The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Real Estate Attorney Leaves $800,000 to Shelter Cats

Brian Russell Kirchoff loved cats.

So the San Rafael, California, real estate attorney did something purr-fectly nice when drawing up his will: he set aside some $800,000 for cats in need at the Marin Humane Society of Novato, California.

According to the Marin Independent Journal, Kirchoff died after suffering a heart attack last year and left a six-page handwritten will that said "any cash proceeds left shall be donated to the Marin Humane Society for the express benefit and use of their cat fund for the benefit of all the cats which come into their care."

So far the society has received $200,000 and the rest – approximately $600,000 – will arrive before the end of the year, says John Reese, chief operating officer of the organization, who tells PEOPLE that Kirchoff wasn't intimately tied to the organization when he was alive.

Holly Haugh, a former colleague of Kirchoff's, told the Journal that she wasn't surprised when she learned what her friend had done. "He had a passion for cats," she said, adding that the bachelor liked to call himself "Cat Daddy" when talking about his two beloved cats, Chelsea and Tarka (who reside at a Santa Rosa animal sanctuary which received $20,000 to care for them).

The Marin Humane Society hasn't yet determined how they'll use the money, but improvement of their current cat housing could be a future project.

"We will do very generous things for cats with his donation," Reese tells PEOPLE. "It was wonderful for him to consider his cats in the planned giving for his estates and then to also give that donation."

Cats available at the Marin Humane Society

[phesina]

My cats are the primary beneficiaries of my will, and once they're gone, whatever remains goes to rescues and services that help other cats.

Cat Lady here..

[kuhio98]

Tiny Chihuahua Saves Family from House Fire

Somebody get this super dog a cape!

A tiny Chihuahua named Chloe from Federal Way, Washington, barked until her sleeping family woke up during a house fire – and she's being credited with saving their lives.

"My mom's little 5-lb. Chihuahua started barking when she saw the smoke," Devon Whittlesey told ABC 13 News. "Smoke was pouring into my room. I dropped down to my hands and knees and crawled to the front door."

Whittlesey and two other residents made it out fast thanks to the barking, but Chloe wasn't so lucky.

When part of the home collapsed in flames, they thought the dog was gone forever. An hour later, firefighters discovered the pooch alive in the rubble, covered in ash, according to ABC 13.

"Chloe saved us," Whittlesey said. "We wouldn't have lived. If the flames wouldn't have got us, the smoke would've."

Despite her size, Chloe is being hailed a giant hero. "She's got 250 lbs. in that little 4-lb. body," said Chloe's other owner, Tracie Fox. "No doubt she saved us."

[kuhio98]

Return of an Earth Angel
After being rescued two years before, she prayed that she might one day thank the young man who came to her aid. It was a prayer quickly answered.
By Helen Chade Mahshi, San Clemente, California

Waves lapped against the shore as I walked along the beach. The ocean was calm, but looking out at it I shivered, remembering a day two years before. I’d left my daughter, Anastasia, relaxing on the sand while I went for a swim. I got caught in a riptide that swiftly took me deep into the ocean.

The harder I fought, the more exhausted I got. But I didn’t get any closer to shore. Was Anastasia going to watch me drown? “God, I need help!” I gasped, barely able to keep my mouth above the water.

A young man appeared in the surf. “Hang on to me,” he said. He sliced through the water with powerful strokes. We rode a wave in together until we stumbled onto the sand, his arm supporting me as I collapsed into the embrace of my daughter.

I hugged Anastasia tight and gulped in sweet sea air. By the time I looked up the man was gone. Anastasia couldn’t say which way he went.

I hope that man knows how grateful I am to this day, I thought, turning away from my memory. I stepped aside as someone came jogging down the beach–a young man who looked very familiar.

“You may not remember, but you once saved my life!” I said when he got close. “Thank you!”

He grinned, shyly. “You’re welcome!”

With another prayer answered, he was gone.

[kuhio98]

Kansas City woman sews Angel Gowns for parents using donated wedding dresses

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If you frequent garage sales around town, you may have run into John Wright. Address list in hand, the 81- year-old Kansas City grandfather plots out his stops in advance of walking up homeowners’ driveways filled with treasures they’re hoping to sell.

John has been going to garage sales for a decade. Upon his arrival, it doesn’t take long for him to locate the homeowner to ask one simple question: "Do you have any wedding dresses?"

“I went to a garage sale in Belton one day,” John explained to 41 Action News. “I was talking to the lady and I showed her a little flyer and she said, 'Stand right there, don’t move.'"

The woman went inside her house and brought out an old, used wedding dress. It was exactly what John was seeking.

“She was married to the man for 18 years and it turned out he wasn’t a very nice fella,” John said. “She said she can’t stand to look at the wedding dress, so she couldn’t think of a better use to put the dress to than make something meaningful.”

Along with collecting coffee mugs and toys he donates to people in need, John gathers wedding gowns to give to his wife, Diane. She then washes them, cuts them apart, and sews them into tiny gowns.

Delicate gowns that are about to serve a new purpose as burial gowns for deceased newborns.

“I’ve probably gotten 15 out of one dress,” Diane said. “But most of the time it's closer to eight and I try to do the four different sizes.”

Diane makes various different sizes to fit babies at various stages of gestation. She also makes a small little pocket, or wrap, with ties for the newborns that are too small to wear clothes.

“There’s always a variety. And then after I do some then I go back and any little scrap I have left will take whatever pattern I have and see what will fit and make that particular size."

Diane donates gowns she makes to area hospitals, like Saint Luke’s East. Nurses then give them to parents whose newborn babies did not survive.

“I’ve had a miscarriage and we’ve lost a child so I understand that grief,” Diane told 41 Action News with tears welling up in her eyes.

Diane and John also revealed they recently lost a son who drowned during a military exercise.

Angelee True is a nurse in the labor and delivery unit at St. Luke’s East Hospital in Lee’s Summit, Mo.

“Not all families have a happy experience when they come here. We do have families that lose babies due to miscarriage or still birth or at all different stages of gestation,” Angelee explained.

“We have been trained to take care of those families and it's always difficult,” Angelee said while standing in an empty patient room. “It’s never easy by any means.”

“We get patients who come in for an induction or just a regular appointment who say they haven’t felt the baby move as much as normal and the baby has passed and it's a total shock to them."

It’s a shock that's a bit less painful for parents thanks to people like John and Diane.

“The parents would have to go buy something,” Diane said. “I can’t imagine how hard that would be to go and buy a burial gown.”

John added, “When I look at them I just … my throat closes up. I get so emotional about it.”

Diane says a prayer over every gown. She’s never met the recipients of her gowns or Angelee, but hospital staff has witnessed the parents’ overwhelming response.

“What they’re doing is extremely important and what they’re doing means a lot more than what they can ever know,” Angelee said.

“If you have faith in God and faith in helping other people, then that’s what we’re here for,” John added while sitting in his living room.

“I’m 81 years old. I don’t know how much time I have left, but I’d like for it to have meaning.”

If you have a wedding dress you’d like to donate to John and Diane Wright, send it to Grandview United Methodist Church, 12613 Grandview Road in Grandview, Mo.

You can also contact the volunteer coordinator at Saint Luke’s East Hospital at 816-347-8532.
http://www.kshb.com/news/kansas-city-woman-sews-angel-gowns-for-parents-using-donated-wedding-dresses?hpt=us_bn9

[kuhio98]

Two young girls donate nearly 500 inspirational bracelets to cancer patients

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Two young girls who are best friends know what it is like to have a mother diagnosed with cancer. They've now banded together to put a positive spin on a challenging situation.

Five years ago, Lindsay Mosamery, 11, found out her mother Julie Mosamery was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

This past May, Lindsey's friend Keeley Joyal, 10, found out her mother Katie Joyal was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer.

Both Lindsey and Keeley, from Somers, wanted to give Joyal something inspirational to take with her to chemotherapy treatments, so they decided to make rubber band bracelets that Joyal could wear throughout her treatments.

Now, after the girls involved their classmates in their efforts, they have been able to collect hundreds of bracelets with inspirational messages attached to give to cancer patients at Hartford Hospital.

The girls have named their cause "The Bouncing Back Club," and on Thursday they donated close to 500 bracelets to cancer patients at Hartford Hospital.

"I think it makes them feel good. You know, it's nice to see children giving back to the community and bringing cancer awareness to their friends and to patients," Julie Mosamery said.

[kuhio98]

Heroes Among Us
Bill & Muriel Elliott Help Crack Down on Drunk Drivers to Honor Their Son

The knock on the door that changed Bill and Muriel Elliott's life forever came at 4 a.m. on Saturday, July 22, 2000.

It was the police – with some devastating news.

"They told us our son had been killed in a collision with a drunk driver," Bill, 64, tells PEOPLE. "My wife went down to answer the door because we were asleep and I heard her screaming."

John, 22, had graduated from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, just two months earlier and was working there as an instructor. That night, he got off duty around 10 p.m. and headed north to his parents' home in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, to celebrate his mother's birthday. The accident happened in Woodstown, New Jersey.

The driver of the car that hit John died in the accident. He had been drinking for 10 hours straight – and had a blood alcohol level of 0.23 at the time of the crash. The man had been arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated two hours before the accident but was released to the custody of a friend, who let him drive again.

"We experienced every parent's worst nightmare," Bill says.

But the Elliotts were determined to make some good come from the tragedy. That same year, they founded the HERO Campaign, a nonprofit devoted to cracking down on drunk drivers.

"Out of that incredible heartbreak, we wanted to do everything we could to prevent this tragedy from happening to other families," says Bill, a retired hospital vice president.

The HERO Campaign promotes the use of designated drivers by registering volunteers to drive home those who have been drinking. It partners with law enforcement agencies, colleges, bars and taverns, restaurants, sports teams, state divisions of highway safety, the U.S. Naval Academy and community chapters across the country.

Rodney Brewer, commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, says he's seen a drop in fatality rates since partnering with the nonprofit in December 2012.

"I can't let the HERO Campaign have all of the credit, but I will tell you I think they are a major part of the equation," Brewer tells PEOPLE.

Bill and Muriel also worked with the New Jersey State Police to get John's Law passed in 2001. The legislation gives police there the authority to seize the vehicles of suspected drunk drivers and hold them for up to 12 hours.

Laura and Michael Horne, who lost their son Chad to a drunk driver in January 2010, say they are grateful to the Elliotts for all their advocacy efforts.

"When you lose a child in such a tragic way, it can either make you or break you as far as staying together as a family," Laura, 49, of Freehold, New Jersey, tells PEOPLE.

"I attribute the survival of my family to Bill and Muriel Elliott and this campaign because I don't know if we would have done without it, honestly," says Laura, who volunteers for the group.

Muriel says the HERO Campaign has helped keep memories of their son alive.

"John was always a positive person; he made you laugh," says the retired first-grade teacher, 64. "John would probably laugh at some of the funny things along the way, like being grand marshals at the NASCAR race – we know that he probably would have loved that."

Bill says drunk driving should be taken more seriously because it can devastate anyone out of the blue – just like it did to to them.

"I think the view is like lightning could strike and it will happen to somebody else but it won't happen to them," says Bill. "But lightning struck our family when they came knocking on our door that morning."