Feel-good stories

[oneh2obabe]

Harlem Globetrotters Recruits Boy with Down Syndrome

[oneh2obabe]

Feb ... 8-Year-Old Raises More Than Half a Million Dollars to Help Cure His Friend Jonah's Liver Disease
Mar ... $750,000+ raised to date

[youhavegottobekidding]

Here is a real good story....

A very nice 21 yr old man I was speaking to today said that about 4 mths ago he put this picture of his Dad up on his work station. He had NEVER met his Dad because his Mom took off when he was under 1 yr old from California to Maine....ANyway he found this picture in his Mom's stuff. So 1 day he asks his Mom how old his Dad was and what was his birthdate. So he spent $7 and put in his Dad's name and birthdate on this web site and he found his Dad's address. He wrote and said Hi Dad, this is Nicholas your son.

Well his Dad called him and stated that he never did know where his Mom had taken him. He found out that his Dad had a sister living about 15 minutes away from this young man so his Aunt came over with a wad of cash and said, hop on a plane and go see your Dad so that is what he did. He found out he had a 14 yr old & 8 yr old brother. He visited for a week and he said that was the BEST week in his whole life. They now keep in contact regularly......

[V-Rated]

I just love this thread *HUGE smiles*
~V~

[oneh2obabe]

Retailer offers $100 gift card, free online-shopping lessons to Australian grandfather who shops ‘online’ with cash.

Trevor Head of Queensland, Australia, doesn't have a credit card or a debit card. He doesn't have a Pay Pal account either. So when he the 72-year-old grandfather of three saw something he wanted to buy online, he got creative.

The retired train master sent retailer Kogan $15 cash in the mail, along with a note:

"Please find enclosed $15 for the purchase of a DIGITAL BREATHALYSER as advertised by you on the internet."

Head told news.com.au that this wasn't his first "online shopping" experience. He's purchased three or four other items from the internet.

"What I try to look for is [the retailer's] phone number. I ring them up and get their bank account details and I transfer the money."

"I don't have a credit card. I'm 73-years old and I don't need someone to steal what little money I have left," Head added, admitting that he's pretty computer illiterate and was only introduced to the internet two years ago on a hand-me-down computer.

He couldn't find the Kogan number, so he just sent the cash in the mail.

Kogan founder Ruslan Kogan said he thought Head's letter was the sweetest one he'd seen since his site launched seven years ago.

In response to the letter, Kogan sent Head the item he wanted to purchase, along with a $100 gift card for the store — and an handwritten offer to personally teach Head to shop online.

Head said he's now looking into purchasing some preloaded Visa/Mastercard debit cards so he can continue shopping online.

After the news.com.au story was published, readers flocked to Kogan's Facebook page to praise the retailer.

"A wonderful story. Good on you, Kogan, for being human and being accessible to all. It's heartwarming to hear of personal touches and going the extra mile. Well done you!" wrote one reader.

"Great personal response from the CEO. He gets my business too!" wrote another.

Good customer service goes a long way.

[oneh2obabe]

March 21st ... World Down Syndrome Day

A touching video marking Friday’s World Down Syndrome Day is directed at a pregnant woman who has just learned her unborn child has the genetic disorder and who wonders: what kind of life will her child have?

That was a real question a mother-to-be asked CoorDown, Italy’s organization of people with Down syndrome.

Their answer is just as real: Ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi filmed 15 people with Down syndrome from all across Europe, explaining they are happy, independent and capable of living a fulfilling life full of work, school and travel.

It won’t be easy, they admit — but isn’t it difficult for all mothers?

The video, titled “Dear Future Mom,” has already racked up 2.5 million views on YouTube.

[oneh2obabe]

[grammafreddy]

[maryjane48]

founder of The Great Whale Conservancy (GWC), narrates his encounter with a young humpback whale entangled in local fishing nets. While this video is long, it’s well worth your time. Skip ahead to :40 seconds if you want to fast forward through the exposition. At 5:38, these heroic rescuers make the final cut, freeing the whale. The whale’s show of her profound appreciation for their efforts happens at 6:20 - it’s not to missed. Michael Fishbach, co-founder of The Great Whale Conservancy (GWC), narrates his encounter with a young humpback whale entangled in local fishing nets. At first, the animal appeared to be dead, yet Fishbach investigated and quickly discovered that the poor creature was tangled in a fishing net. The humans had to act fast; what began as a tragedy soon became a thrilling rescue as Fishbach and his crew labored to free the young whale. The entire encounter was caught on videotape and later narrated by Fishbach himself. Watch as the whale named Valentina by her rescuers goes from near death to freedom, then rewards her saviours with dozens of magnificent full-body breeches and tail flips. Indeed, this video has the power to inspire action on behalf of other beings. In ways big and small, each of us can be the one who helps another. - See more at: http://awareness-time.com/?p=2406#sthash.PsiYfYpu.dpuf



http://awareness-time.com/?p=2406




and to think some people still want to risk the oceans by shipping oil around

[maryjane48]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2zUf06iy1A

[maryjane48]

This is Suda, a 4-year-old elephant from Thailand. Elephants are one of the few species on this planet that are sentient (can perceive feeling; feel emotions), self-aware (conscious of themselves as individuals, i.e. they recognise themselves in a mirror, rather than thinking their reflection is another elephant), and significantly intelligent. These are the three main traits we as humans posses, and they lead us to believe that we are separate from animals; better; more advanced. In reality, we are really not that different from them. It's such a shame that these beautiful animals are subjected to such cruelty and suffering at the hands of trophy hunters and circus masters, when they are so similar to us.


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=566075863484336

[oneh2obabe]

Grieving Dad Honors Late Toddler With Stolen Moments Campaign

A father whose toddler recently passed away has taken his grief to social media with a powerful Fundly campaign, inspiring parents to not only cherish their own children, but also honor his late daughter, too.

Larry and Savannah Carroll (Photos: Courtesy of Larry Carroll)
April 3 was a typical evening — Larry Carroll, a 39-year-old Los Angeles-based reporter was home with his 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter Savannah (nicknamed Savvy), his 5-year-old son, and his wife, who is currently eight-and-a-half months pregnant. "I put Savannah to bed in her crib, and she had a bit of a fever but everything else was normal,” Carroll said.

However, the next morning, he didn't hear his little girl waking up for their usual 6 a.m. breakfast of peanut butter toast. “She would lick off all the peanut butter and hand the bread back to me,” says Carroll. When he went to check on Savannah, he discovered that she had passed away in her crib during the night, from causes not yet known.

That day was a blur and by night, Carroll was wired with adrenaline and grief. While his wife slept, he sat at his computer, struggling with how he could honor his daughter’s memory. He began thinking about a family tradition he and his wife had started that they dubbed "stolen moments." “If we suddenly have 30 minutes free during the day, instead of checking email, we spend that unplanned time with our kids, taking a walk or eating ice cream,” he says. What if other parents could create their own stolen moments?

Carroll turned to the fundraising site Fundly to launch his idea. “If you'd like to make a donation in Savannah's name — any size — please do it here," he wrote. "And my dream is to take every penny of those donations, locate a special little girl somewhere in the world — and give her and her family the 'Stolen Moment' that we'll never be able to make with our baby Savannah. I will find a family somewhere — someone I have never met before and has no connection to anyone I know — and help them make a Stolen Moment."

Carroll had three requirements: The parents must have a little girl, they clearly love her very much, and they don't have the financial means to spend on such an experience. "Perhaps we can send them to Disneyland, and get them the greatest hotel room ever. Perhaps we could fly them somewhere," wrote Carroll. "I want to give some little person a moment with her Mom and Dad that she'll remember forever — a moment that they would never have without us doing this. Any money raised above the costs of the 'Stolen Moment' will be put into a college fund for that child.” Carroll capped the donations at $10,000.

The next morning, Carroll woke up to $5,000 in donations from people all over the world. “One woman in Haiti contributed. Another said her two kids opened their piggy banks and wanted to send $23. One woman filmed her daughter letting a pink balloon fly in the sky for Savannah,” says Carroll. Over the next few days, people also began tweeting photos and videos of their own stolen moments, tagging Carroll and using the hashtag #StolenMoments. And Carroll used Facebook and Twitter to encourage parents to sing their children to sleep with Savvy’s favorite song, “Swee’Pea’s Lullaby” from the movie "Popeye." He also set up a Facebook page to honor Savannah.

The fund, which, as of Thursday morning, has almost $48,000 in donations, is set up for 49 days. Eventually, when Carroll and his wife feel ready (most likely at the end of the summer, he says), they'll search for a family. “We’ll either take a long drive or get on a long plane ride and sit at a café in a new city and observe families,” he says. “We’ll approach one with a child that reminds us of Savannah.” Carroll says he’s prepared for any reaction (“I’m sure some will think what we’re doing is strange,” he says), but he’s confident that they’ll find the right child. “My only request is that after the family spends the money on their daughter, they’ll sit down with my wife and I and share every photo and video of the experience,” he says. “And my wife and I hope to attend the college graduation of the girl we choose.”

Carroll says he and his wife derive true joy from seeing other parents share their stolen moments on social media. “I set my ring tone to a recording of Savvy’s laughter," he says, "so each time a donation comes in or I get a social media notification, I hear her laugh."

[W105]

this woman's father has Alzheimer's and the disease has taken away his ability to form sentences and he doesn't really talk...she brought him to her house one day so her mother could run some errands...from the moment her 3 yr old rescue dog Roscoe greeted him, he transformed and started talking to the dog.....(caution it might bring a tear or two)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sl_DGLxm1s

[oneh2obabe]

Teenager Takes his Great Grandmother to Prom.

Published on May 1, 2014

Delores Dennison never went to her high school prom. Times were tough. Money was scarce -- just enough for the necessities. But if she had gone to the prom, Delores might have imagined wearing a lovely dress and promenading through a sea of balloons and dancing with a handsome young man on a crisp April evening. She might have imagined the band playing the Frank Sinatra song, "How I love the kisses of Delores."

But the days of promenades have long passed for Delores, now 89-years-old. Youth and vigor have given way to heart trouble and a stroke. And the handsome young man who became the love of her life -- the man who used to sing to her that Frank Sinatra song, passed away many years ago.

"I respect my elders greatly," Austin Dennison told me. "They have a great influence on my life. To be able to sit down and talk to them and learn from them and their experiences is a great thing."

A few months back, Delores received a telephone call from her great-grandson. Austin is 19-years-old, a senior at Parkway High School in Rockford, Ohio. And he had a very important question for his "Granny DD."

"I asked her if she would be my prom date," Austin told me. "How cool would it be to take my great-grandmother to prom?"

Now, Austin Dennison is the kind of fellow who looks like he just stepped out of central casting. He's the sort of kid a dad hopes his daughter would marry.

He's an Eagle Scout who plays for the school's football, baseball and basketball teams. He plays in the school band and faithfully attends church. He's the kind of youngster who says "yes sir" and "yes ma'am." He's the kind of young man who respects his elders.

Still, the proposal took Delores by surprise. It's not every day your great-grandson asks you out to prom.

"He was so sweet and adamant about it," Delores told me. "I asked him, 'But are you sure that you wouldn't like to take one of the young ladies who could get out there and do everything with you?' He said no. 'I want you.'"

Before we continue, you might want to grab a box of tissues.

Austin drew his inspiration from his economics teacher. The teacher's older brother had taken his grandmother to prom. Austin remembered that his own Granny DD had never been -- so he picked up the phone and made the call.

"I couldn't disappoint him -- if I had to go on my hands and knees," Delores said.

"At first she was a bit resistant," Austin said. "I assured her I was serious and she finally said yes. It was my privilege to take her."

But there was much, much work to be done. The first item of business was finding a suitable dress for the big night.

"That was an adventure," Delores said. "We were looking at the young girls dresses. None of those dresses would be OK for me."

Let's just say young ladies don't dress like they did back in the 1930s.

"They were either too high or too low and I didn't want any of that," she said.

Eventually she settled on a pretty blue dress and a clutch purse.

"The purse was for my necessities -- my nitro and my puffer that I use for breathing," she said.

The night of the prom was magical. Austin serenaded his great-grandmother with a special song and presented her with a pearl necklace.

His father chauffeured them to an elegant dinner at the local Bob Evans.

"That's one of her favorite places," Austin said.

He ordered the pancakes. She ordered an omelette. "I had to take some of it home," Delores confessed.

Afterwards, it was off to the high school where Austin and his lovely date were introduced at the promenade.

"We got a standing ovation," he said. "But we had to cut across the dance floor because she didn't have enough energy."

Delores managed to get a few laughs as she hit the balloons with her cane.

"It was wonderful and I just loved all the girls in their fancy gowns and the gentlemen in their tuxedos. It was quite a night," she said. "Everyone there just could not have been more polite. Everyone got an A+."

[oneh2obabe]

Charlie takes his dogs on a walk every morning but because of his Leukemia treatment, his daily walks have gotten harder and harder. So his neighbors did the most incredible thing.