The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Marilyn Mock - Foreclosure Angel:

Devastated at a home foreclosure auction, Tracy was stunned when a stranger recognized her desire to save her house and bid $30,000 to buy it; turning around and giving it back to her. Marilyn Mock saw what it meant to Tracy to keep her home for her daughter and chose to act first and figure out how she would do it later.

So far, Marilyn says she's been able to help four other homeowners and has received more than 10,000 requests for assistance. "Most of the people, they only need maybe $600 to maybe $2,000 to keep their house," she says. "They don't need a lot."

[kuhio98]

Cassandra Lin is changing the world one french fry at a time.

Four years ago, at the age of 10, she decided she wanted to do something for the environment and help the less fortunate in her Rhode Island community. She gathered her friends and created Project TGIF -- Turning Grease Into Fuel. The organization collects used cooking oil from restaurants and homes, refines it and then distributes a percentage of it to families who can't afford to heat their homes.

So far, Cassandra and her team have collected 130,000 gallons of used cooking oil and donated $81,000 for the purchase of biofuel. This has amounted to 21,000 gallons of BioHeat distributed to 210 homes. These efforts have also offset 2 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions from the environment.

Last year, the group helped draft legislation that makes it mandatory for all businesses in Rhode Island to recycle their used cooking oil. The bill went into effect January 1.
"I was trying to talk about biodiesel and just could not get anywhere with it," said Caswell Cooke, a town councilor in Westerly, Rhode Island. "And (Cassandra) came along and did it, to get restaurants to recycle their grease. ... The fact that it was coming from kids made it hit home a lot harder. 'The child shall lead them' sort of thing."

Cassandra's next goal is for the program to be implemented throughout New England.

[kuhio98]

Tim and Nancy Nicolai - Arena Motel, SD:

In SD, Tim and Nancy Nicolai at the 26 room Arena Motel have done their part to help those who are without a home and in need. Allowing some guests to stay for free or pay what they can, Tim and Nancy balance helping others and keeping their business running. A few longer-term residents cook and clean for the motel in exchange for their stays. In addition to a temporary place to live, Tim and Nancy also provide meals for their tenants.

[kuhio98]

Acts of kindness are like seeds in that when you spread them they grow!

I love the story about a women in Minneapolis coffee shop who, while buying her own cup of coffee also bought the coffee for the stranger behind her. That stranger responded to this act of kindness by buying coffee for the stranger behind him. This one act of kindness continued throughout the day, with stranger responding to kindness by passing it onto the next person!

[Catty1]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/looko...172524530.html

A Reddit user posted a photo of a poignant message that she found taped to the stall in a women's restroom at her university.

The user, chellylauren, wrote: "In a girls' bathroom stall at my university, girls have written about some of their most horrifying life experiences. This week, somebody replied."
The reply, written on notebook paper, is anonymous.
The reply in full:

To the girl who was raped: You are so strong. I cannot fathom the pain you must have gone through. The fact that you have the bravery to write it (even on a bathroom wall) gives me hope.
To the girl with eating disorders: I promise you, although I don't know you, you are beautiful, you deserve your health. You deserve freedom from that hell.
To the girl with the alcoholic father: I am so sorry for the agony it must cause. Again, such courage is remarkable you must be such a strong person to see such pain.
To the girl whose father died: Missing them never goes away. The ache of their absence never goes away. But the love they had, the memories you share surely must last. I am sure, out of the bottom of my heart, the people who have left you in this world are exceptionally proud of the person you are.
Everytime (sic) I see these walls, these confessions, I feel so blessed to know I have the priviledge (sic) of seeing them. Your moments, these secrets, are all precious even though they are sad. To all of you (including those I did not mention, and those who have not yet written)
-You are worthy.
-You are strong.
-You are brave.
-You are loved.
-Somebody cares.

Written below that, somebody penned a quick response: "To the person who wrote this, thank you."

[kuhio98]

When I was a child, my dad liked to keep busy. As he mowed his lawn, he walked over to the elderly neighbors and did their lawns as well. Now that I have my own house, I have followed after my dad. I've started to mow my neighbors' lawns as well as my own. When they get home, I see their big smiles as they pull into their driveway. The feeling that their smiles of thanks gave me was indescribable. Doing kind unexpected things for others is amazing.

[kuhio98]

When Rhea Lyon was told someone thought she and her husband Vic deserved recognition for their volunteer work, she wanted to make it clear they were only a part of a team.

"There are many others who work in helping people in need," Rhea said. "We have a lot of people involved in volunteer work."

Rhea, 59, and Vic, 67, live in Hawley. Rhea works at the Stamford Memorial Hospital. Vic is retired. Once each month, the two take food to Stamford to be distributed to about 150 families.

"Vic takes his flatbed trailer and picks up the food at the Abilene food bank and we take it to Stamford on the third Tuesday morning of each month," Rhea said. "There are a lot of volunteers waiting there for us who help with the distribution of the food."

"It has been a God thing to us," Rhea said. "This work has pulled a lot of people together."

After Vic and Rhea moved to Hawley from Washington state seven years ago to raise cutting horses, they have become involved in the community.

She said it's rewarding to work with people who do not have jobs or who are not able to work.

"People line up waiting for the food distribution," Rhea said. She said it makes her feel good to help others.

Asked why he volunteered to help, Vic said: "We have learned there are an amount of people out there who need help. When you are looking from the outside in, you don't realize their need until you get involved in it."

Carolyn Smith, who lives in Stamford and is a volunteer in distributing food, said that Vic and Rhea have really helped the Stamford food bank get off to a good start.

"They care deeply for the people who need food," Smith said.

Rhea also volunteers to work in the Meals on Wheels in Stamford, explaining the hospital allows her to take off a little time to make the routes.

"I like this quote from Mother Teresa, my earthly hero," Rhea said as her reason for helping others:
"I do not have any special qualities. I do not claim anything for the work. It is His work and I am like a little pencil in His hand that is all. He does the thinking. He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used."

"I'm willing to bet that most any person involved in volunteer work of any type will agree with Mother Teresa," Rhea said. "It's not about us."