The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Little Red Wagon Foundation

While many young people were enjoying the final weeks of summer vacation, Zachary Bonner was working his hardest. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Zach started walking from Valrico, Florida, his hometown, on Christmas, 2009, and stepped over the Los Angeles city line nine months later in September, racking up a total of 2,478 miles and raising close to $120,000 for kids in need. Along the way, Zach attended school online, thanks to his mother, Laurie Bonner, and brother and sister, who alternated walking and driving alongside him. Among Zach’s sponsors: AOL, McDonald’s, and the Office Depot Foundation.

Despite his age, Zach has a long history of helping others. When Hurricane Charley hit town in 2004, Zach, then six, pulled a wagon through his neighborhood collecting food for storm victims. Since then, he has raised some $400,000 for his tax-exempt Little Red Wagon Foundation, which gives money to projects aiding homeless and troubled children. In 2007, Zach began walking to support a children’s charity in Tampa, Florida, finishing his journey 23 days later, 280 miles away in Tallahassee. Then in the summer of 2009, he trekked about 670 miles from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., in just two months. “What really keeps me going [is] these kids,” Zach has said. “They don’t get to say, ‘I’m tired of being homeless.’ So why should I get to quit?”

[cassiesmom]

Here's some local good news...

Dance to benefit Red Cross' hurricane Sandy relief efforts
By Annemarie Mannion, Chicago Tribune reporter


They may be more accustomed to mixing it up on the sports fields and courts, but for one night, at least, students from 15 west suburban schools will let their rivalries rest, and mix it up on the dance floor to benefit hurricane Sandy relief efforts.

Addison Trail High School is working with BOOM Entertainment, a company that specializes in event production, to host a mega dance to raise funds to go to the American Red Cross.

The school's 200-member student council has invited students from 14 other schools in the West Suburban Athletic Conference and from its two feeder middle schools to the Dec. 1 event.

"As soon as the hurricane hit we knew we wanted to do something," said Sheri D'Ambrose, a physical education teacher and student council sponsor.

The council tossed around ideas, including the standard candy sale, but those didn't seem good enough, she said.

"With all the sweets that float around the school it's kind of annoying for a PE. teacher to think about doing that. And when kids sell something, parents end up buying it," said D'Ambrose. "I knew we could do something better."

Deciding upon a dance, the school reached out to BOOM Entertainment which had recently put on its homecoming dance. The company agreed to donate its services.

"We're bringing our full-on production - sound, lighting, DJs - over $20,000 (in services)," said Zach Moss, vice president of marketing and new media.

He said his business wants to have an impact on the schools it serves.

With BOOM on board, the idea expanded from a single-school event to one that would involve students from throughout the area. Student council member Chandlyr Kulpa, a senior, said she's looking forward to the event that she hopes will bring in a good attendance and a good sum -- $30,000 is the goal – in a matter of a few hours..

"Some people thought it wouldn't be a good idea because the dance would be a happy event when the hurricane was tragic," she said. "But it's the easiest way to raise money."

She said she is sure students will be able to put their school rivalries aside to help people still hurting from the hurricane.

"People (affected by Sandy) are still having a lot of issues out there," Kulpa said. "Any little bit will help."

The cost per ticket is $10. Middle school students are invited to attend from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday; high school students will dance from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday at Addison Trail High School, 213 N. Lombard Rd.

The West Suburban Athletic Conference also includes Downers Grove North and South, Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central and South, Lyons Township. Leyden, Morton, Oak Park and River Forest, Proviso East and West, Willowbrook and York high schools.

[kuhio98]

NYPD officer photographed giving boots to barefoot homeless man melts icy hearts online

A photo of a New York City police officer kneeling down to give a barefoot homeless man in Times Square a pair of boots on a cold November night is melting even the iciest New Yorkers' hearts online.

On Nov. 14, NYPD officer Lawrence DePrimo, who was on counterterrorism duty in Times Square, saw the older homeless man without shoes sitting on 42nd Street. DePrimo, 25, left and then returned with a pair of $100 boots he bought at a nearby Skechers store.

"It was freezing out, and you could see the blisters on the man's feet," DePrimo, a three-year veteran of the department who lives with his parents on Long Island, told the New York Times. "I had two pairs of socks, and I was still cold."

The random act of kindness was captured by Jennifer Foster, a tourist from Florence, Ariz., who was visiting the city. Foster, communications director for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in Arizona, emailed the photo to the NYPD with a note commending DePrimo.

"The officer said, 'I have these size 12 boots for you, they are all-weather. Let's put them on and take care of you,'" Foster wrote. "The officer squatted down on the ground and proceeded to put socks and the new boots on this man.

"I have been in law enforcement for 17 years," she continued. "I was never so impressed in my life. ... It is important, I think, for all of us to remember the real reason we are in this line of work. The reminder this officer gave to our profession in his presentation of human kindness has not been lost."
Foster's photo was posted on the NYPD's Facebook page on Tuesday, where it received more than 320,000 "likes," 77,000 "shares" and 20,000 comments—most of them praising DePrimo, who seems to have restored Facebook's faith in humanity.

"This is one hell of a police officer," Desiree Wright-Borden wrote.

"Wow," Jack Horton wrote. "It's nice to know there are still good people out there."

"Angels truly do walk on earth!!!" Charlene Hoffman-Pestell wrote.

Some commenters, though, were skeptical, saying the photo could have been staged.

"Clever stunt!" Louis Zehmke wrote. "The hobo is 'parked' at the entrance of a shoe shop."

But Foster claims DePrimo had no idea he was being photographed: "The officer expected NOTHING in return and did not know I was watching."

...
http://news.yahoo.com/video/nypd-off...155857510.html

[kuhio98]

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.

[momcat]

There's a great story going around here about one of New York's Finest. It got pretty cold here over the last few days. While on foot patrol, a police officer saw a homeless man barefoot without socks or shoes. The officer asked the man about where his foot wear was but he replied he didn't have any. The officer went into the shoe store at the site and with his own money bought the homeless man some warm socks and a pair of waterproof boots. As he was helping the man to put them on, a tourist from Arizona saw the officer giving the man the boots and socks then took a picture. The tourist and police officer were interviewed on this morning's news. Both said when the man was given the items, his face lit up like a Christmas tree and looked as if he was just given $1 million. The police officer only wanted to do the right thing by helping someone in need, not the publicity that came as a result of it.

Thank you for your extraordinary act of kindness, Officer! You have shown the NYPD at its best and we can all learn from your random act of kindness.

[cassiesmom]

A plane crashed in Chicago this morning on 29th and King Drive ... oh, wait -- it's only a television shoot ... but it looked pretty realistic! (Why, oh, why would they decide to shoot it during a Friday morning rush hour? King Drive is a busy north-south route.


http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/wgn...ng-news_b71495

[kuhio98]

Miles of Smiles
I was at my job as a massage therapist in Knoxville when my best friend called from Denver to tell me that her husband had been killed in a car accident. She begged me to fly out immediately to be with her. My next client, a salesperson who flies constantly on business, overheard me comforting my friend and saying I'd try to get a flight to Denver the next day. While I went off to wash my hands, she called the VIP number at American Airlines, arranged a flight for me, and paid for it with frequent-flier miles. I protested, but she said she'd never be able to use all her miles and that my friend needed me. I still marvel at her amazing generosity.
-- Sue Painter, Knoxville, Tennessee