The good guys thread

[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."

[kuhio98]

Give, and then give some more!

I was rearranging my living room, and ended up with a love seat I no longer needed. I put it by the curb with a free sign on it and shortly after that a lady stopped by and asked if it was really free. I told her absolutely and she asked if she could have it. I said sure. She then went on to tell me that she has a friend that has a 1 bedroom apartment and has absolutely nothing so the love seat would be very welcome. She said she needed to go get a pickup and she would be back shortly. While she was gone, I went through some things and came up with an end table and a small rocker/recliner for her as well. I also put a little money in an envelope so that her friend could get some household items she might need. Sometimes people just need to know that someone cares. Hopefully, it made her day a little sunnier.



If you have things to give away (free) or are looking for something free, check out Freecycle.org

[kuhio98]

[kuhio98]

North Carolina Women Roofers Fix Homes Free of Charge

When she heard about a member of her church congregation who couldn't afford to have her roof fixed, Nell Bovender had an idea. It was a Sunday in October 2002, she remembers, and "'Make a Difference' day [at the church] was coming up. I said, 'Why don't we redo a roof?' "

Inspired, the husbands and wives in her Sunday school class quickly agreed. But when it came time to do the project, only classmates Lori Herrick, 48, and Susie Kernodle, 64, showed up.

"We expected Billy Honeycutt (the parishioner in charge of the project) to say, 'Let's wait for the guys,' " recalls Herrick, of Rutherfordton, N.C. "What he said was, 'Pick up your hammers and get to work!' "

Ten years and 67 roofs later, the all-volunteer group of 80 moms, grandmothers and widows called the Women Roofers is still going strong, repairing and replacing roofs for the elderly and disabled in and around Forest City, N.C.

Founded by Herrick and Kernodle after that first project, the group pools their own resources to purchase supplies and fix roofs free of charge.
And they're having a ball doing it: A typical repair takes a day, which leaves a lot of time for girl talk.

"I've often said our grandmothers used to do quilting bees," says Bavender, 59, "and that's what we're doing up there on the roof."
It's especially satisfying to see the fruits of their labor after a hard day's work, adds Herrick.
"Besides being a mother, this is the most rewarding thing I've ever done," she says.

One grateful homeowner is Irenabell MacAdoo, 74, who says her Forest City, N.C., house was sprouting leaks everywhere before the ladies got to work.

Says MacAdoo: "I don't know what I would have done without them."

[kuhio98]

I was near the end of my parcel delivery run for the day, and I drove past an elderly gentleman who was obviously walking home from town. He was walking slowly and looked tired. I felt sorry for him, but kept on my way, driving to the next house on my run. After I had delivered this parcel, I turned up into the next street which runs up a long and quite steep hill. I noticed that this same gentleman was still walking, by now looking quite weary and puffed. I pulled over, wound my window down and asked if he would like a lift. I don’t normally do this sort of thing because I am a female. He looked most relieved and grateful. I made room for him to sit in the front seat, putting the remaining parcels in the back, and drove him to his house, right up to the front door!! I told him to have a great day, and he replied that he definitely would, now that I had made his day! But the best thing about it was that for the rest of my day, I had a great day!!!! Yes it was a little inconvenient having to rearrange the parcels twice, but seeing that look of absolute gratefulness and thanks in his face made my inconvenience seem trivial in comparison.

[kuhio98]

Bald 4 Bryan

PHOENIX – Two young girls brave the razor and shave off all their hair in tribute to their cousin.

On Jan. 24, 2012, Harley and Ariana's cousin Bryan, who was "like a brother to them”, died from a rare form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma. He was only 13 years old.

Now, one year later, his two cousins have bravely stepped forward to go “Bald 4 Bryan”. The 11 and 12 year old girls shaved their heads live on Thursday’s Good Morning Arizona, to honor their cousin’s memory.

This is just the latest step in the girls' fund-raising campaign. Over the past year, the young ladies have already raised $1,400 by asking friends, family members and even strangers for donations.

100 percent of the money they raise will be donated to Phoenix Children’s Hospital Cancer Research Fund.

If you would like to help the girls with their cause, you can donate by sending a check to:

Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation
ATTN: Krisann Diaz - Bald 4 Bryan
2929 East Camelback Road, Suite 122
Phoenix, AZ 85016

You can also donate and find out more information on the website the girls have helped set up.

All donations will receive a tax receipt from Phoenix Children's Hospital Foundation.

Harley is a 7th grade Honor student at Greenway Middle School in the Paradise Valley School District. She came up with the idea to shave her head to honor the memory of her cousin, and had said she couldn’t wait to be "bald and beautiful"! Harley plays the flute and wants to be a professional singer and/or fashion designer when she grows up.

Ariana is a 5th grade Honor student at Arrowhead Elementary in the Paradise Valley School District. As soon as she heard Harley's idea she could not wait to be a part of it. Ariana wants to be a brain surgeon when she grows up. She plays the clarinet and bass clarinet.

The girls say their goal is to simply “make a difference.”

http://media.azfamily.com/images/600...d_4_Bryan5.jpg