A little Piece of Sunshine

Soldiers Discover Abandoned Baby on Side of Road in Afghanistan

September 24, 2012

A newborn baby girl left abandoned on the side of the road in southern Afghanistan has been discovered by a group of Polish soldiers.

The soldiers came upon the baby, who they have named Pola, after Poland, wrapped in a towel on Wednesday while they were checking a route near their Waghez military base for safety, Defense Ministry spokesman Janusz Walczak told The Associated Press.

The group of soldiers was first suspicious when they discovered the baby, as there is a risk of hidden roadside bombs across Afghanistan.

It is still unclear who left baby Pola on the side of the road. The AP reported that there was no one found in a mile radius of where the baby was discovered.

After the troops found her, she was brought to a medical center at their base. The soldiers then bought the girl baby formula, a bottle and a bib.

How A Masked Crusader Fights Poverty And Brings Hope In Vancover

August 20, 2012

The Grim Reaper might not be the most obvious inspiration for a real-life superhero.

But in one Vancouver neighborhood, a man who dresses up as Thanatos — the Greek personification of death — has become an iconic figure representing generosity and goodwill.

“I don’t come from Krypton and wasn’t bitten by a radioactive spider or anything like that,” Thanatos, who doesn’t want to reveal his real name, told Metro News. “I was working downtown, trying to help out on the streets and noticing a lot of things happening … people living and dying on the streets.”

“I was told by a police officer that some people on the street had nothing better to look forward to than death. That really stung, that really hurt me,” he told the newspaper. “So I said if that’s the case, then death better get out there and start taking care of these people. I developed this persona to go out there and help.”

His acts of kindness include everything from handing out bottles of water to distributing slips of paper with the word ‘friend’ written on them, reports the Globe and Mail.

“This girl I helped ended up turning around from a $400 a day heroin addict in a space of six months, and she now works down there in a paid position at one of the social agencies. And when she tells the story why she changed she says, ‘Death came and told me I had to change the way I was living. Death saved me,’” Thanatos toldVancouver magazine.

The 63-year-old father-of-one is the oldest member of The Real Life Super Hero Project, a group of caped and masked do-gooders who aim to inspire others to spread kindness. He was even featured in the HBO documentary “Superheroes,” a clip of which is embedded above.

However, Thanatos views the media exposure as a means to an end — something that helps bring focus to the conditions in Vancouver’s downtown East Side neighborhood. “It gets the attention where it’s needed,” he toldMetro News.

“By using this persona, I’ve been able to spread the word about what’s going on down there, I’ve been able to get more aid in the area. I’m asked by reporters if it actually works and it’s like, ‘Well you’re here talking to me right now’ so it’s obviously working.”

Story by: Huffingtonpost.com

Ohio runner stops in state final to aid fallen opponent

June 5, 2012

By Cameron Smith | Prep Rally – 10 hours ago

On Saturday, West Liberty-Salem (Ohio) High junior Meghan Vogel won a state title. Incredibly, that might not even be what she or anyone else remembers most about her day at the Ohio Division III track and field state meet, because she later committed one of the most selfless acts of the year on the track: She stopped running the 3,200-meter final to help along a foe who had collapsed just 20 feet from the finish line.

As first reported by the Springfield News-Sun and Dayton Daily News, Vogel had already captured the state 1,600-meter title when she came upon Arlington (Ohio) High sophomore Arden McMath near the finish line of the 3,200-meter final. Both Vogel and McMath were out of contention for the medals in the event at that point, and rather than try and make a final, mad dash, Vogel decided she was better served helping ensure McMath made it to the finish line.

“I was kind of blacking out,” McMath told the Daily News. “I wasn’t too aware of my surroundings. I was just trying to keep going. When my body gave out, she was there. It was amazing.

“I just told her, ‘Thank you.’ I just couldn’t believe she’d done that for me. We’re all in it together as distance runners. Everyone is trying to do their best. It’s a lot harder on your body than a lot of the other races. We just try to help each other.”

The result was nothing short of electrifying, as you can see from the video above. With each step, the cheering crowd at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Stadium seemed to get louder and louder, finally reaching its zenith when McMath crossed the finish line just in front of Vogel.

In fact, even that final finishing order was Vogel’s idea; after all, McMath had been ahead of her when she collapsed.

While McMath and her teammates may have been most touched by Vogel’s charitable actions, the state champion insisted that she got just as much out of the charitable act.

“Helping her across the finish line was a lot more satisfying than winning the state championship,” Vogel told the News-Sun.

Technically, Vogel should have been disqualified for helping McMath, as regulations call for any runners aiding another to be disqualified from their event. Yet, perhaps in line with the spirit of Vogel’s touching act, Ohio officials failed to disqualify either runner, with final standings crediting McMath for a 14^th-place finish and showing Vogel crossing the line in 15^th place.

“She could have just gone around Arden,” Arlington coach Paul Hunter told the News-Sun. “But she chose to help. I’ve never seen that at a state meet. That’s real sportsmanship.”

Want more on the best stories in high school sports? Visit RivalsHigh or connect with Prep Rally on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Jason Loose Becomes Chinese Internet Hit After He Buys An Old Woman French Fries

June 1, 2012

California native Jason Loose was only buying a poor Chinese woman some French fries, but his altruism has managed to spark a a national debate about the moral corruptness of Chinese society.

Loose, a 23-year-old intern at a sports brand company in Nanjing, told the Los Angeles Times that he bought the woman some food because “there wasn’t much money in her collection bowl and it was really hot out.” A passersby caught the random act of kindness on camera and the story went viral on Chinese microblogging sites. He’s now known as the “French Fry Brother,”Xinhua News Agency reports.

The photos show Loose chatting with the homeless woman, giving her food, and pouring water into her glass. He told Xinhua he was surprised to be called a hero — but has been told by friends the images resonated with a growing social apathy in China.

“It was such a heartwarming scene, but brought by a foreign young man,who offers his love, care and trust to a stranger in need,” username Hunlizhuchiquhui wrote on China’s Twitter-like micro-blogging site, Sina Weibo, according Xinhua. “It makes me reflect on whether I could do what he does.”

Loose told the the L.A. Times he only stayed with her for a few minutes — but before he left, asked an important question should he see her again:

“I asked what’s her favorite food to eat?” he said. “Her answer was ‘not French fries.’”

A recent slew of incidents have highlighted the breakdown of social concern in China: In October last year, a two-year-old was repeatedly run over by cars and ignored by passersby on a busy market street.

via Huffingtonpost.com

Brendan Haas, 9, Wins Trip To Disney World, Donates It To Family Of Fallen Soldier

May 30, 2012

Nine-year-old Brendan Haas from Kingston, Mass., has exemplified the meaning of Memorial Day through his sacrifice and thankfulness.

The young boy showed up on the Duxbury, Mass., doorstep of Timothy Steele, a soldier killed in Afghanistan last August. Brendan’s Memorial Day surprise for Steele’s family was a trip to Disney World that he had won, whdh.com reports.

Brendan’s reason for donating the trip was simple:

“I think it would make them a lot happier,” he said.

Brendan won the trip through a program called “A Soldier for a Soldier,” which involves trading an item up for something bigger or better and started with a toy soldier in February. In what became a national endeavor, Brendan kept trading until he got the trip to Disney World, according to the news outlet. He announced he would donate his prize, and numerous families submitted nominees through facebook and email.

He ended up drawing the name Liberty Hope Steele, the soldier’s 2-year-old daughter, whdh.com reports.

Eric Haas described to the news source how proud he was of his son.

“Little people can do a lot of things if they put their mind to it,” he said.

Watch the full video from WHDH above.

Story by Huffingtonpost.com

Whitney Cerak Marries In The Church Where Her Funeral Was Once Held

May 23, 2012

A young woman whose family mistakenly believed she had died in a car crash got married at the same church where 1400 people once mourned at her funeral, TODAY reports.

In 2006, Whitney Cerak was believed to have died in a car accident that killed five people in Indiana, the Associated Press reports. Her parents, Newell and Colleen, had a gravestone engraved with her name on it and a funeral, attended by over a thousand people, took place.

What no one realized at the time was that Whitney was alive – fighting for her life in a hospital, with her fellow student Laura Van Ryn’s parents by her side.

In the chaos of the crash and with the severity of their injuries, the two students — both young and blonde — had been misidentified, WISHTV-8 reports.

It took more than a month before the Van Ryns realized that the woman recovering slowly on the hospital bed was not their child. The revelation came as a terrible shock.

“Well, it was hard. but we knew where our daughter was…and we knew that Newell and Colleen needed to know where their daughter was,” Laura’s mother, Susie Van Ryn, told TODAY.

Whitney, now 25, has come a long way since her days of lying in a hospital bed injured beyond recognition. In 2010, Whitney got married to her soldier boyfriend, Matt Wheeler, in the same church where her funeral had been held.

“It was such an unbelievable moment for us, because we were at a moment in our life when we thought this would never be a possibility,” said Newell,Whitney’s father.

In another milestone, Whitney recently gave birth to her first child, a baby boy named Zachary Thomas, Daily Mailreports. Zachary’s birth came just weeks before her husband’s deployment to Afghanistan and just days before the sixth anniversary of the accident that killed Laura Van Ryn and four others.

Whitney said that the Van Ryns will always remain an integral part of her life.

“I love the Van Ryn family. They’re so great,” she told TODAY.

Via Huffingtonpost.com

Kentucky Man, Buys Out Entire Kmart Store, Donates It All To Charity

May 18, 2012

When Rankin Paynter learned that the Kmart in his Kentucky town was closing, he decided to buy everything that remained on the store’s shelves — and give it all away.

Four cash registers and six-and-a-half hours after his shopping spree began, the benevolent businessman walked away with $200,000 worth of inventory and gave it all over to Clark County Community Services, a nonprofit that helps families in Winchester, Ky., facing crisis situations,WLEX reports.

“It’s time to give back,” the “Summer Santa” told the news source.

Judy Crowe of Clark County Community Services was blown away by Paynter’s generosity and told WLEX that it was the single largest donation her organization has ever received. She also said that this is the first year her organization will have enough coats, hats and gloves to provide all the children it serves during the winter.

Via Huffington Post

Operation Prom Makes Dreams Come True For Thousands Of Teens

May 8, 2012

For the past seven years, one nonprofit has been making prom dreams come true for thousands of teenagers like Zyna Williams — an Atlanta high schooler who has cerebral palsy, CNN reports.

For Williams and her mother — a struggling single mom of three — the perfect prom seemed like an impossible fantasy.

But thanks to Operation Prom, a nonprofit that helps to provide dresses and tuxedos to high schoolers in need, Williams had no reason to miss out on her special night.

Founded in 2005 by Noel D’Allacco, Operation Prom collects dresses and other prom accoutrements like jewelry from retailers, companies and private donors.

Last year, Patch.com reports that the organization collected about 3,200 dresses and was able to arrange discounted tuxedo rentals, as well as free or discounted hair and makeup vouchers for students.

“With today’s economy, a lot of parents are not able to afford the whole prom experience,” Keren Charles, the director of the recently established Atlanta chapter of Operation Prom, told CNN.

In recent years, the organization has expanded to provide students in need — particularly those with disabilities or those living in shelters, group homes or very low-income households — with other resources such as school supplies, scholarships and mentoring.

D’Allaco said that she is proud of her organization for the joy it brings to thousands of teens.

“They are so appreciative, leaving with tears in their eyes, some girls have expressed that it was the first time they ever put on a dress in their life,” she told Patch.com.

For more information or to donate to Operation Prom, visit their websitehere.

via huffingtonpost.com

5-Year-Old Leukemia Patient, Uses ‘Make-A-Wish’ To Serve Needy Kids

May 4, 2012

Leland Camara, a 5-year-old battling leukemia, was far from selfish when he requested two wishes from the Make-A-Wish Foundation instead of just one.

His first wish was to go on trip to Disneyland with his parents, his twin brother and their older sister. His second wish: To serve hungry kids in his Anchorage, Alaska community, “because I wanted to help out,” he told kls.com.

As a send-off party before his family’s trip, Leland dressed up in his finest clothing and mouse ears, carefully carrying full plates and glasses to the grateful recipients atKid’s Kitchen, a nonprofit that provides meals for hungry children.

Laura Bruce of the Make-A-Wish Foundation said his reason for the second wish was simple:

“When I asked him if he was sure he wants to serve other kids, he says, ‘So many people helped me so I want to help others,’” Bruce told kls.com.

And after everyone else was served, Leland sat down to his own plate of food, his grin as big as ever.

“I wanted to make sure everyone who wanted to eat, ate.”

via Huffingtonpost.com

Granny’s Got Game

May 2, 2012

As a rigorous sport, basketball might be thought of as a game reserved for the young. But across the country, a group of sprightly grannies — featured in a new documentary called ‘Granny’s Got Game’ – are proving that you are never too old to play.

Judy Barton is a case in point. She may be in her mid-70s, but as captain of the Raleigh, N.C. based senior women’s basketball team the ‘Fabulous 70s’, this fiercely competitive leader has shown a dedication to her team and the sport that rivals that of her younger counterparts.

“We practice every week,” Barton told ESPN. ”We play in the local games, state games and nationals, if we qualify. And in between that, we play in tournaments. We’ve traveled all over the United States.”

So when filmmaker Angela Gorsica Alford, a 6’6″ former basketball player for both Vanderbilt University and USA Basketball, first met the Fabulous 70s, she knew she had found her story.

“I thought my glory days were over. Then I met this team. These women helped me remember how much I loved to play and how much I enjoyed being part of a team,”said Alford, who at the time had just graduated from Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies and was itching to make a film.

Alford spent more than a year with the team filming ”Granny’s Got Game” – even traveling with the Fabulous 70s to the 2011 National Senior Games in Houston, reports the YMCA blog.

Financing the film with her own money and through donations to her website, Alford has edited, directed and produced the film herself. She is currently fundraising to finish the film, which she hopes to release later this year.

According to the YMCA blog, Alford hopes ”Granny’s Got Game” will inspire others to celebrate older athletes and to change the perception of the capabilities of the elderly. She also said that she wants the film to act as a reminder that being active should be a life-long pursuit.

“I thought I would find genetic wonders,” she said of the senior women’s basketball team. ”But what I found were people who were dealing with cancer and heart disease just like everyone else. The difference was that these women were fighting it together, encouraging each other. Basketball was keeping them active, independent and believing they could do anything they wanted to do.”

According to MSNBC, there are senior basketball leagues and similar groups scattered through much of the country, including California, Connecticut, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. Annual surveys by the National Sporting Goods Association indicate the number of women 55 and older who play basketball at least 50 times a year has grown from 16,000 in 1995 to nearly 131,000 a decade later.

“I’ve broken four of my fingers and sprained my ankle and tore ligaments in my thumb,” Barton’s Fabulous 70s teammate Mary Turner told ESPN. “One guy at church said to me once, ‘I guess you’ll quit now?’ And I said, ‘I’d have to break all 10 fingers before I’d stop.’”

For more information about ‘Granny’s Got Game’, visit the documentary’s website here. Via Huffington Post