The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Man sharpening lawn blades saves Army Sergeant pinned under car

RINEYVILLE, KY (WAVE) - On a quiet street in Rineyville newly retired Army Master Sgt. Joe Schroeder was enjoying his first few months of freedom after serving nearly 24 years.

“Dexter is my service dog and he is for my PTSD, TBI and mobility,” he said.

But last Thursday Dexter was inside when Schroeder was outside working on his wife's Mustang in the driveway. Schroeder says he leaned on the car and it started to roll.

“The only thing I can think of was ‘Oh my God,’ I can only imagine what's going to happen once this car runs me over because I couldn't stop it,” he said.

Schroeder became pinned, pressure from the car prevented him from yelling for help to his family inside the home.

“I was stuck underneath the vehicle with the rear axle on my back and my right hand underneath the right rear tire, so I couldn't get any movement or balance or nothing, so I was just stuck underneath the vehicle,” he said.

Meanwhile, next door Mike Riddell, who owns a lawn care business, was supposed to be out mowing but stopped off at his house to sharpen his blades.

“I didn't like how it was cutting and just as I was getting ready to throw my last blade on, I saw what was going on at Joe's house,” said Riddell.

Riddell ran over and knew he had to get the car off of Schroeder.

“I planted my feet and I just said ‘I got to do everything I can, put everything in this to get this car up, or forward, off of him,’” he said.

“He channeled his inner Superman and he picked up the rear of the vehicle and pushed it forward,” Schroeder said. “If it wasn't for him I truly don't know that I would be standing here today.”

Schroeder was able to crawl out, but just moments before the Army veteran who served three tours in Iraq feared death in his own front yard.

“Is this really the end after all this time? Going away in my own driveway, by my own car, by my own fault?” he said.

While he can laugh at the situation now he will be forever thankful to Riddell who was just glad to be in the right place at the right time.

“He's a hero. It just felt good to help a hero out,” Riddell said.

Schroeder suffered two sprained ankles, bruised ribs, road rash and bumps and bruises on his legs and back. He was released from the hospital shortly after the accident and is expected to be just fine thanks to Riddell.

[kuhio98]

From an Acts of Kindness website:

Random Parking Ticket Man

On our first Family trip to Monterey Bay we did not know the area and was having a hard time figuring out parking at the fisherman's wharf. As I was reading the instructions and parking fees at the parking meter, a man drove up to me and asked me if I was looking for parking. I said yes. He handed me his parking ticket and he said that his family was leaving the parking ticket has been paid for the whole day. This random act of kindness really touched me so I explained to my 7 year old daughter how we should always be kind to others. As we were leaving we drove by the parking meter and handed the ticket to another family so they may enjoy the wharf as we did. Thank you random ticket man. May God bless you and your family.

[kuhio98]

Heroes Among Us
Deb O'Halloran Gives Struggling New Moms and Their Babies Much-Needed Supplies

When single mom Theresa Wilson worried about getting the things she needed for her newborn girl – relief and much-needed assistance came from a stranger.

"My reaction was shock, surprise and relief that I didn't have to go out and try to scramble up enough money to pay for these things," says Wilson, 22, who received a bassinet, floor gym and starter bag of critical-care items. "Having all these things is one big issue I won't have to worry about, because I already have a lot on my plate with being a new mom and caring for the baby."

Wilson's life and the lives of hundreds of other moms and their newborns have been changed by the St. Paul-Minneapolis area Second Stork nonprofit and its founder, Deb O'Halloran – whose goal is to help provide a stress-free start for hundreds of new moms at nearly 20 hospitals in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area.

In 2009, along with a small group of like-minded philanthropists, O'Halloran launched Second Stork, initially gathering baby items such as diapers and other basic necessities in her own laundry room to deliver to new mothers in crisis in hospital labor/delivery units.

"We wanted to operate in a way that was highly efficient yet ensured that the help went to the people who needed it the most," says O'Halloran, 55, a married mother of two who was formerly a marketing executive. "We were motivated simply by our desire to help people in crisis, while respecting their dignity."

Much of Second Stork's inventory consists of surplus items supplied by various retailers. At its donated, 3,400-square-foot warehouse, volunteer groups along with O'Halloran pack bags that are then given to hospitals for distribution to grateful moms by social workers, nurses or other staff. To date, Second Stork has delivered more than 1,000 bags to Twin City-area hospitals.

"Second Stork fills a unique niche for families, particularly those that are financially strapped," says hospital social worker Rachael Stover-Haney. "We can just hand the items to them. Many of the mothers are moved to tears, but more than that, they're dumbfounded and amazed, because it restores their faith that there is goodness in the world."

The recipients, says O'Halloran, are mothers who have few, if any, other options. No one has thrown them a baby shower, so the Second Stork bag is often the only gift they'll receive.

"Some don't even know where they're going to go when they leave the hospital," she says. "By providing critical-care supplies, we're letting them know that there are people out there who really do care and understand."

For moms like Wilson, the support of O'Halloran's Second Stork has been a huge help.

"I feel grateful that people would care this much for someone they've never met," she says.

[kuhio98]

Acts of kindness from the web:

Doughnuts in the ER

I'm involved in a college campus ministry group in my town. One of our recent activities was to break up into smaller groups and use a single $20 bill to "make the nights" of at least three people. My group decided to go with the idea of buying as many doughnuts as we could and taking them to the staff in the emergency department in a local hospital. We explained what we were doing to the manager on duty at the doughnut shop; he was happy to give us a great deal on the doughnuts. When we brought the doughnuts in to the hospital, the staff was so excited, thankful and grateful for the kindness. Several of them even said that they'd been having a rough night so it meant a lot to them. Here's the thing- It just so happens that I'm a volunteer in that same emergency department. So to see their responses and hear that some had been having a rough night, I could really empathize and tell how much it meant to them. It was so great to be able to kind of see and understand both the giving and receiving sides of things, and it really made my day. Trust me, that sort of thing is appreciated so much!

[kuhio98]

Cancer survivor beats odds, runs 2,000 miles to Maine
Helene Neville hoping to run entire perimeter of United States


A four-time cancer survivor made Portland part of her iconic mission Sunday to run the entire perimeter of the United States.

Helene Neville left Scarborough Sunday morning on the final leg of her 2,000 mile run from Marathon, Florida to Portland, Maine.

Neville has already run from California to Florida and Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico.

What is even more impressive are the health battles she has fought just to get to this point.

Neville was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma in the 1990s and T-Cell lymphoma just two years ago. She has survived three brain surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation.

Now, she hopes to inspire other cancer survivors to not give up.

"I just wanted to go out and originally inspire nurses," said Neville. "I'm a nurse, and to be better ambassadors for healthy living, to inspire health in their patients, and it's just so much bigger. I stop and talk to school children, just the general public, and I just try and get everyone to think about health and inspire the next person."

Neville has one more task to accomplish in her 10,000-mile journey. She will now run approximately 3,200 miles from East Coast to West Coast, a run that is scheduled for 2015.

[kuhio98]

REOPENING SCHOOLS AFTER A TORNADO

C.J. Huff, 41

Joplin, Mo.

After a massive tornado killed 160 people and ripped Joplin apart on May 22, school district superintendent C.J. Huff kept a round-the-clock vigil at the North Middle School shelter, directing school buses to serve as ambulances and comforting those who lost everything. Weeping, he lay on a cot in the dark and made a vow. "I love these kids," he remembers thinking. "We've got to reopen these schools." And in only 87 days, he did. Thanks to thousands of volunteers and creative thinking, 4,200 students moved into 260 classrooms, with a warehouse becoming a middle school and a vacant department store turning into a high school. Says Huff: "Never underestimate the ability of people to accomplish anything." joplinschools.org

[cassiesmom]

Target school supplies- I just heard about this on the radio. I copied this from their press release. I'm not a student anymore but I can probably find a reason to purchase school supplies And there's almost always something I need from Target, shampoo or dishwashing liquid or greeting cards or some such thing.


When Guests Buy Select up&up School Supplies, Target Gives Up to $25 Million


For every select up&up school supply purchased, Target will give one school supply to a student in need, potentially impacting nearly two million kids this back-to-school season

MINNEAPOLIS — July 09, 2014

Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) announced today that for every select up&up school supply purchased at Target stores from July 13 through August 2, Target will donate one school supply item to a student in need. Through these purchases, Target’s goal is to donate up to $25 million in supplies and potentially impact nearly two million kids as they head back to school. up&up is a Target owned brand that offers more than 1,200 everyday essentials from across the store, including a line of colorful and stylish school supplies, at a fraction of the price of national brands.

The program was inspired by Yoobi, a Target-exclusive brand of school supplies with a “One for You, One for Me” mission, and builds on Target’s longstanding community partnership with the Kids In Need Foundation. Target will distribute the school supply donations through the Kids In Need Foundation, which operates a national network of Resource Centers that provide free school supplies for in-need students. The donations will be made to Resource Centers beginning in August and provide an optimized assortment of the school supplies students need for the year ahead.

“For millions of kids living in poverty, the right school supplies often become a luxury instead of a necessity,” said Laysha Ward, president, Community Relations, Target. “We know that giving is important to Target’s guests. This program gives them an opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of others and set kids up for success through the simple act of buying school supplies.”