# Inspiring

Tucson Kindness Project Hangs 1000 Bells Around Newtown, In Solidarity With Shooting Victims

A project that hangs small wind chimes with bells is becoming a healing remedy for grieving communities following tragic mass shootings. An Arizona mom in mourning started Ben's Bells after her little boy passed away from illness. She wanted to say thank-you for the many kindnesses that were shown her, passing it forward so more people would remember how kindness heals. A few years later, the project grew, embraced by the Tucson community following the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords and thirteen other citizens. Hundreds of volunteers painted, assembled and hung the ceramic wind chimes from random branches, and doorknobs and playgrounds around the city. Last week Ben's mom, Jeannette Maté, traveled to the location of the latest tragedy, Newtown, Conn., with 1,000 bells to distribute to a community in need of smiles.

# Inspiring

From Crash to Cash: I Turned My Life Around After l Lost Everything

Michael Lewis still vividly remembers the day in 2008 when his world came crashing down. Suddenly the phones stopped ringing at his electrical contracting company for four months. It was very scary." With expenses to pay and no money coming in, Michael decided to take a desperate gamble and took a loan of £25,000 to pay expenses and start up a new business.

# Inspiring

Nonprofit Campaigns to Make Boston Happier

A suicide-prevention group is generating smiles to the faces of commuters and pedestrians in Boston with their Happier Boston Campaign, which involves social interventions such as singing in elevators and asking everyone in the baseball stadium to give high-fives to everyone nearby.

# Inspiring

Waiter Defends Boy with Down Syndrome, Refuses to Serve Table

Two families seated in neighboring booths at a Texas restaurant produced a situation ending with neighborly support for a special needs child. After the waiter took an emotional stand for one of the families, support is flowing in from all over, thanking the waiter and the restaurant called Laurenzo's near Houston.

# Inspiring

The Man Behind a Military Patch that President Obama Prizes

When Barack Obama was still a Senator running for president, a black elevator operator, Earl Smith, shared a moment with him at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Austin. His time with the future President was short, but Smith gave Obama something that he would carry with him for the rest of the campaign. The story of the elderly worker tells a lot about where this country has been and how far it has come.

# Inspiring

Anonymous and Encouraging Message Posted in University Restroom

A photo of a notebook page taped to a bathroom wall at her university has gone viral because of its encouraging and positive message meant for women who have written on the stalls about some of their saddest life experiences.

# Inspiring

Newark Mayor Saves Freezing Dog

New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker has saved a woman from a house fire, shoveled the driveway of a local resident and invited families to stay at his house after Hurricane Sandy when the power was out. Now, the Newark politician has saved a dog who was left out in the frigid temperatures for hours.

# Inspiring

Air Force Pilot Takes Boy's Letter "Closer to Heaven" so Daddy Can Read it

Mac Gallegos was only 5 when his father, Army Sgt. Justin Gallegos, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. To celebrate what would have been his 31st birthday, Mac wrote a letter to his father and wanted it to be flown as close to heaven as possible. Thanks to an Air Force pilot, he got his wish.