One of the most memorable videos ever appearing on the Good News Network was a 2009 ESPN feature on a pair of wrestlers at a Cleveland inner city school. Leroy who had lost both his legs in a train accident, was carried on his teammate's back during every wrestling match and every practice. The outstanding young men found a place in the heart of Lisa Fenn, the ESPN producer who, after the story aired, quit her job to help the boys get into colleges. A new video shares the joy and success in the four years since.
After Lisa Fitzpatrick found her street blocked by police tape when someone her daughter knew had been killed, she knew she had to do something. She quit her job, downsized her life and created the APEX Youth Center (Always Pursuing Excellence). Since 2010, more than 460 children and youth have come for the free pizza and fun, and in the process learned conflict resolution skills.
NASCAR's top racing company, Hendrick Motorsports, gave engineer Richie Parker a shot with a 10-week internship, mostly because of his can-do attitude. Born without arms, Parker was so good at his job that he was hired and has been an integral part of the NASCAR team for more than eight years.
Jessica Kruger's gorgeous face became the favorite in online voting for a campaign to find the new spokesperson for a perfume company. The 21-year-old quadriplegic sees the modeling contract as an opportunity to educate the public.
Chess is not easy, but almost anyone can benefit from the complex game because it teaches strategy, confidence, and also how to accept failure. So says Orrin Hudson, a 50-year-old Stone Mountain chess champion who has devoted his life -- and life savings -- to teaching the ancient game to modern kids to instill in them a never-say-die attitude.
An Irish-American billionaire who kept his philanthropy secret for 15 years has given away $7.5 billion - and plans for it all to go to charity before his dies. Chuck Feeney, who, at 82, wears a $15 Casio watch and often travels in coach class, said I believe strongly in ‘giving while living'.
35-year-old Jen Bulik received some bad news about lung cancer and wanted to get married before time ran out. As often is the case, out of bad news comes extraordinary stories of kindness. This one was delivered by a wedding planner moved to donate a $50,000 wedding to the beautiful couple whom she only heard about on a Facebook post.
For the third time in a week a generous customer at a coffee chain in Canada has handed over around $900 to pay for beverages -- and this time some food -- in an identical gesture of goodwill.
Ten years ago, 12 boys from a Liberian choir visited the United States to raise money for their orphanage, and touched the hearts of a North Carolina town. Forty-five boys from that orphanage have since been adopted and are now living what they only dreamed a decade ago.
While some of his peers have shunned Wall Street as the land of the morally bankrupt, Jason Trigg's moral code steered him there. He is after money — as much as he can earn, so he can give half of it away.
Fifty years separate the two friends, Collin and Ernest, but together these two have managed to accomplish the miraculous after Colin was involved in a horrific car accident as a teen, and was paralyzed from the chest down. Ernest, who'd recently retired as an engineer, heard about the accident through his church and felt what he described as a calling to help the teenager, whom he'd never met, though they attended the same church. He did more than help.
Despite his station in life, the man is a high-roller when it comes to philanthropy. For the past 36 years, Albert Lexie has taken every dime of his tip money from shining shoes and donated it to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh - more than $200,659 and counting.
Born in Nepal, but moved to Wisconsin in 2000 to attend the University in Whitewater, Ojash Shrestha found his true calling when he returned home 8 years later to be married. While staying in his parents' house, he met a young girl around 12 years-old who worked as a maid there because her family could not support her or afford to send her to school. After returning home he couldn't get her face out of his mind, and right then decided to help children like Rita go to school.
When Abbey Curran first saw a flyer for a local beauty pageant, she was 16 and walked with a pronounced limp due to cerebral palsy. Despite classmates who dismissed her chances of winning, she was determined to compete. In 2008, Abbey was crowned Miss Iowa and became the first disabled person ever to compete for the title of Miss USA.
In the hard-hit city of Philadelphia, a former art curator Barbara Chandler Allen was disgusted by cutbacks to arts funding for students, especially because it so disadvantages the poorest schools where kids are most in need of positive outlets. Lucky for the kids, Barbara stumbled onto a big idea after enlarging some of their art and realizing it was in high demand for the walls in office buildings.
Not only did a Japanese man become the oldest climber to read the summit of Mount Everest today, but he did it after undergoing four different heart surgeries, the most recent one in January. 80 year-old Yuichiro Miura said This is the world's best feeling.
President Obama welcomed to the White House Saturday the winners of the TOP COPS award for law enforcement who have shown extraordinary bravery and valor in the line of duty, including Lieutenant Brian Murphy, who was the first officer on the scene in response to the shooting at the Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin last year.
Wall Street hedge fund manager and billionaire Paul Tudor Jones started the Robin Hood Foundation 25 years ago to inspire wealthy donors to give money to help impoverished New Yorkers. Since then, the charity has raised more than one and a quarter billion dollars.
