The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

From People Magazine Heroes Among Us:

GIVING TROUBLED KIDS A SECOND CHANCE
Judge Jimmie Edwards, 56

St. Louis, Mo.

In 2009 Family Court Judge Jimmie Edwards launched the Innovative Concept Academy, an alternative, last-resort school for young offenders in the same neighborhood as the gang-ridden public housing complex where he grew up. His unique approach seems to be working: Only four of 700 students have returned to jail. Says Edwards: "It doesn't make sense to lock a 12-year-old up for six years and put him back in our community when he's 18. Every child, and especially those who have made mistakes, deserves a chance to see the good in this world and to dream of what possibilities life has to offer. I truly believe I can rehabilitate children. Most are good and decent. I know they can do better; they can achieve. They want somebody to teach them what's right."

[kuhio98]

This 84-Year-Old Woman Rescued a Dog from a Pack of Wild Coyotes

On July 11, Dolores Jefferson became a local hero after she rescued a neighbor's dog from a pack of wild coyotes.

The 84-year-old Bensenville, Illinois, resident was enjoying a cup of coffee when she heard noises coming from behind her home.

Jefferson went outside to investigate and found her neighbor's dog, Roxie, an Egyptian Pharoah Hound, surrounded by five coyotes.

According to Jefferson, one of the coyotes had Roxie by her head.

"He was huge. He was as big as any German Shepherd I've ever seen," Jefferson told NBC Chicago. "He turned around, looked at me, and Roxie got farther away from him."

As for how Jefferson scared the coyotes away?

"All I could remember, my son told me to yell, make a lot of noise if you see one, and that's what I did," she said.

Roxie was examined by a vet and is expected to make a full recovery, and her owner, Rich Parent, can't thank Jefferson enough.

"Here's this lady, pushing 85 years old, and she's my hero," he said.

[phesina]

God bless her! And God bless Roxie too.

[kuhio98]

Heroes Among Us
Brenda Jones Create Unique Hospital Gowns for Ailing Women

When Brenda Jones was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008, she used her experience to create what she calls her "Vera Wang moment."

It all started when she went for her first day of radiation in January 2009.

The technician "just pointed to the dressing room and said, 'Go on in there, and put on a hospital gown. You're going to wear them for the next seven weeks,' " Jones, 56, tells PEOPLE.

"I opened that door and literally when I saw those stacks of those hospital gowns, that's when I lost it," she says. "I just stood there crying. In my head I'm screaming, 'I'm not wearing those things!' "

At the same time, an idea popped into her head of what she would like to wear.

"I knew exactly what I was going to make," says Jones, a former veterinary technician who had never sewn a day in her life.

That one moment led to her creating Hug Wraps, a nonprofit that has made more than 1,000 kimono-style gowns in a variety of patterns, colors and designs to women with all sorts of illnesses. A friend helped her learn how to sew.

The old gowns "take away patients' dignity, respect, comfort, it strips them of everything," says Jones, of Southampton, New Jersey. "But when you put on a Hug Wrap, you put on a smile."

Jones says the 501(c)(3) nonprofit relies heavily on monetary donations to create the wraps. Many of her customers are people buying the wraps for their family members or friends. She then tries to match the design of the gown as closely as possible to the patient's interests and needs.

Mary Carty got a Hug Wrap from Jones's niece, Althea McIlwee, after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2012.

"It was a cold, cold rainy night and it was like 9 o'clock at night and she said, 'I have something to bring you, I know it will cheer you up,' " says Carty, 62, of Mount Holly, New Jersey.

"It was red – it makes me cry every time I think about it – it was red with yellow owls on it," she says. "Red is one of my favorite colors and owls are a spirit animal for me."

Carty says her husband Richard and their two sons were supportive but having the Hug Wrap was the female connection she needed during her battle with breast cancer.

"It gave me a positive feeling, like somebody cared," Carty says. "It really made me feel connected to a bunch of people, like we're all going through this same thing. It was a hug; it was literally a hug!"

Jones also includes a personal note with every Hug Wrap she makes.

"[Brenda] said that this was her hug that she wanted to give to me so when I went to my treatments and stuff I won't feel alone," Carty says, crying.

"You know, I just couldn't stop crying and every time I try to read that note, I cry," she says. "It's something special and Brenda has brought a lot of peace to a lot of people. I've always said if I won the lottery, she's the first on the list."

Carty officially became cancer free on March 12, 2013, but she says she still sports her Hug Wrap.

"It was just nice to have that item, and I still have it," she says. "I think I'll frame it. I'll never get rid of it."

Jones has donated Hug Wraps to Nazareth Hospital in Philadelphia, greatly impacting the cancer community, according to radiation therapist Candy McLaughlin.

"It's absolutely amazing and profound what this simple, little piece of fabric does for the patient when they have to come in for treatment every day," she says. "It presents a positive feeling to the patient that this is something the hospital is offering them but I really make an effort for them to understand that this is coming from Brenda."

Jones said her ultimate goal, besides appearing on Ellen DeGeneres's show, is for any patient that is handed a diagnosis of cancer to be handed a Hug Wrap.

"For me to have gotten that angry when I did is not like me," says Jones, who is now cancer free. "But, really looking back, if I hadn't gotten that angry I wouldn't have been pushed to change those hospital gowns."

Brenda Jones: Mary McCarty:

[kuhio98]

5-year-old’s letter to police shows you’re never too young to make a difference

WESTLAKE, Ohio — If you doubt that one person can make a difference, you haven’t met 5-year-old Presley Keeton of Westlake. She was concerned about safety in her neighborhood and a letter she wrote to police got an immediate response.

Like most children, Presley likes to play outside. But, she didn’t always feel safe outside her house on Bassett Road. Sometimes she sees cars pass by going faster than the posted 25 mph speed limit. So concerned, she decided to write a letter to the police. Her reason: “because they stop people from speeding,” she said.

She invited police to come to her street and see the problem for themselves. The letter was rather convincing. “It was a picture of the road and every car was going above the speed limit. One car was going 89,” Presley said.

Her Dad said the letter was entirely Presley’s idea to write. “When she decided to do it, I thought there’s no better person to kind of get their attention than a 5-year-old. If a 5-year-old notices that it’s a problem, then it’s probably a pretty big issue,” Zach Keeton said.

Presley was expecting a letter in return, instead Officer Tony Lavolpa come to her house Wednesday ready to catch speeders on her street. “It is extremely infrequent for a 5-year-old to communicate with us. And, we thought this would be a good opportunity to maybe make a friend and also address the complaint that she made,” Capt. Guy Turner of the Westlake Police Dept. said.

Within an hour, Officer Lavolpa did catch some speeders on the street. “He stopped seven or eight,” Presley said. Zach Keeton is proud of what his daughter accomplished with her letter. “I think Presley is a wonderful example of showing that it doesn’t matter how old you are that you make a difference,” he said.

Presley said her street is safer, but “there is still more speeders to catch,” she added. Video: http://fox8.com/2014/07/16/5-year-ol...ce/?hpt=us_bn9

[momcat]

Like many other cities, Trenton has a problem with guns, drugs, and gangs. Ours is a quiet street with pleasant neighbors but we all keep pretty much to ourselves. There's a young high school student on our street who spends a great deal of his time with the younger kids teaching them how to play football and how to shoot a basketball. When he's out there with the younger kids it's something wonderful to see. This young man is giving the others something positive to do while learning something positive in the process. The good kids like this far outnumber the trouble makers. I want to see young men and women like my neighbor on the front page of the newspaper doing good for their neighborhood and get the recognition they so rightly deserve.

[kuhio98]

Like many other cities, Trenton has a problem with guns, drugs, and gangs. Ours is a quiet street with pleasant neighbors but we all keep pretty much to ourselves. There's a young high school student on our street who spends a great deal of his time with the younger kids teaching them how to play football and how to shoot a basketball. When he's out there with the younger kids it's something wonderful to see. This young man is giving the others something positive to do while learning something positive in the process. The good kids like this far outnumber the trouble makers. I want to see young men and women like my neighbor on the front page of the newspaper doing good for their neighborhood and get the recognition they so rightly deserve.

AMEN! I'm so tired of society giving attention to the dregs of society. There have always been more good in the world than bad. Let's keep focused on the positive stories. And let's bring attention to the good. When you see it, acknowledge it. When you read it, forward or post it. When you do it, toot your own horn!