The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

... The good kids, like this high school student, are the ones that belong on the front page of the newspaper. One day I thanked him for what he does with the smaller children and his humility was an inspiration. The good kids far outnumber the bad but seldom get the recognition they're due.

I agree 100%. Why our society is fascinated with bad boys, bad behavior and Kardashians, I'll never understand.

The good guys go about their lives quietly making the world a better place. The bad ones are always in the news shouting LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME. Most of us are the good ones and we desire to leave a situation better than how we found it.

It's just the little things. I thanked a young man for holding the door open for me at the post office the other day and he looked shocked. It made me wonder how many times we forget to acknowledge a kindness.

[kuhio98]

Moms Stitch Together Memories To Fight Gun Violence

DENVER, Colo. (CBS4) – Mothers across Colorado are using quilting to fight gun violence.

The group called Moms Demand Action is stitching together memories and a message as part of their Mother’s Dream Quilt Project.

Each quilt will contain meaningful fabric from a victim or survivor of gun violence.

“It was really hard to cut up her shorts,” volunteer April Rodgers said, while stitching fabrics that belonged to Jessica Ghawi.

Ghawi was killed in the Aurora theater shooting.

“This teal was her favorite color,” Rodgers said.

Another block of fabric was made from the wedding dress of Mary Sherlach, the school psychologist killed at Sandy Hook Elementary.

Jennifer Hope of Moms Demand Action said the group will make a series of quilts using a quilting pattern known as Mother’s Dream. The pattern represents the bonds of grief shared by mothers, families and friends of gun violence victims, Hope said.

The victims’ fabrics will be surrounded by blocks donated by supporters of the group.

The group, that has chapters across the nation, is making quilts to send a message to everyone.

“(That) we can we do more to prevent gun violence,” Hope said.

Hope said the Colorado chapter of Moms Demand Action will make their own quilt to tour nationally before it goes on display back home.

“Generations ago this was a way that moms were able to come together,” Hope said. “I really think that quilting is very healing.”

It’s healing that volunteers like Rodgers say takes time, dedication and patience — the same things required to sew a quilt.

“It makes me sad but it’s the least I can do,” she added.

[kuhio98]

These Surfers Went Out For A Morning Of Surfing And Ended Up Being Heroes To This Wallaby!
Adam G. I knew wallaby’s liked to swim, but this little guy tried to go out into the ocean and bit off more than he could chew! Two surfers saw him and put their aquatic skills to work bringing him to safety. Talk about a stroke of luck! This is a great example of people helping an animal and releasing them the right way.

Watch the heroic event below!

[Karen]

Awww, how nice! And away he hopped, away from those scary waves!

[kuhio98]

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...E-in-the-world

[kuhio98]

Corona Firefighters Save Man — And Then Finish Mowing His Lawn

There is going above and beyond, and then there is really going above and beyond.

A Corona man lost consciousness while mowing his lawn.

Officials said a crew from Engine 1 came to the man’s aid, provided lifesaving treatment and taking him to a hospital.

After the ambulance left the man’s house, fire crews did something extraordinary.

The firefighters finished the man’s yard work. The front lawn was growing rapidly, in definite need of a mow.

The grateful homeowner, Willy G., spoke to KCAL9’s Crystal Cruz.

“This my machine here. My grass was so, so high,” Willy said.

Wednesday morning Willy and his lawn mover were in the front yard working hard — so was the sun.

“I was cutting grass here, I feel dizzy a little bit, so I stand over by the car here,” he recalled.

In the drive way Willy face planted.

Corona Fire showed up and he went to the hospital with a scratched up face, but firefighters stuck around, finishing what Willy started.

“We all kind of looked at each other, kind of looked around at the lawn equipment and realized this family was going through a very traumatic event right now and they some simple acts of kindness,” said Fire Dept. Engineer Jamie Pirritano.

“The five guys, they went down and cleaned all the grass for us I say that’s so nice. I never had the experience like that before. I feel like safe,” said Willy.

Just one family of guys helping out another family, whose lawn wasn’t going to cut itself.

“I appreciate what they did,” Willy said.

Willy told Cruz he fainted because there was too much heat and too much exertion.

[kuhio98]

Heroes Among Us
Meet Jeff Balek – the Blind YMCA Volunteer Who Teaches Children How to Read

Jeff Balek has never actually seen a book – but that hasn't stopped the blind man from teaching struggling kids how to read.

Growing up learning braille, "I felt pretty empowered thanks to teachers and my family," he tells PEOPLE. "Teachers were very supportive of me, working with me through high school on my braille and computer skills," he says.

So thankful is Balek, 34, to the people that taught him, that when his sister forwarded him an e-mail about volunteering for the Y Readers program at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte in North Carolina two years ago, he signed right up.

"I was really excited to help these kids," he says of joining the after-school program, which aims to boost literacy among first, second and third grade children who are reading below grade level.

"They need help, and I've always been into reading – it's really rewarding," he says.

Balek uses twin vision books to read along with the children, reading a page in braille then listening to them read the next in print.

"They're reading the same thing I'm reading, so I can help them with sounding out or spelling a word," he explains.

Naturally curious, "kids ask me questions about my blindness – how I became blind, the challenges I had to overcome," Balek says.

"They put a lot of confidence in me reading braille; and I think for them, [learning some] braille gives them confidence, too," he says.

The kids like him, too.

"He's so unique," says Michael DeVaul, senior vice president of organizational advancement at the YMCA of Greater Charlotte.

"We hear from a lot of kids about how 'cool' he is," he says. "And he really has a passion for kids, and a passion for reading. I think parents who have met him know that.

He also seems to be the most popular volunteer at the YMCA.

"He doesn't know this, but he usually gets moved around a lot because he's so good at what he does," DeVaul adds.

"Most volunteers see two kids in an hour, but Jeff sees four to five because kids want to touch his books, learn braille," he says. "It's beyond words – it really cements the concept of reading comprehension, which is what we're after."

Though Balek is humble about his contributions – "I'm just glad I got chosen to participate," he demurs – DeVaul contends he's brought more to the table than he'll ever know.

"He's extraordinary in general," he says. "But it goes beyond reading, to this life lesson of pushing through challenges and being resilient. It's powerful."