The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

DEAR ABBY: Once again I have found that one random act of kindness begets another.

Today, I had a hankering for one of those great salads from my favorite fast food chain. It was noon, and the line from the main highway to get into the driveway was long.

When I finally was able to turn in to the ordering section, I noticed a man in his work truck trying to get into the line. We were face-to-face. I looked back, saw all the cars behind me and knew none of them were going to let him in, so I motioned for him to go ahead of me.

When I reached the window and started to pay for my order, the cashier said, "You are already paid for." I said, "What?" The man in front of me had paid for my order.

The message? Be kind -- it's good karma. -- LINDA IN ORANGE, CALIF.

DEAR LINDA: I agree. Like a stone thrown into a pond, a good deed can create ripples that extend far beyond the initial splash.

[kuhio98]

Donkey basketball raises money for Albany teacher battling cancer

http://www.kptv.com/clip/10011244/do...attling-cancer


ALBANY, OR (KPTV) - Students, staff and even a rival school rallied to support a South Albany High School teacher who is battling cancer.

A donkey basketball game was held Tuesday night for Jason Henkel, who was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer.

"When we found out he was going to be going through this, I think everyone wanted to back him up and help as much as we could," said student organizer Amanda Kelley.


Organizers hope the event, which was held at the Linn County Fairgrounds, will contribute to Henkel's future medical bills.

Kelley said donkey basketball is an old tradition at her high school, so when an opportunity emerged to bring it back for a good cause, students jumped at the chance to participate.

There were eight teams from Albany-area schools and organizations, and even a team of Henkel's doctors.

Henkel wasn't able to attend because he just underwent chemotherapy treatment.

[kuhio98]

Naugatuck student creates backpack meant for children battling cancer

A Naugatuck Elementary School student is trying to help others who are battling cancer.

The now 11-year-old student had fought the disease herself, at just 3 years old, and now she has invented a new device that is aimed at making a child's fight a little easier.

Kylie Simonds has created a backpack that is themed with Hello Kitty, lights up, but it is really a pediatric IV backpack that can easily be carried around.

“My inspiration is for all my friends that had cancer and have cancer they all inspired me to make this,” Simonds said.

The backpack would be used for children who are going through chemotherapy treatments.

Simonds thought of the idea that she thought of after being assigned to a school project.

“I had to think of an everyday problem so I thought of the everyday problem I used to have which was going to treatment and using the IV poles,” Simonds said.

She is now a sixth-grade student who fought her own battle for a full year after being diagnosed with a type of soft-tissue cancer.

She went through one month of radiation and 46 weeks of chemotherapy and said the worst part about it was wheeling around a large metal pole with an IV and all of its tubes attached to it.

“Even when I was in treatment, I thought this could be so much easier if I could think of something and I have backpacks for school and how light they are,” Simonds said. “Treatments would be so much easier for them and not as scary for them because just seeing the IV poles is scary.”

Eventually, Simonds said she wants the backpacks to be personalized for boys and girls, including different colors and themes.

She has raised $52,000 through a GoFundMe page.

“I'm hoping all the hospitals all over the country can have them and I want all the kids to be happy again,” she said.

The family's next step is making a working backpack to test out and they hope to do that in the next year.

[kuhio98]

Couple cancels traditional wedding to give back to others

"Shocked and frozen." Those are two words that Mark and Ismini Svensson say perfectly describe their families' reaction to their unique wedding plans.

Instead of having a typical ceremony, complete with cake and family photos, the couple chose a different path: To celebrate their love by sharing good deeds across the country with people they'd never met.

For past two years, the newlyweds have been spending their wedding budget to perform one act of kindness in each of the 50 states. The Svenssons plan to complete their mission this spring.

The New York-based couple met as students, while attending Georgetown University. They say it was their mutual love of volunteerism and community activism that drew them together.

"It just clicked," says Mark Svensson. "We both had this passion within us."

While in the midst of selecting a venue for a more traditional wedding ceremony, they had a change of heart.

"We were actually planning a big wedding reception and honeymoon," Ismini says. "We realized that our way of celebrating our love would be different, and we came up with 50 Acts of Giving Back."

For Ismini, the idea of sharing goodwill in place of a wedding also became a special way to honor the legacy of her father, a civil engineer and philanthropist who taught her the importance of making a difference.

"The father of the bride plays important role on the wedding day, and I realized my father wouldn't be there."

Ismini says her father suddenly passed away from heart attack while hosting a charity event that gave college scholarships to underserved youth. At that event, Ismini's father delivered his last speech -- focusing on the importance of love and the importance of giving back.

So, Mark and Ismini ditched the idea of a formal wedding. No flower bouquet was tossed. No speeches were made, and no family pictures taken. The New York couple quietly exchanged vows at a courthouse.

They named their mission, "50 Acts of Giving Back" and took to Facebook and Twitter for suggestions of where to go. Soon the couple was overwhelmed with responses. They say each stated visited was the result of an online discussion.

After sharing their idea on social media, their friends and followers echoed the message through Facebook shares and retweets. Using the hashtag #50Acts, the Svenssons say they were contacted by people across the country in need of their support. What started as a way to honor the legacy of Ismini's father became an online campaign to promote the couple's first love: volunteerism.

"Social media, whether it's a post or a tweet, can impact your world," Mark says. "It may seem small, but it can go a long way."

After hearing of their initiative, Mark and Ismini say others were so inspired by their story, people began to donate to their cause. The couple continued to self-fund "50 Acts of Giving Back" but used the monetary donations to start a nonprofit, StayUNITED. This way they would be able to continue their charitable work once their 50 state journey was completed.

After selecting a location with the help of their online friends, the Svenssons rented a car and drove to each state. Although challenging, it became the Svenssons best way to travel as they soon learned they were expecting their first child! After their daughter Rafealla was born, the couple hit the road again with her in the backseat.

"She became a part of this journey. She was always with us," Ismini says. "Everybody loved her. The baby became like the little mascot."

In Asheville, North Carolina, they brought flowers and presents to patients suffering from cancer. In Aramillo, Texas they assisted elderly men and women with grocery shopping. In Connecticut, the couple participated in an adaptive sports camp for children with disabilities. At the conclusion of the camp, the couple says they presented gifts to the children.

"Because of all the support received from all over the U.S., we realized this journey is much bigger than a wedding," Ismini says.

Although rewarding, the couple admits there were challenges. In addition to handling the daily tasks of having a newborn, Mark and Ismini balanced worked schedules as well. Working in a family business allowed them the flexibility to travel, but they say coordination was key.

"Some states you literally have to drive seven hours just to get to the next area," Mark commented. "It's definitely something you have to be mentally prepared for."

The couple's next move? The Midwest, Pacific Northwest, Hawaii and Alaska. They hope to wrap up their journey by spring of 2015.

"We believe in a chain reaction of kindness," Ismini says. "It's all about realizing us doing our part in something much bigger than ourselves and giving back."

Photos of some of their adventures are here: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/02/02/wo...ess/index.html

[kuhio98]

Anonymous Stranger Buys Wedding Dress for Cash-Strapped Bride-to-Be

When Elizabeth Jensen realized she couldn't afford her dream wedding dress, she probably didn't expect to have a fairy tale ending.

While the 21-year-old was admiring the dress at the pop-up shop Elizabeth Cooper Designs in Provo, Utah, last Friday, a fellow shopper and bride-to-be, who remains anonymous, offered to purchase the dress for Jensen.

"I said, 'Are you sure?' Because it's just not the norm," Carrie Ling, the bridal store owner, told the Deseret News. "I'm still flabbergasted. I don't know why she did it."

"It's unusual for a customer to walk out empty-handed, so I was shocked when I tried to help the anonymous lady pick out a dress and she instead told me that she wanted to help one of the five women in the store at the time," Ling told PEOPLE.

She pointed to Jensen and said that she wanted to help her because she was shopping alone, while the others had one or two people with them.

Jensen had her eye on the frock, but couldn't afford the dress's $480 price tag. She is currently a full-time student at Brigham Young University. Her father is also currently unemployed, making money tight for the family.

When Ling approached Jensen with the news, she immediately started crying.

"She told us her story and how grateful she was and really blessed that it happened to her," Ling said.

The store caters to brides on a budget, but none of the employees have ever seen such a sweet gesture happen out of the blue like this.

"The fact there was somebody in the store watching me and seeing how much I loved the dress and taking the time," Jensen, who is one of eight children, said. "She didn't even know me."

Jensen's fiancé, Jimmy Gillespie, proposed to her last month and they are set to wed on May 1. She wants the stranger to know that she has an open invitation to the wedding.

"We want to have our marriage built upon that principle of giving to other people," Jensen told ABC News.

[kuhio98]

Matt Zeller and Janis Shinwari Saved Each Other's Lives – and Now Help Others

Pinned in a foxhole and low on bullets, CIA intelligence analyst Matthew Zeller thought that April 28, 2008, was his day to die.

And indeed, it almost was.

Two Afghan Taliban soldiers were sneaking up behind him, ready to shoot, when suddenly, Zeller heard an AK-47 go off next to his head.

He turned and saw Janis Shinwari – an Afghan interpreter he had met for a few minutes just days before. Shinwari had shot both enemy soldiers, saving Zeller's life.

"I made a promise right there," Zeller, now 33, tells PEOPLE, "that if he ever needed my help, I would be there. Janis taught me a lot about loyalty and brotherhood that day."

Zeller kept that promise.

He worked with Shinwari, 36, for the next year until he returned to the States, unaware that back in Afghanistan, Shinwari was receiving death threats for his role in helping U.S. military men and women. The Taliban stuck a note on Shinwari's door late one night: "We are coming to kill you."

The married father of two had applied for a visa to emigrate to the U.S. in 2011, thinking it would be approved in a few months. Instead it took two years and only happened with the help of Zeller, the close friend Shinwari calls "my brother."

"He had to go into hiding with his wife and kids for more than two years," says Zeller. "I'll never forget the day he called and asked me to 'help get him out of this hell.' "

Zeller called in favors with the U.S. embassy and raised $35,000 to help his friend. After passing two polygraph tests, Shinwari was cleared to leave.

Now the two are assisting other translators who have fought alongside U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan through No One Left Behind, a nonprofit they started last spring.

Currently neighbors in Arlington, Virginia, Zeller and Shinwari have helped 60 families with visa applications, rent money and housing, and helped translators furnish their homes and find jobs.

"These people have helped us and they should not be abandoned," says Zeller, who now works full-time for No One Left Behind, and is a divorced dad with a young daughter. "They've earned their visas and now it's our turn to help them."

With a backlog of some 6,000 applicants at the State Department, Shinwari's story is not uncommon, says Katherine Reisner of the Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project.

"The application process is daunting," she says, "and these people are moving their families from house to house every night because they're on a death list and the electricity is always going out. Imagine how difficult that would be. No One Left Behind is simply a terrific idea."

Soon after Shinwari, his wife Srozan, and their kids arrived stateside in October 2013, Shinwari landed a job as an immigration-services liaison with Virginia Rep. Jim Moran. When Moran recently retired, Shinwari started a new career as an accountant.

He and Zeller started No One Left Behind with the leftover funds Zeller had raised, helping their first translator, Ajmal Faqiri, once an interpreter in Afghanistan for former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in January 2014.

"Janis and Matt helped me to get a car and they arranged to give us furniture, food, anything we needed," says Faqiri, how a volunteer with No One Left Behind.

"They furnished my house completely," he says. "It was amazing. I am so grateful."

It's the least they can do, says Shinwari.

"Everybody comes with one suitcase and nothing else," he says.

"There are thousands like me in Afghanistan," he says. "These people are living in fear for years. After all they've done for the United States, it is our duty to help them."

[kuhio98]

Bella's Blessing - The black Lab that introduced him to the love of his life sent an emissary to his wedding.
by Michael Gordon

Tall pines framed an elegant outdoor amphitheater nestled in the Wallowa Mountains. This small ranch in Joseph, Oregon, was truly the ideal place for Kara and me to be married. We loved the outdoors.

Looking out at the scenery on the morning of the ceremony, I marveled that this was everything we wanted when we got engaged. Well, almost everything, I reminded myself. There was one thing missing: Bella. And she was the reason we were here in the first place.

Six years ago to the day, I’d just finished competing in the Black Diamond Triathlon in Enumclaw, Washington. I was pretty proud that I’d raced well, having swam, biked and run 32 miles.

I was waiting to accept my award when a black Labrador retriever wandered over to me and licked my leg. “Bella! Come back here,” another triathlete said when she saw what her dog was doing. “Sorry about that.” Bella flopped down at my feet.

“No problem,” I said. “My name’s Michael.” Kara introduced herself. We’d heard of each other before—the triathlon community is pretty small—but we may never have actually met if it weren’t for Bella.

As I got to know Kara, I got to know Bella. I got to love the way she jumped around me to get attention, begged me to play fetch or tug-of-war. The three of us became inseparable. We planned to make her a part of our wedding ceremony, but Bella died just two months before the big day.

“We’ll just have to imagine her here with us,” Kara said, coming up behind me. She couldn’t even see my face, but she knew what I was thinking. “Let’s get ready for the first part of the day.”

Kara and I were both signed up to participate in a local triathlon just minutes from the ranch. Some of the guests thought we were a little crazy to compete in a multi-stage endurance race the morning of our wedding, but without Bella, we were glad for a special way to commemorate how we’d met.

“I like to think she will be running right along with us all the way,” Kara said as we stretched and warmed up.

“She won’t have trouble keeping up with us, now that she’s got her angel wings,” I said. I was trying to be cheerful, but I really missed her. The day that was supposed to be perfect couldn’t be perfect without her.

I ran wearing my vest and tie. Kara attached a wedding veil to her bike helmet. A few members of the wedding party joined in as well. Some of them had raced in the same triathlon where Bella had brought us together.

Friends and family cheered us on from the sidelines and the locals loved our “formal” triathlon attire. Kara and I finished in the top tier.

We headed back to the ranch to make our final preparations for the main event. As we got out of the car, something on the grounds caught my eye. Something black with a long tail.

“That dog looks just like Bella,” I said. Kara turned to look. The strange dog bucked excitedly whenever someone showed her attention and begged games of fetch from the kids.

“She acts just like Bella too,” Kara said. “Those are her mannerisms.”

One of the owners of the ranch hurried up to us. “I’m sorry,” she said, gesturing to the dog. “Luna just loves being around people. We can keep her inside for the day if you want, so she doesn’t bother anyone.”

“No, she’s great! I love having her here,” Kara said. “She reminds me of my old Lab. She couldn’t be here today....” She smiled over at Bella’s look-alike, who was now engaged in a fierce game of tug-of-war. Just like Bella used to do, I thought.

Kara and I went inside to shower and change in record time. We reemerged to find our guests settling themselves in the cool shade of the little amphitheater. I lined up with the minister and my groomsmen beneath the grove of pine trees that surrounded the ranch. Musicians played as my bride began her walk down the aisle.

Just as Kara reached me, I felt something touch my leg. I looked down. There was Luna, flopped at my feet, an exact likeness of Bella the day she’d introduced me to the love of my life. Luna lay there, pressed against my leg, while Kara and I said our vows and pledged to spend our lives together.

It was the perfect wedding. Bella may not have been there, but she’d found a way to give us her blessing by way of the Rainbow Bridge.