” Dani said.

    Two weeks ago Koda surfaced. A rancher found her chasing his cattle north of Wahoo. He took her to the local humane society. Workers scanned the micro chip storing the Windham’s contact information and contacted the Windhams. Dani says the micro chip and her prayers are the only reason they got Koda home.

    But so soon after a big move cash was tight. “We just spent a couple thousand dollars to move down here in a rush and we didn't have the money to drive back up,” Dani explained.

    Jimmy rolled to the rescue. A friend asked him if he was heading west soon and he was willing to take the dog. He agreed and picked up the dog from the shelter and headed west. “She was a good dog, a good rider,” he joked.

    Jimmy met the Windhams in Flagstaff, Arizona, where Dani didn't wait for Jason to put their truck in park before jumping out to hug her dog. “I was crying, Jimmy was crying,” Dani said. “We are just so grateful Jimmy was willing to let her hitch hike all the way here with him.”
    Video:
    http://kmtv.video.jrn.com/?ndn.track...n&vid=27988639
    Ask your vet about microchipping. ~ It could have saved Kuhio's life.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Copyright © 2001-2013 Pet of the Day.com