The Good News Thread:

searcher · Sep 27, 2018

Texas Boy, five, thought to be nonverbal stuns family by suddenly talking after dentist realizes that he is tongue-tied and cures him with laser treatment

Mason Motz, 6, of Texas was unable to speak in complete sentences for years
His parents thought it was because of a genetic condition known as Sotos Syndrome
Sotos is characterized by delays in a young child's development
But a trip to the dentist changed everything after it was discovered that the boy was tongue-tied

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...t-non-verbal-TALK-discovered-tongue-tied.html

searcher · Oct 7, 2018

From homeless to hero — and maybe the cover of Maxim magazine?
By: Natalie Gross 4 days ago

Janae Sergio spent her high school years on the streets of Los Angeles, in and out of homeless shelters and programs for at-risk youth.

So, when the 36-year-old Navy veteran heard about a competition that donates money toward building homes for wounded warriors, she knew she wanted to take part.

“I know what it’s like to not have a home, so that’s really important to me,” she told Military Times.

Sergio, now an assistant business and financial manager for the U.S. Pacific Fleet, is vying for a spot on the cover of the international men’s magazine Maxim, a competition that comes with a $25,000 prize for the lucky winner — and the kind of platform that would give Sergio a voice to inspire young people living in similar circumstances.

“Before I actually became homeless, I had always wanted to be in modeling, and I had always loved the fashion business,” Sergio said.

But it was after her mother dropped her off at a shelter when she was about 16 that her aspirations turned to the task at hand: survival.
“I needed to focus on surviving and establishing myself as a successful woman before I could think about (modeling),” she said.

That shift of focus led to Sergio joining the Navy at 18, a move coinciding with a promise to earn her GED after missing too much school to be able to graduate. Sergio eventually used the GI Bill to earn a bachelor’s degree in business management.

After 9/11, she deployed twice and held a variety of posts before getting out of the military in 2008.

“I didn’t have any hope for what my future would be," she said of her teenage years. "I was kind of living day to day and trying to figure out where I would sleep at night. The Navy gave me that future and gave me that footing to establish myself as a successful businesswoman.”

In the decade since ditching the uniform, Sergio has found her way back to the service, but this time as a civilian. Currently, she’s based in Hawaii helping to manage a $5 billion budget for the Navy.

She also models on the side and has picked up more than 41,000 followers at her Instagram account, @janae_perfectlyflawed, where she sometimes promotes the products of veteran-owned businesses and has been featured on a number of other military-related accounts.

Sergio said she was initially anxious about her chances at making the Maxim cover because she didn’t think people would actually vote for a mom in her mid-30s. Yet it’s those relationships within the military and veteran community, she believes, that have enabled her to stay near the top of her category thus far.

“If you were to see me in person, I don’t look like a supermodel,” she said. “In real life, I’m just a normal mom who goes to work every day and comes home and cooks dinner for the family.”

In her posts and daily inspirational messages to her followers, she wants to make sure the real her comes across.

“People see the authenticity,” she said. “They see someone who’s come from nothing to really establish themselves.”

That’s really the message Sergio hopes to get across to her daughters and young women everywhere — that it takes work and brains, not just looks, to be successful.

If she wins the Maxim competition, Sergio said she would donate a portion of the $25,000 prize to the Fisher House Foundation, which provides homes for military and veteran families while a loved one is receiving medical treatment.

She would also like to donate to a program for at-risk youth in Hawaii, similar to one in Los Angeles that once helped her.

And though the rest of it won’t be enough to fully fund her dream of starting her own center that provides services to the homeless, a win could perhaps be the platform she needs to properly advocate for it.

“I think people underestimate how much at-risk youth need our time and our support,” she said. “They don’t understand that these people have been abandoned. They’ve lost hope.”

As part of the contest, a portion of voter proceedings goes to Homes for Wounded Warriors, a foundation started by former National Football League all-pro defensive end Jared Allen that raises money to build and remodel handicap-accessible homes for disabled Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

https://www.militarytimes.com/off-d...o-hero-and-maybe-the-cover-of-maxim-magazine/

searcher · Oct 22, 2018

YouTube star Jimmy Donaldson leaves $10,000 tip at a North Carolina diner after ordering just two glasses of water

Customer walked in to Sup Dogs in Greenville, North Carolina on Saturday
Patron ordered two glasses of water and then left the restaurant
Alaina Custer, a waitress, found a $10,000 tip at the table
Locals later determined the identity of the mystery diner - Jimmy Donaldson
Donaldson, a Greenville native, is also known by his online persona, MrBeast
MrBeast has a massive YouTube following approaching 9 million subscribers

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...na-diner-ordering-just-two-glasses-water.html

searcher · Oct 24, 2018

Grandfather finally learns to read at the age of 72 after seven DECADES of hiding his illiteracy while working as a machinist

Lonnie Breitung, from Wisconsin, left school at 16 and worked as a farmhand
Friends helped him fill out forms and a policeman read his driving test aloud
He retired in 2011 and found the courage to take classes with Mavis Kjarland, 79
He is now the council's Learner of the Year, saying 'I'm a little bit proud of myself'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6311813/Grandfather-learns-read-age-72.html

searcher · Nov 6, 2018

Sweet act of charity! Kind-hearted donut shop customers help tireless owner, 62, visit his sick wife by buying out his shop in the mornings so he can close early

John Chhan has run Donut City in Seal Beach, California, for 28 years
Patrons were used to seeing Mr Chhan's wife, Stella, by his side at the shop
But loyal customers noticed the 63-year-old woman wasn't by his side after she suffered from a brain aneurysm and had to rest at home
They decided to buy out all the donuts in his shop in the morning so he could go home to his wife
This decision came after Mr Chhan declined offers to start a GoFundMe

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...wner-62-visit-sick-wife-care-buying-shop.html

mayhem · Nov 6, 2018

Good news.. The good people of Fla. beat down the criminal knee grow from becoming the governor. Also sent the astronaut home from DC and replacing him with a pro-business repub. While Nelson wasn't a Chuckie Shoemaker ultra liberal he still needed to go.
.

searcher · Nov 15, 2018

searcher said:

Have to retract this. It was all a scam...……….

Homeless man and couple 'MADE UP' heart-warming story that he gave woman his last $20 as all three are charged with scamming donors who raised $400,000 for him on GoFundMe

Kate McClure and Mark D'Amico set up a GoFundMe page for Johnny Bobbitt
McClure said she was stranded when Bobbitt gave her his last few dollars for gas
More than 14,000 people donated to the campaign which quickly went viral
But now, the trio are facing charges including conspiracy and theft by deception

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...conspired-couple-raised-400-000-GoFundMe.html

Uglytruth · Nov 15, 2018

^^ And everyone who reads this will think twice or three times before lending a hand to anyone.

searcher · Nov 16, 2018

Uglytruth said:

Made the tv big time when it was first supposed to happen. They snookered a lot of people. Not good at all.

searcher · Nov 20, 2018

Would You Leave a Six-Figure Job to Feed the Homeless? This 27-Year-Old Did.

RD
Brandon Specktor
6 days ago

© Provided by Trusted Media Brands, Inc. december january 2016 everyday heroes robert lee

As an elementary school student in New York City, Robert Lee would stare in disbelief at his classmates throwing away half-eaten sandwiches after lunch. His Korean immigrant parents had taught him and his older brother not to waste food. 'They said it was bad karma,' says Robert, 27.

While studying finance and accounting at New York University, Robert remembered this lesson and joined Two Birds One Stone, a food-rescue club on campus that delivered, five days a week, uneaten pasta, vegetables, and other leftovers from the dining hall to nearby homeless shelters.

When Robert and fellow club member Louisa Chen entered a college entrepreneurship contest, they proposed a slightly different idea for a food-rescue nonprofit group: Their program wouldn’t have a donation minimum (meaning they would gladly pick up one bag of leftover bagels or a single pot of soup), would operate seven days a week, and would be staffed entirely by volunteers.

Their idea won the competition. With the $1,000 prize, they founded Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (RLC) in July 2013. In just the first few weeks, Robert’s team delivered a donation of enough spaghetti and meatballs to feed 20 people in line at a New York City homeless shelter that had run out of food. Learn more about the 13 things local food pantries wish you knew.

Robert, who had taken a job as an analyst at J.P. Morgan, devoted his spare time to creating a network of New York City restaurants, from mom-and-pop delis to large chains like Starbucks and Panera Bread, that agreed to donate food, and he enlisted volunteers to make food deliveries to homeless shelters. After RLC received national press attention, homeless shelters and soup kitchens in Portland, Oregon; Washington, DC; and other cities reached out to Robert for partnership advice. Two years after being founded, RLC had already distributed more than 250,000 pounds of food.

Only a year into his finance job, Robert gave up his six-figure salary to focus on RLC. 'I compared one hour of impact at J.P. Morgan to one hour at RLC, and the difference was just tremendous,' he says. The organization now reaches 16 cities around the country.

'One shelter … told us that our donations allow them to provide entire dinners for more than 300 people, three nights a week,' Robert says. 'Things like that make me glad I quit my job.' For more inspiring stories, read the 15 most heartwarming acts of kindness that happened in 2018.

The post Would You Leave a Six-Figure Job to Feed the Homeless? This 27-Year-Old Did. appeared first on Reader's Digest.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/pover...ss-this-27-year-old-did/ar-BBPHPfa?ocid=ientp

searcher · Nov 22, 2018

'Shoutout to the anonymous 6th grader for saving me a couple thousand': Driver thanks schoolgirl for leaving very detailed note on his car about bus hitting it and driving off

Andrew Sipowicz, a baseball coach from New York, discovered his car had a dent
Surprised man then found a note on his windscreen from an 11-year-old pupil
Anonymous 6th grader of Houghton Academy, Buffalo, revealed what happened
Said her bus driver had plowed into the parked car and driven off in 'hit and run'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...-windscreen-revealing-bus-HIT-parked-car.html

searcher · Nov 23, 2018

Georgia Couple Finds $25,000 Cash, Returns It to Owner

Inside Edition
Stephanie Officer
5 days ago

What would you do if you found $25,000 in cash?

One Georgia couple's first instinct was to return the money.

The Rincon Police Department posted on Facebook that store owner Gautambhai Patel had lost a bag with nearly $25,000 inside, meant to be deposited in the bank.

When they started their investigation, they hoped some kind-hearted person would return the cash.

Their wish came true when Jeff and Michelle Green came across the bag and turned it in

Their caption read in part, "We always encourage citizens to do the right thing both morally and legally!"

Comments on the post commend the Greens for their honesty.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-...ash-returns-it-to-owner/ar-BBPPd82?ocid=ientp

searcher · Dec 8, 2018

Heartwarming moment restaurant staff come together to surprise coworker with new car after his was stolen from the parking lot at work

The restaurant crew at Ruffino's on the River in Lafayette, Louisiana came together and gave their friend and coworker, Kea, a brand new car
His car had been stolen the week prior, right from the parking lot at work
Everyone who pitched in showed up to surprise Kea on November 28
The moment he learns what his work family has done for was caught on video

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ff-surprise-coworker-new-car-stolen-work.html

searcher · Dec 18, 2018

'She's just doing awesome': 11-year-old girl's inoperable brain tumor mysteriously disappears stumping even her doctors

Roxli Doss, 11, from Buda, Texas, was diagnosed with a rare, inoperable brain tumor in June
Doctors put Roxli in radiation therapy six days a week for six weeks in the hopes of slowing the tumor's growth
In September, an MRI scan revealed no detectable signs of the tumor
Because the cancer is aggressive and can return, Roxli will undergo immunotherapy to prevent new cancer cells from growing
Surgeons say there are case reports of tumors spontaneously regressing but a case like Roxli's has never been documented

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/...teriously-disappears-surgeons-explain-it.html

JayDubya · Jan 24, 2019

This Kid Asked Each Car Company to Send Him A Decal. They Sent a Lot More Than That.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/kid-asked-car-company-send-204400628.html

Patch Hurty was five when he found the Ford badge on the side of the road near his house in Connecticut. He loves cars, so he was pumped about this find-car names were some of the first words he was learning to read, and now he had a badge of his own from a real car.

What would be really cool, though, is if he had some kind of logo or decal from every company. But you can't just hang around waiting for a Bugatti badge to shake loose from a passing Chiron. So what do you do? You write a letter to every car company and see what happens.

Patch's mom, Lindsay, helped him put together a simple pitch to send out, explaining himself and his mission: He loves watching cars go past his house, and one of them shed a badge that he found. Which was awesome, so if you have any more logos or decals kicking around, he would love to have one.

They included a coin from his piggy bank and, when they could, a photo of him standing in front of one of that company's cars. He signed each letter. They sent them out, to more than 50 companies-even to ones that don't exist anymore, like Saturn. Then they waited. Soon, the responses started rolling in.

Volvo sent a huge grille badge, a frisbee and a lot of other goodies. Jeep apologized for having no badges but sent a metal sign, a hat, a pen and a keychain. Bentley sent the center cap from a wheel. BMW wrote, "It's great that you enjoy watching Ultimate Driving Machines ® cruise past your house and we are happy to send you the enclosed shiny, new BMW emblem to add to your collection." And so it went, with Tesla, Bugatti, Honda and many more. Lincoln sent an original pencil sketch of a Continental. Almost all of them returned the coin.

Even some of the companies that don't sell cars here anymore tried to do something. Suzuki noted that it stopped selling cars in the U.S. in 2014, but they still sent a key ring, stickers and brochures for their motorcycles and ATVs. Isuzu explained that they got out of the car game in 2008, but they sell commercial trucks, so they sent him a couple Hot Wheels-sized models of those.

Even for an enthusiastic kid with encouraging parents, the near-uniform response is a happy surprise-after all, nobody has a "Department for Letters from Kids Asking for Logos or Badges from the Factory Floor." Yet somehow most of these letters found their way to people who wanted to help. Given the prevailing narrative that kids are getting their driver's licenses later and later, that they don't care about cars anymore, it's probably really nice to hear from someone who's five (now six) and loves anything with wheels.

"We hope your love of cars continues to grow," reads the handwritten card from Honda. "Thank you for sharing your love of cars with me," wrote a customer service manager from Bentley. Infiniti's card was also hand-written-and signed by nine people. Patch actually got a correspondence going with Volkswagen after he sent them a thank-you note accompanied by a photo of him grinning in front of a VW Thing. They replied, "Your letters have made a lot of people in our offices happy, Patch. I am very glad that you took the time to reach out and share your dream. Keep spreading happiness and good things will come your way."

So, given that he now has souvenirs from almost every car company in the business (and even some that aren't), we asked Patch what he'd want to get for his first car, maybe a decade or so from now. "Ford," he says. "I still have a warm spot for Ford in my heart. It was the first decal I ever found and it started this project. A project of love and cars."

newmisty · Feb 10, 2019

Couldn't get the vid to load

https://twitter.com/consmover

JayDubya · Mar 7, 2019

'They're our snow angels': Five high school seniors wake up at 4.30am to shovel their neighbor's driveway during a snowstorm so she could attend her life-saving dialysis

A group of five New Jersey high school seniors woke up at 4.30am to shovel snow from their neighbor's drive in order to stop the forecast eight inches preventing her from getting her dialysis treatment.

Brian Lanigan had cleared his neighbor Natalie Blair's driveway during the last snowstorm, but knew he would be on shift as a local EMT when this one struck on Sunday evening.

So it fell to his younger brother Patrick to take care of the Blair's driveway and make sure Natalie was able to leave the house, CNN reports.

Five Parsippany High School seniors volunteered to wake up at 4.30am to clear snow from the driveway of Natalie Blair, who often needs leave her house for vital dialysis treatments

Patrick reached out to his fellow Parsippany High School seniors for help and four of his friends - Justin, Chris, Tyler and Amon - volunteered to sleep at the Lanigan house before waking up at 4.30am to start shoveling.

Patrick's father Peter Lanigan tweeted out two photos of the group holding rakes and shovels in the freezing darkness.

'Snow Angels disguised as PHS Srs, Justin, Pat, Chris, Tyler & Amon got up super early 4:30 (really never slept) to shovel a driveway for a neighbor who needed to get to dialysis,' Peter wrote.

The proud father also told CNN that the kind gesture was typical of his son, who he describes as a 'small kid with a big heart.'

Patrick, who serves as a 'peer buddy' at school by mentoring students on the autism spectrum, was humbled by all the attention the tweet generated, his father told CNN.

With five students on hand, clearing the Blair driveway only took the boys around 30 minutes - but it made all the difference to Patrick's neighbor, for whom a snowstorm can easily turn into a potentially life-threatening situation.

Although the boys did not get the snow day they had hoped for, the storm did delay the school's opening by two-hours, meaning they could get a few hours of well-earned rest before class.

Uglytruth · Mar 7, 2019

https://www.foxnews.com/us/absolute-miracle-rescuers-find-missing-california-sisters

'Absolute miracle:' Rescuers find missing California sisters
By AMANDA LEE MYERS | Associated Press

This undated photo provided by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office shows Leia Carrico, 8, left, and her sister Caroline Carrico, 5, as they seek the public's help in locating them. More than 100 law enforcement personnel are searching for the two young sisters who've been missing from their Northern California home since Friday, March 1, 2019, last seen around 2:30 p.m. Friday outside their home in Benbow, a small community about 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento. (Humboldt County Sheriff's Office via AP)
LOS ANGELES – Armed with some outdoor survival training, granola bars and pink rubber boots, 5- and 8-year-old sisters survived 44 hours in rugged Northern California wilderness before they were found dehydrated and cold but in good spirits on Sunday, authorities said.
A fire chief and firefighter from a local volunteer department found Leia and Caroline Carrico in a wooded area about 1½ miles (2.3 kilometers) from their home in the small community of Benbow, where they had last been seen Friday afternoon, Humboldt County Sheriff William Honsal said.
Benbow is about 200 miles (320 kilometers) northwest of Sacramento.
The girls were "safe and sound" and uninjured, thanks in part to survival training they got with their local 4-H club, Honsal said.
"This is an absolute miracle," he said. "This is rugged territory, this is an extreme environment. How they were out there for 44 hours is pretty amazing."
A photo of one of the girls posted by the sheriff's office and already being widely shared on social media shows her wearing pink rubber boots, dirty jeans, a long pink shirt and a woolen cap. She is standing while a firefighter kneels down and talks to her.
One person commented that "she looks like a seasoned outdoor gal" while another said, "those little adventurers will sure have a story to tell!"
Honsal said the girls were given fresh warm clothes, water and food and were being assessed but were in good spirits and doing well.
"A lot of us didn't get any sleep the last 48 hours or so," Honsal said. "To have a positive outcome like this is just absolutely amazing ... These girls definitely have a survival story to tell."
He said the firefighters who found the girls had followed their boot prints. The firefighters were part of a massive search of a vast and rugged rural area that included a dozen agencies, including the National Guard, helicopters and tracking dogs.
Rescuers were hopeful about finding the girls Saturday after they came across prints from their boots and wrappers from granola bars, Lt. Mike Fridley said.
"The wrappers showed us a direction from where they started to where the wrappers ended up at," Fridley said.
Fridley said he was the one who got to call the girls' mother and tell them her daughters were alive.
"She melted on the phone," he said.

The Good News Thread:

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