The good guys thread

[kuhio98]

Silent Kindness

My ex father in law (John) was a uniquely good individual. He had a best friend who had a heart attack and hospitalized for a lengthy stay. In the summer lawns would grow fast in the heat. Every week John would drive over to his friends home and mow his lawn for him so he did not have to face an overgrown yard when he returned home to recuperate. Very silent kindness!

[kuhio98]

respect?

I don't know if this is a kindness story but whenever I see a person do an act of kindness whether it is for me or to another person, I make it a point to approach that person and tell them, "would you do me a favor and tell your mom and dad, what a wonderful job they did in raising their child." Sometimes a smile and an enthusiastic "I will."

[kuhio98]

Heroes Among Us
Wanda Butts Teaches Inner-City Kids in Ohio How to Swim

It never occurred to Wanda Butts that her only son, Josh, needed swimming lessons.

As a girl, she'd never spent any time in the pool, either.

"My dad saw two kids drown at a church picnic and wouldn't let us go near the water after that," says the Toledo, Ohio, court clerk. "Growing up, swimming just wasn't on our radar. And that's also how it was with my son."

Everything changed on Aug. 6, 2006 – the day Josh, 16, drowned in a rafting accident during a trip to a Michigan lake with friends.

"He didn't have a life jacket and the raft tipped over," she says quietly. "It's a phone call that no parent should have to get. If Josh had known how to swim, I wouldn't be talking about him in the past tense today."

She soon learned her son's death wasn't an anomaly. Statistics show inner-city kids, particularly African-Americans, are five times more likely to drown than other children due to a lack of money for swimming lessons, as well as a dearth of pools.

So in 2007 Butts, now 61, formed the Josh Project to give free swimming lessons and water-safety training to local kids. So far she and her daughter, Tankeeya Butts, have signed up more than 1,300 children.

St. Francis de Sales High School in Toledo donates time at the school's pool for the classes. Certified volunteers teach the classes, and children are allowed to continue in the program "for as long as it takes," says Butts.

"Black, white, whatever color they are, wherever they are from, all are welcome," she says. "Every child should be able to have fun in the water and stay safe."

For city parents who have never taken their children swimming, "the Josh Project is literally a lifesaver," says Lisa Haynes, 53, whose 17-year-old son, Orlando Joshua, recently graduated with a swimming certificate.

With her neighborhood pool closed and no money for swimming lessons, "Wanda has helped give me peace of mind," she says. "Now I don't have to worry so much when my son is near water. He's mastered everything from the butterfly to the backstroke, and we owe it all to Wanda. She's a strong person with a big heart."

Butts, who tells kids that "swimming is the only sport that can save your life," has now started free classes for adults who have never known the pleasure – or safety – of swimming.

"I'm finally going to take the leap myself and take some lessons," she says. "I know Josh would be proud."

[kuhio98]

Man sharpening lawn blades saves Army Sergeant pinned under car

RINEYVILLE, KY (WAVE) - On a quiet street in Rineyville newly retired Army Master Sgt. Joe Schroeder was enjoying his first few months of freedom after serving nearly 24 years.

“Dexter is my service dog and he is for my PTSD, TBI and mobility,” he said.

But last Thursday Dexter was inside when Schroeder was outside working on his wife's Mustang in the driveway. Schroeder says he leaned on the car and it started to roll.

“The only thing I can think of was ‘Oh my God,’ I can only imagine what's going to happen once this car runs me over because I couldn't stop it,” he said.

Schroeder became pinned, pressure from the car prevented him from yelling for help to his family inside the home.

“I was stuck underneath the vehicle with the rear axle on my back and my right hand underneath the right rear tire, so I couldn't get any movement or balance or nothing, so I was just stuck underneath the vehicle,” he said.

Meanwhile, next door Mike Riddell, who owns a lawn care business, was supposed to be out mowing but stopped off at his house to sharpen his blades.

“I didn't like how it was cutting and just as I was getting ready to throw my last blade on, I saw what was going on at Joe's house,” said Riddell.

Riddell ran over and knew he had to get the car off of Schroeder.

“I planted my feet and I just said ‘I got to do everything I can, put everything in this to get this car up, or forward, off of him,’” he said.

“He channeled his inner Superman and he picked up the rear of the vehicle and pushed it forward,” Schroeder said. “If it wasn't for him I truly don't know that I would be standing here today.”

Schroeder was able to crawl out, but just moments before the Army veteran who served three tours in Iraq feared death in his own front yard.

“Is this really the end after all this time? Going away in my own driveway, by my own car, by my own fault?” he said.

While he can laugh at the situation now he will be forever thankful to Riddell who was just glad to be in the right place at the right time.

“He's a hero. It just felt good to help a hero out,” Riddell said.

Schroeder suffered two sprained ankles, bruised ribs, road rash and bumps and bruises on his legs and back. He was released from the hospital shortly after the accident and is expected to be just fine thanks to Riddell.

[kuhio98]

From an Acts of Kindness website:

Random Parking Ticket Man

On our first Family trip to Monterey Bay we did not know the area and was having a hard time figuring out parking at the fisherman's wharf. As I was reading the instructions and parking fees at the parking meter, a man drove up to me and asked me if I was looking for parking. I said yes. He handed me his parking ticket and he said that his family was leaving the parking ticket has been paid for the whole day. This random act of kindness really touched me so I explained to my 7 year old daughter how we should always be kind to others. As we were leaving we drove by the parking meter and handed the ticket to another family so they may enjoy the wharf as we did. Thank you random ticket man. May God bless you and your family.

[kuhio98]

Heroes Among Us
Deb O'Halloran Gives Struggling New Moms and Their Babies Much-Needed Supplies

When single mom Theresa Wilson worried about getting the things she needed for her newborn girl – relief and much-needed assistance came from a stranger.

"My reaction was shock, surprise and relief that I didn't have to go out and try to scramble up enough money to pay for these things," says Wilson, 22, who received a bassinet, floor gym and starter bag of critical-care items. "Having all these things is one big issue I won't have to worry about, because I already have a lot on my plate with being a new mom and caring for the baby."

Wilson's life and the lives of hundreds of other moms and their newborns have been changed by the St. Paul-Minneapolis area Second Stork nonprofit and its founder, Deb O'Halloran – whose goal is to help provide a stress-free start for hundreds of new moms at nearly 20 hospitals in the St. Paul-Minneapolis area.

In 2009, along with a small group of like-minded philanthropists, O'Halloran launched Second Stork, initially gathering baby items such as diapers and other basic necessities in her own laundry room to deliver to new mothers in crisis in hospital labor/delivery units.

"We wanted to operate in a way that was highly efficient yet ensured that the help went to the people who needed it the most," says O'Halloran, 55, a married mother of two who was formerly a marketing executive. "We were motivated simply by our desire to help people in crisis, while respecting their dignity."

Much of Second Stork's inventory consists of surplus items supplied by various retailers. At its donated, 3,400-square-foot warehouse, volunteer groups along with O'Halloran pack bags that are then given to hospitals for distribution to grateful moms by social workers, nurses or other staff. To date, Second Stork has delivered more than 1,000 bags to Twin City-area hospitals.

"Second Stork fills a unique niche for families, particularly those that are financially strapped," says hospital social worker Rachael Stover-Haney. "We can just hand the items to them. Many of the mothers are moved to tears, but more than that, they're dumbfounded and amazed, because it restores their faith that there is goodness in the world."

The recipients, says O'Halloran, are mothers who have few, if any, other options. No one has thrown them a baby shower, so the Second Stork bag is often the only gift they'll receive.

"Some don't even know where they're going to go when they leave the hospital," she says. "By providing critical-care supplies, we're letting them know that there are people out there who really do care and understand."

For moms like Wilson, the support of O'Halloran's Second Stork has been a huge help.

"I feel grateful that people would care this much for someone they've never met," she says.

[kuhio98]

Acts of kindness from the web:

Doughnuts in the ER

I'm involved in a college campus ministry group in my town. One of our recent activities was to break up into smaller groups and use a single $20 bill to "make the nights" of at least three people. My group decided to go with the idea of buying as many doughnuts as we could and taking them to the staff in the emergency department in a local hospital. We explained what we were doing to the manager on duty at the doughnut shop; he was happy to give us a great deal on the doughnuts. When we brought the doughnuts in to the hospital, the staff was so excited, thankful and grateful for the kindness. Several of them even said that they'd been having a rough night so it meant a lot to them. Here's the thing- It just so happens that I'm a volunteer in that same emergency department. So to see their responses and hear that some had been having a rough night, I could really empathize and tell how much it meant to them. It was so great to be able to kind of see and understand both the giving and receiving sides of things, and it really made my day. Trust me, that sort of thing is appreciated so much!