The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

5-Year-Old Boy Creates ‘Bug’s Bikes’ For Kids With Special Needs

BOSTON (CBS) — Every kid should have a bike, right? Well for children with special needs, that may mean a special bike, a very expensive bike.

That’s why there’s a new program called “Bug’s Bikes.” The idea of a 5-year-old, it has grown into a community wide, team effort, to help.

Bug is 5-year-old Steven De Angelis. Steven has vision problems with high functioning autism and other medical issues, but when he’s riding his adaptive bike: “It’s therapy. It’s independence. He has an ability to just go and be free,” says his mother Kelly.

Steven’s parents had to save for a while to buy his bike, but when he went to an adaptive bike camp at the Franciscan Hospital for Children last spring, he had a 5 year old’s revelation.

“He realized he was the only kid bringing his bike home ever day, and he wanted to know why the other kids weren’t bringing their bikes home,” says Kelly. Cost was the big reason. Depending on a child’s specific needs, these bikes range in cost from about $600 to as high as $4000.

“For most families it’s very out of reach because therapy, medical needs, other equipment comes first,” says Kelly. But Steven had an idea; a lemonade stand.

“He wanted to raise money to help other kids get bikes like his,” his mom says. Word got out and over the course of 3 days, $2000 was collected. Bug’s Bikes was born.

Recently they gave their first adaptive bike to 5-year-old Sienna Brown of Belmont.

“We were so overwhelmed and overjoyed,” says Sienna’s mother Gina Brown. “When she got the bike she was so excited. She gave Steven the biggest hug, and just to see her face light up, it just made my heart just melt,” she adds.

Sienna’s mother already sees a difference. “When they ride these bikes they’re using all the muscles in their legs, they’re using hand and eye coordination. I see her getting a little bit stronger each time she’s on it,” she says.

The effort has grown out of the idea of one little boy. “We went from a lemonade stand to about 470 friends on Facebook, to community groups that are involved,” says Kelly De Angelis. And together, they’re getting it done. “No matter what their ability, agility, disability is, every child deserves that childhood experience of riding a bike,” Kelly says.

The short-term goal of Bug’s Bikes is to raise enough money to provide 5 more children with these special, adaptive bikes.

You can help the cause by buying a Christmas Ornament http://bugsbikes.org/christmas-ornament/ Bought mine! Only $8

[kuhio98]

Student Rescues Chihuahua Stuck in Sewer

BAY VILLAGE, Ohio– When a member of the family goes missing, there are many anxious moments wondering what has happened. But, a Bay Village family has a passerby and police to thank for their “dog-gone” happy ending.

Pepe, a 13-year-old Chihuahua, is back safe with the Roybal family. The dog spent 1 ½ days in a storm sewer drain. He had somehow fallen in and couldn’t get out on his own. “I assumed the worst because it was too cold and he’s old,” Pepe’s owner, Martin Roybal, said.

The Roybals had put both of their Chihuahuas outside. But, Pepe, who is deaf and partially blind, must have gotten disoriented and wandered off. Roybal said he has never done that before.

Lizzie Rudge is a Cleveland State student. She had gotten off the bus and crossed the street at Columbia and Wolf Roads in Bay Village when she heard what she thought was a dog barking. “It was really wet, really cold, really raining and I was walking by and I heard barking as I was about to cross the street. So, I looked down and under the sewer grates, I saw a dog. So, I called the police.”

Rudge stayed with the dog until police arrived and actually fed him some crackers she had left over from lunch. She couldn’t rescue the dog herself. “He was so scared and I couldn’t reach him because he was under the grates,” Rudge said.

An animal rescue officer helped police get Pepe out of the storm sewer. They reunited him with the Roybals who had reported him missing. Pepe had wandered two blocks from his home.

“I kind of recognized the barking,” Rudge said. It turns out Pepe is Rudge’s neighbors’ dog who she had played with when she was child.

The Roybals are thankful Rudge found their dog. “We’re so grateful to her because if it wasn’t for her being right there at the right moment and time, we don’t know what could have happened. We’re glad that he’s home,” Roybal said.

[kuhio98]

New 'pay what you can' restaurant opens in Johnson City (Tennessee)

For the first time Tuesday, lunch was served at One Acre Cafe on West Walnut Street in Johnson City. It's a new restaurant featuring soups, salads, sandwiches.

It has the makings of a typical restaurant, but the difference comes when people pay. "Someone might come in and say 'I don't have any money,' so we'd say to them 'Great, volunteer an hour of your time and we'll provide you with a meal,'" explained executive director Jan Orchard.

Orchard is a retired teacher and came up with the idea for the restaurant to help feed the community. "This cafe belongs to the people of the community, not to us. We were just the catalyst," she said.

People who come in to eat not only pick what they want to eat, but how much as well. Orchard says they have a system to prevent throwing away excess food -- small, medium and large portions are available. A small portion is $4, medium is $6, and large is $8.

Patrons can choose to pay for their meal with volunteer hours, with money, or they can pay for their meal and then donate extra, which the restaurant calls 'paying it forward'.

It’s a concept some East Tennessee State Univeristy students think will take off. "The portion size is a wonderful idea. I feel like so many people leave food on their plate, and being able to pay by portion I think eliminates that," said ETSU student Andrew Felty.

Others are also welcoming the new restaurant, including fellow restaurant owner Tom Seaton. He has been running the nearby Firehouse restaurant for more than three decades. "We think it's going to be great for our community. We're glad they're here," said Seaton.

For now One Acre Cafe is only serving up lunch Monday through Friday, but the group is hoping to expand as the restaurant gets off the ground.

At the end of Wednesday’s lunch 70 people were served by a staff of volunteers. The average price paid for lunch was $9.32.

[kuhio98]

Tree farm sends military families holiday cheer

BRISTOL, Tenn. - The holidays can be a tough time for military families, separated by deployment but a local Christmas tree farm is working to give them some holiday cheer.

Wolverton Mountain Christmas Tree Farm crews have been preparing and packing Christmas trees all season long but not all of them are loaded onto the tops of cars and taken to homes in the Tri-Cities.

"Every year we get trees together from various farms and send them overseas to our troops or to various bases," said Julie Baldwin, of Wolverton Mountain Christmas Tree Farm.

Baldwin and her parents have been a part of the national Trees for Troops program for a few years and the word is spreading.

"They'll come in, they know that we do this and they'll either donate a tree or the cost of a tree," Balwin told us.

They've raised a couple hundred dollars, she said, and already have 15 to 20 trees on the way to military families.

Baldwin told us there were about 200 trees in total sent from this region.

The trees are sent through Fed Ex to 60 military bases across the country and abroad, according to the Troops for Trees website.

Baldwin told us they are hand delivered.

"This is a tradition, going to pick the tree out together so they can't go do those things," said Baldwin. "To have someone come in and bring the tree to the house and a smile and a Merry Christmas from a stranger means the world."

The program hits home for Baldwin and her husband, they're both members of the Army National Guard.

In 2003, her husband, Ralph Norris, had a tour in Iraq.

"I've heard stories of people who are getting them now and how the families are really appreciating it," Norris told us. "You know, it's hard as it is with the loved one being gone and they get something in return."

The national program has sent more than 122,000 trees since it started in 2005. They hope to get it up to 140,000 this year.

Norris told us it's about more than just the numbers.

"That little relief, even though we couldn't be there, we know that people are thinking about them and taking care of them," said Norris.

Wolverton Mountain Christmas Tree Farm will be collecting donations for Trees for Troops until they close up for the season.

If you'd like to make a donation to the program, you can stop by the Wolverton Mountain Christmas Tree stand on Volunteer Parkway.

You can also donate directly to Trees for Troops on their website. http://treesfortroops.org/dnn/Donate.aspx

[kuhio98]

I sponsored a wreath in the name of my late father. I miss you Daddy. I'm sorry I didn't appreciate you enough when you were here.


Maine Company Looking For Help To Honor Fallen Soldiers With Wreaths

BOSTON (CBS) – A caravan of vehicles bearing Christmas wreaths is making its way from Maine to Washington, D.C. this week. Nine tractor-trailers are loaded with close to 100,000 small green wreaths, each tied with a red ribbon. It is the work of a non-profit Maine-based group called Wreaths Across America.

When the group began its work in 1992, volunteers placed wreaths at gravestones at Arlington National Cemetery. Since then, the organization has grown tremendously and it now helps wreaths make it to 909 cemeteries nationwide. That’s a total of close to 550,000 wreaths, according to the group’s executive director, Karen Worcester.

“We have amazing people traveling with us on the convoy,” Worcester says.

On Monday night, the convoy stopped over at the Topsfield Fair Grounds to give drivers a break, to thank volunteers, and to get ready for the emotional ceremonies that will take place on Saturday.

“When we go to Arlington,” Worcester explains, “we place the wreath and we speak the name of somebody’s loved one. It’s the least we can do.”

But this year, donations to Arlington were way down. Typically, people sponsor a wreath by donating money to the charity. Worcester thinks that so many people focused on their local cemeteries this year, donations to Arlington fell off.

They hit the road this year between 10,000 and 20,000 wreaths shy of their goal. Still, volunteers are optimistic.

“It’s not about just laying a wreath at Arlington, it’s about paying respect,” says Barbara Benard, a Gold Star Mother whose son, Sgt. 1st class Brent Adams, was killed in Iraq eight years ago.

Benard has made the trip for the past three years “to represent all the moms who can’t go to Arlington,” she explains.

Even though Wreaths Across America didn’t hit its goal, they’re still optimistic.

“They are down, but I keep hearing that they’re getting more,” Benard says. “I mean, they’re still loading trucks. The deadline was supposed to be December 2nd and they’re still getting donations in.”

If you want to help, you can visit the organization’s website at wreathsacrossamerica.org.

[kuhio98]

Cats Crash Brooklyn Nativity Scene



These days, the holiday season is really about peppermint-flavored everything and cats. But mostly cats.

We have cats in Christmas trees. Cats in Santa hats hating Christmas. Cats in Santa hats loving ... you get the point.

But some festive felines in Red Hook, Brooklyn, are taking their holiday cheer to biblical proportions. That's right – they're turning a local residence's nativity scene into a cat-ivity scene.

Sisters Annette and Sue Amendola have put up the manger scene in a lot next to their N.Y.C. home for more than a decade, reports the local DNAinfo. The traditional Christmas display, which depicts the birth of Jesus, has become a place for the feral cats to congregate during the holidays. The sisters say the cats cozy up between the Virgin Mary and Joseph, knocking the Jesus statue out of their way.

"People love it," Sue Amendola says. "But they really get a laugh out of the cats."

[kuhio98]

'Layaway Santas' Make Holiday Dreams Come True

Need a little pick-me-up this holiday season?

Look no further than the scores of "layaway Santas" who are flooding the stores this holiday and proving that the Christmas spirit truly does live in the hearts of many Americans.

The way layaway Santas work is simple: do-gooders visit stores that have a layaway department, such as Wal-Mart, Kmart or Toys "R" Us, and offer to pay off the holiday layaway bills of others who are struggling to save enough to put presents under the tree.

Layaway Santas have been around for ages, but the idea gained traction recently when the Associated Press highlighted their good deeds two years ago. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/anonym...222535611.html

Wal-Mart said it tracked more than 1,000 instances of lawaway Santas this season. Toy "R" Us reports 794 layaway Santa visits in 2012, while Kmart said big-hearted strangers spent more than $1.5 million in others' layaway contracts over the years, reports NBC News.

Most donors remain anonymous, but a few do come forward, including Dave Wilson, 65, who grew up poor on a farm in Iowa, but in Horatio Alger-like fashion went on to own 17 car dealerships in Orange County, Calif.

Every December he gives his wife Holly (yes, really) a special present: a Kmart receipt showing the thousands he spent helping others. Last Christmas he spent $18,000 paying off 320 layaway accounts. He has similar plans this year.

"It's not passing out Christmas hams or turkeys. They have to pay at least 10 percent ... this is something people have thought about and made an investment in," Wilson told NBC about his reasoning behind the yearly tradition.

Folks who cannot come up with the balance of their layaway account in time risk not receiving the gifts they earmarked for the holiday. That's why receiving the news that their accounts were paid off can come as a true Christmas miracle to many.

"Parents really want to make Christmas happen," Rachel Saraga, a manager at the Wal-Mart in King of Prussia, Pa., tells NBC of people who participate in their layaway program.

She sums up their reactions to learning their accounts have been paid off in one word: "Tears."