The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

From People's Heroes Among Us

FINDING HOMES FOR RETIRED GREYHOUNDS

Dennis Tyler, 64

Melbourne, Fla.

Dennis Tyler looks deep into the eyes of each greyhound needing a new life after retiring from Florida's busy racetracks and gets inspired all over again. "It's looking at all those faces," he says, "that drives me to keep doing this."

Since 1991, Tyler, a retired mechanic from Kennedy Space Center, has found adoptive homes for some 7,200 greyhounds who are no longer able to compete on the track. He pays veterinary bills, matches dogs with loving families and drives them to their new homes, mostly on the East Coast. New owner Sharon Bell of Rochester, N.Y., says 5-year-old Koa works magic with her 25-year-old daughter Danielle, who has special needs. "Dennis," she says, "is incredible." floridagreyhounds.com

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Heroes Among Us
Family of Eight Travels Cross-Country Helping Others

Most families spend their summer vacation at the beach – not traveling across the country to help families in need.

Meet the Mursets.

Gregg, 40, his wife Kami, 37, and their six kids ranging in age from 7 to 16, left Phoenix in their motor home on June 29 to spend 20 days on the road volunteering their time to help 25 families in need.

"I told the kids and my wife over breakfast that I wanted to do this," Gregg Murset, 40, tells PEOPLE.

"They all looked at me like I was crazy," he says, "but when we started to read the stories of people we were going to help, their attitudes completely changed."

Gregg is the founder of My Job Chart, a company with 725,000 users that teaches children about work ethics and money management.

The company partners with Autism Speaks, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and three more organizations that helped to connect the Mursets with families who have children with cancer, genetic disorders and other illnesses.

"When you have a kid who is struggling, the last thing you're thinking of is pulling weeds, vacuuming or dusting," says Gregg.

"It's been amazing to watch my own children open their eyes and see that the world is bigger than they are," he says. "Even the little kids are learning from this experience."

So far, they have stopped in Albuquerque, Denver, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo on their 6,500-mile journey.

One family in Warren, Michigan, says it was a blessing to have the family stop by their home.

"They showed up at 8 a.m. and we had a list of things we needed help with," says Jim Spencer, 61, whose 12-year-old daughter Lexi has Down syndrome and was diagnosed with leukemia a couple years ago.

"I was very impressed with how professional the kids were," he says. "They just wanted to help."

They were on ladders, cleaning windows and in the yard doing manual labor.

As the Mursets make their way around the country, the kids are visiting places they've never seen.

They stopped at Niagara Falls already, and will see the Statue of Liberty when they're in New York City.

"There is nothing wrong with your kid getting off the couch, doing some work and sweating," says Gregg. "It's good for the kid and it's good for the soul."

[kuhio98]

Internet story

Birthday Present for Others

Today I turned 63. For years I have been giving special birthday gifts through my church, but this year after hearing other stories of random kindness, I decided that my present this year should be for strangers. My husband took me to lunch at a restaurant we had never been before in Hilo "the Burger Joint". After we had placed our order a group of 9 coast guarders came in. They were seated close to us and as I heard them place their orders, I leaned over and told my husband I wanted to pick up there tab. I went to the waitress and told her it was my birthday present and she immediately said. "Oh it's your birthday, your meal will be free." So my bill was cut in half, but I gave 9 young men I never met a big Mahalo for their service to our community and country. It's been a great Birthday.

[kuhio98]

Little girl sells toys to raise money for unwanted pets

CLEVELAND -- On a sunny, summer day, Jemma Sommer stands on a corner in the Tremont neighborhood selling her stuffed animals out of a red wagon for $1 each.

"I wanted to sell my toys to raise money for the Cleveland APL to help animals," says 5-year-old Jemma.

She decided to sell her stuffed animals after her Mom saw another little girl on Facebook raising money by selling her toys, too.

"She said 'we have to do this,' and here we are," says her mother Alyssa Sommer.

So far, they have raised $112 and will deliver it Thursday to the Cleveland Animal Protective League
http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/local...83/?hpt=us_bn9

[kuhio98]

From children's kindness acts website:

Turning a Frown Upside Down
One of my classmates was sitting alone at a table, crying because he just got bullied. Friends and I were all sitting together at our table talking and we noticed him. First Brianna went to go sit with him. Then Hannah and Molly thought it was a good idea too. Eventually everybody from our table went over to sit with him! It felt great, and he stopped crying.

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Dog alerts deaf child to burning home

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)-Indianapolis firefighters were calling a dog named Ace a hero on Wednesday after they said he saved a boy from a fire.

The fire happened Wednesday afternoon in the 6400 block of Perry Pines Court, near Gray Road and East Edgewood Avenue on the south side.

Inside was a 13 year-old boy who’s deaf and was sleeping.

As 24-Hour News 8 anchor Daniel Miller discovered, the boy escaped the fire unharmed, thanks to his four-legged best friend.

“He’s always been good with people that comes over; he’s never been really aggressive,” said James Bernard of Indianapolis.

Two and a half year-old Ace, the Bernard’s family dog is getting a lot of attention.

“He’s just like one of the family members basically,” he said.

Wednesday afternoon, Ace, a Pit Bull, became an instant hero

“He is; he saved my life,” said Nick Lamb.

13 year-old Lamb, who is legally deaf, was sleeping without his cochlear implants inside his home on Perry Pines Court.

“He woke me up because I couldn’t hear anything and I was asleep and I looked around my room and I smelled smoke and I could see a little bit of smoke in my room,” Lamb said.

“He had to get up on him in his face and stuff; he’s a hero,” said Lindsay Bernard, Nick’s mom.

IFD took pictures of the fire when they arrived on the scene. Flames quickly took over the home.

“There was a bunch of loud popping noises and everything else, but the dog obviously knew something wrong and he went and woke him up,” Bernard said.

Lamb was in his bedroom on the second floor. He said when Ace woke him up, he quickly grabbed one of his two cochlear implants and they escaped.

“I took a breath and I went downstairs with Ace and the whole house was covered in smoke and a little bit of fire,” Lamb said.

The Bernard family said they have so much more to be thankful for.

“I would have never seen this from him. I didn’t see this coming,” said Bernard.

And most of all they are thankful for Ace.

“I love him a lot more now,” Lamb said.

Firefighters were able to rescue the family’s cat who was still inside the home when they arrived on the scene.

[kuhio98]

8-Year-Old Raises $10K to Buy Police Bullet Proof Vests
Tribune 1:36 mins

Andrew Troxell, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer, says the death of his co-worker, Perry Renn, hit his family hard. His 8-year-old son wanted to do something to help, so he started raising money for bullet proof vests.

https://news.yahoo.com/video/8-old-r...142007774.html